James V. LaSala was a Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 mobster and drug trafficker who eventually controlled syndicate drug trafficking in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and several other Southwestern

Southwestern United States

The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...

 states.

In the late 1930s, LaSala accompanied Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 as hired muscle to expand the Charles Luciano-Meyer Lansky

Meyer Lansky

Meyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...

 syndicate. Once in California, LaSala became involved in drug smuggling. By 1940, he controlled syndicate drug trafficking in California and several other Southwestern

Southwestern United States

The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...

 states. LaSala was also a main supplier to Brooklyn mobster Joseph DiGiovanni.

In the early 1950s, LaSala was named in the U.S. Senate investigations on organized crime, known as the Kefauver Hearings

Kefauver hearings

The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce was a special committee of the United States Senate which existed from 1950 to 1951 and which investigated organized crime which crossed state borders in the United States...

, as a close associate of Los Angeles boss Jack Dragna

Jack Dragna

Jack Ignatius Dragna was an American Mafia member and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 1900s. He was active in bootlegging in California during the Prohibition Era in the United States...

 and Girolomo "Momo" Adamo

Momo Adamo

Girolomo "Momo" Adamo was an Italian mobster in the American Mafia. He lived in Chicago and Kansas City before moving to Los Angeles in the 1930s and soon became Underboss to Jack Dragna in the Los Angeles crime family. His brother Joseph Adamo was also a member of the crime family...

.

In 1954, LaSala was convicted of some felony and received a large prison term. From this time on, no other information is available on him.