Alfonso Sgroia also known as "The Butcher" (July 19, 1886 - May 10, 1940) was a New York gang member who became a hitman for the Neapolitan

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

 Camorra

Camorra

The Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...

 gang

Gang

A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...

.

Born in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Sgroia immigrated with his family to New York in 1901 at age 15. Sgroia opened a butcher shop and lived with his brother Biagio on 117th Street in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

. At some point, Sgroia became an enforcer for the Navy Street gang, a street gang in Brooklyn associated with the Camorra criminal organization.

On June 24, 1916, members of the rival Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 Sicilian

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 Morello Gang met with the Navy gang and its ally, the Coney Island gang, to discuss the division of criminal activities in New York. Unhappy with the meeting outcome, the Navy Gang decided to kill Morello gang boss Nicholas Morello

Nicholas Morello

Nicolo Terranova , also known as Nicholas "Nick" Morello, was one of the first Italian-American organized crime figures in New York City...

. On September 7, 1916, Sgroia and other gang members ambushed Morello and his associate, Charles Ubriaco. They were lured into a trap after having a few drinks and were on their way to a coffee house. In March, 1917, Sgroia participated in the murder of Generose Nazzaro.

In May 1917, a Navy Street gang member became a government witness and implicated Sgroia in the Morello murder. Sgroia was convicted of manslaughter

Manslaughter

Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...

and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Sgroia eventually testified against the gang and received a shortened sentence. After his release from prison, Sgroia was deported to Italy, where he lived a normal life with his family.

On May 10, 1940, Alfonso Sgroia died in Italy of natural causes at age 54.