Salvatore Scala (1944 – December 30, 2008), also known as "Fat Sal" and "Uncle Sal", was a New York mobster who became a ''

caporegime A ''caporegime'' or ''capodecina'', usually shortened to ''capo'' or informally referred to as "captain", "skipper" or "lieutenant", is a leadership position in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia). A ''capo'' is a "made m ...

'' in the

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. ...

. Scala was born in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades. As of the 2020 Uni ...

, to first-generation immigrants from Scala, Italy. Scala was married to Grace Ann Lino, the sister of Gambino mobster Edward Lino and the paternal cousin of Bonanno crime family mobster

Frank Lino Frank "Curly" Lino (October 30, 1938 – August 2, 2023) was an American former caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who later became an informant. Biography Early life Lino was born in a house on West Eight Street in Gravesend, Brooklyn, N ...

. Scala was a nephew of

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family (), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and Ne ...

mob associates Carmine and Francis Consalvo, and a maternal cousin of

DeCavalcante crime family The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey crime family or the North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian American Mafia crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York and ...

mobster Louis Consalvo. In 1983, Scala was arrested for

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

trafficking, but the case was dropped. A close associate of John Gotti, Scala was a suspect in the 1985 murders of Gambino boss Paul Castellano and underboss Thomas Bilotti that brought Gotti to power. However, Scala was never charged in conjunction with either murder. In 1999, Scala was promoted to the rank of ''capo'' and oversaw a crew of ten made men and associates. On May 18, 2001, Scala was convicted of extorting money from the owner of Cherry's Video, an

adult entertainment The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...

store on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. Part of the evidence included an undercover video of a Gambino soldier visiting the store. The judge sentenced Scala to 63 months in federal prison. In March 2007, Scala was convicted of

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

and of extorting $2.5 million from

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

's V.I.P. Club, an adult entertainment venue. Scala was sentenced to 72 months in prison."Mob's Role in Strip Club Excuses Taxes, Judge Says"
by Joel Stashenko ''New York Law Journal'', December 10, 2009 On December 30, 2008, Scala died in federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, from

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

. He had requested early release on compassionate grounds, but was denied.

References

External links

New York Sun: Judge Gives Ailing Capo Sympathy, Little Else
by Jerry Capeci

by Allen May {{DEFAULTSORT:Scala, Salvatore 1944 births 2008 deaths American people who died in prison custody American people convicted of tax crimes Gambino crime family American gangsters of Italian descent Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention

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