Salvatore Sabella

Salvatore Sabella (July 7, 1891-1962) was the Sicilian mafia boss of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the 1920s. Sabella built the future Philadelphia crime family and trained its leaders.

Early life

Born in Sicily in 1891, Sabella became a butcher's apprentice as a young boy. Tired of dealing with the butcher's violent outbursts, 14 year-old Sabella murdered him in 1905. In 1908, Sabella was convicted of murder and sent to prison in Milan, Italy for three years. At some point, either in prison or after his release, Sabella became involved with the Sicilian Mafia. After his release from prison, Sabella left for America, apparently as an illegal immigrant. In 1912, Sabella arrived in Brooklyn, New York and joined the Salvatore D'Aquila criminal organization, which consisted of many other Castellammarese immigrants. During the next few years, Sabella was trained by Giuseppe Traina for a future role in the organization.

Philadelphia mob boss

In 1919, Sabella was sent to Philadelphia to build a Castellammarese Sicilian criminal organization. As a front, Sabella was an olive oil and cheese merchant and owned a soft drink cafe. However, his real occupation was to build the family and protect its operations from other criminals. Sabella would train future mob bosses John Avena and Angelo Bruno to run the family. In 1925 Sabella was a suspect in the murder of rival mobster Leo Lanzetti. On May 30, 1927, two rebellious members of the Philadelphia organization, Vincent Cocozza and Joseph Zanghi were shot and killed on a Philadelphia street corner. Joseph's brother Anthony provided police with enough evidence to indict Sabella for murder. Sabella was acquitted, but his illegal immigrantion status was discovered. Towards the end of 1927, Sabella was deported to Sicily and Avena became acting boss.

Castellammarese War

During this same period, the Castellammarese War had erupted in New York between the Castellamarese faction, led by traditional mob boss Salvatore Maranzano, and a primarily Neopolitan faction led by Guiseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. The two sides would trade gangland slayings for several years. As a Castellamarese immigrant, Sabella was allied with Maranzano. In 1929, having returned from his deportation, Sabella temporarily relocated to New York with nine gunmen to fight for Maranzano. The war finally ended on April 15, 1931 when Masseria was killed while eating dinner in a Coney Island restaurant in Brooklyn. Following the end of hostilities, Sabella returned to Philadelphia.

Retirement

In 1931, Sabella was arrested for assault and battery with a motor vehicle. That same year, at age 40, Sabella retired and handed the control of the crime family to Avena. The reason for his retirement is not clear; given the carnage of the recent Castellammarese War, it might have been a strong sense of self-preservation. Sabella reportedly moved to Norristown, Pennsylvania, and worked there as a butcher in his later years. In 1962, Salvatore Sabella died of natural causes.

A descendant of Salvatore Sabella is Michael Sabella, currently a caporegime with the New York Bonanno crime family.

External links

* [http://www.americanmafia.com/Cities/Philadelphia.html American Mafia.com - 26 Mafia Cities: Philadelphia, PA] by Mario Machi 1999
* [http://www.onewal.com/w-sabell.html The American Mafia - Salvatore Sabella]
* [http://gangstersinc.tripod.com/AngeloBruno.html Gangsters Inc. - Angelo "The Gentle Don" Bruno] by David Amoruso
* [http://www.onewal.com/maf-chr2.html Mafia Chronology - Section II (1900-1919)]
* [http://www.onewal.com/maf-chr3.html Mafia Chronology - Section III (1920-1931)]

References

*Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob - The Mafia's Most Violent Family by George Anastasia, 2004, ISBN 0-9410159-86-4