John T. Scalish (September 18, 1912 – May 26, 1976), also known as "John Scalise", was an Ohio mobster who became the boss of the

Cleveland crime family The Cleveland crime family or Cleveland Mafia is the collective name given to a succession of Italian-American organized crime gangs based in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. A part of the Italian-American Mafia (or ''Cosa Nostra'') phenom ...

. His death resulted in the ascension of

James T. Licavoli James T. Licavoli (born Vincentio Licavoli; August 18, 1904 − November 23, 1985), also known as "Jack White" or "Blackie", was an American mobster based in Cleveland, Ohio, and one of the earliest organized crime figures to be convicted under t ...

to the head of the Cleveland Mob and to a bloody gang war that would essentially destroy the once-powerful crime family that Scalish had helped to develop.

Biography

Born in 1912, Scalish was the brother-in-law of

boss

Angelo Lonardo Angelo Anthony Lonardo (January 21, 1911 − March 31, 2006) was a mobster who became the acting boss of Cleveland crime family in the early 1980s. Lonardo was born in 1911 in Cleveland to Joseph and Concetta Lonardo. His godfather was Anthony ...

and Cleveland mob associate Milton Rockman. In 1944, Scalish succeeded Alfred Polizzi as head of the Cleveland family upon his retirement to Florida. Scalish would remain boss for the next 32 years. Scalish attended the infamous Apalachin Meeting in 1957 in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

. During Scalish's tenure as the boss, the Cleveland family lived up its golden years. &sig=08lRZ5V9JVzdla88yamNdkeg8JY&hl=it&sa=X&ei=vVlqU9mLA6yv7Abel4GwBA&ved=0CG0Q6AEwDDgK#v=onepage&q=john%20scalish%20leadership&f=false The Rise of the Mafia Martin Short Scalish was involved in Casino skimming in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, shaking down Casinos such as the Stardust and Desert Inn along with other crime bosses from across the United States. Scalish oversaw the Cleveland family's aggressive move into Las Vegas and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, with

Moe Dalitz Morris Barney Dalitz (December 25, 1899 – August 31, 1989) was an American gangster, businessman, casino owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the major figures who shaped Las Vegas in the 20th century. He was often referred to as "Mr. Las V ...

taking over the failing Desert Inn from

Bugsy Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was not only influential within the Jewish Mob, but along with his childhood fri ...

. Dalitz also led the development of other casinos, a major hospital, and other Las Vegas projects, many of which were financed by the mob-controlled

Teamsters union The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...

. Scalish was a very powerful and respected mob boss and commanded underlings who controlled gambling, loansharking, and large-scale union corruption. His rap sheet dated back to 1930 and included arrests for burglary and robbery. Scalish was also a powerful labor racketeer in Cleveland. During Scalish's reign as boss, Cleveland mobsters had much control over the Teamsters union. By the 1950s, the Cleveland Mob reached its peak, with 60 made members, and many more associates, according to the FBI. By the 1970s, however, the family's membership began to decrease, because Scalish didn't induct many new members. Scalish brought the Cleveland crime family a lengthy period of stability and maintained violence at a minimum, concentrating more on expanding the family's influence and fortunes than gaining a reputation for fear and unnecessary violence. He forged ties between Italian and Jewish underworld forces during his reign to make substantial amounts of illicit money.
Cleveland Magazine, August 1978 He also knew many prominent local politicians and judges on a first-name basis, which helped the crime family to stay under the radar for many years. Scalish once sat in on The Commission (mafia), The Commission, the governing body in charge of allocating territories and settling disputes among Mafia families across the nation. Scalish was boss of the Cleveland mob for 32 years, by far the longest-reigning boss in the history of the Cleveland family. During his time as the crime family's leader, the group also developed ties with important crime figures like

Shondor Birns Alex Birns (February 21, 1907 – March 29, 1975), best known as Shondor Birns, was a notorious Jewish-American mob boss and racketeer from Cleveland, Ohio, who was once labeled as the city's "Public enemy No. 1" by the local newspapers. He was ac ...

, Meyer Lansky, and

Tony Accardo Anthony Joseph Accardo (; born Antonino Leonardo Accardo, ; April 28, 1906 – May 22, 1992), also known as "Joe Batters" and "Big Tuna", was an American longtime mobster. In a criminal career that spanned eight decades, he rose from small-time ho ...

. The family also became allies of the extremely powerful

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

and

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American M ...

. On May 26, 1976, John Scalish died during heart surgery at Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland. A full-scale gang war for control of the Cleveland rackets broke out after his death between

, Scalish's successor, and Irish mob boss

Danny Greene Daniel John Patrick Greene (November 14, 1933 – October 6, 1977) was an Irish-American organized crime figure based in Cleveland, Ohio. Greene gained power first in the local chapter of the International Longshoremen's Association, where h ...

References

*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. "The Life and Hard Times of the Cleveland Mafia," Cleveland Magazine, August 1, 1978.

External links

New York Times: F.B.I. Official Cites Depletion Of Crime Leaders in Cleveland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scalish, John 1912 births 1976 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Cleveland crime family Burials in Calvary Cemetery (Cleveland)

Biography

References

Further reading

External links