Salvatore Scala
Encyclopedia
Caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
in the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
.
Scala was born in Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
, 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
Bonanno crime family
The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
mobster Frank Lino
Frank Lino
Frank "Curly" Lino is a Sicilian-American caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who later became an informant.-Biography:...
. Scala was a nephew of Genovese crime family
Genovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
mob associates Carmine and Francis Consalvo, and a maternal cousin of DeCavalcante crime family
DeCavalcante crime family
The DeCavalcante crime family is an organized crime family that controls organized crime activities in Elizabeth, New Jersey and surrounding areas in the state, despite operating on the other side of the Hudson River in New York, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia...
mobster Louis Consalvo
Louis Consalvo
Louis "Louie Eggs" Consalvo is a New Jersey mobster and reputed "soldier" in the DeCavalcante crime family.A lifelong resident in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, Consalvo reportedly joined the North Jersey based DeCavalcante crime family during the disappearance in October 1991 of underboss Louis...
.
In 1983, Scala was arrested for heroin trafficking, but the case was dropped. A close associate of John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
, Scala was a suspect in the 1985 murders of Gambino boss Paul Castellano
Paul Castellano
Constantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
and underboss Thomas Bilotti
Thomas Bilotti
Thomas Bilotti was a New York mobster and then Underboss for the reputed Boss of the Gambino crime family, Paul Castellano.-Early years:...
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
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
and associates.
On May 18, 2001, Scala was convicted of extorting money from the owner of Cherry's Video, an adult entertainment store on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. 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 and of extorting $2.5 million from 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...
's V.I.P. Club, an adult entertainment venue. Scala was sentenced to 72 months in prison.
On December 30, 2008, Scala died in federal prison in Butner, North Carolina
Butner, North Carolina
Butner is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,591 at the 2010 census]. Butner was managed by the state of North Carolina from 1947 through 2007. A bill passed by the North Carolina General Assembly incorporating the town was signed by Gov. Mike Easley on...
, from liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
. He had requested early release on compassionate grounds, but it was denied.
Further reading
- Davis, John H. Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. ISBN 0-06-016357-7
External links
- New York Sun: Judge Gives Ailing Capo Sympathy, Little Else by Jerry Capeci
- John Gotti: The Last Mafia Icon by Allen May