7. Joe “The Boss” Masseria
Joe Masseria (1887 – 1931) fled Sicily as a teenager in 1903 to escape a murder indictment, and emigrated to America, which had no extradition treaty with Italy at the time. He became an enforcer for an NYC gang, worked his way up to gang boss, and by the mid 1920s, had become one of the city’s biggest criminal kingpins. Prohibition and illegal alcohol boosted his career, and by 1929, he was the Big Apple’s biggest crime boss. He founded what became today’s Genovese crime family, and dominated NYC’s criminal world until his death in 1931.
In early 1930, rivalry with a rising competitor, Salvatore Maranzano, erupted into a gang war. In the ensuing bloodletting, which came to be known as the Castellamarese War, over 60 mafiosi were slaughtered. The conflict finally ended when Masseria was betrayed by his own men after they cut a deal with his rival, Maranzano. On April 15th, 1931, Masseria was dining and playing cards with his chief lieutenant, Charles “Lucky” Luciano, at a restaurant, when the latter excused himself to go to the bathroom. Then, a hit squad that included future crime bosses Vito Genovese, Bugsy Seigel, and Albert Anastasia, burst into the restaurant, and shot Masseria dead.