Salvatore Maranzano | |
|---|---|
 A facial recreation of Maranzano based on pictures of his corpse | |
| Born | July 31, 1886 |
| Died | September 10, 1931 (aged 45) New York City, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Stab wounds and gunshots |
| Resting place | Saint John's Cemetery, Queens, New York City, U.S. |
| Other names | Little Caesar The Boss of All Bosses |
| Occupation | Crime boss |
| Predecessor | Nicolo Schiro |
| Successor | Joseph Bonanno |
| Allegiance | Maranzano crime family |
Salvatore Maranzano (Italian: [salvaˈtoːre maranˈtsaːno]; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931), nicknamed Little Caesar,[1] was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City. He instigated the Castellammarese War in 1930 to seize control of the American Mafia, winning the war after the murder of rival faction head Joe Masseria in April 1931. He then briefly became the Mafia's capo di tutti capi ("boss of all bosses") and formed the Five Families in New York City but was murdered on September 10, 1931, on the orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who established The Commission, in which families shared power to prevent future turf wars.
- ^ Guillen, Matthew (2007). Reading America: Text as a Cultural Force. Academica Press. p. 312. ISBN 978-1-933146-29-4.