Salvatore Scala
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Salvatore Scala (1944 – December 30, 2008), also known as "Fat Sal" and "Uncle Sal", was a New York mobster who became a '' caporegime'' in the
Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as th ...
. Scala was born in Fort Lee, New Jersey, 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 mobster Frank Lino. Scala was a nephew of
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 Ame ...
mob associates Carmine and Francis Consalvo, and a maternal cousin of DeCavalcante crime family mobster
Louis Consalvo Louis "Louie Eggs" Consalvo (born 1958) is a New Jersey mobster and reputed soldier and acting captain in the DeCavalcante crime family. A lifelong resident of Old Bridge Township, New Jersey, Consalvo reportedly joined the North Jersey-based DeCav ...
. In 1983, Scala was arrested for
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...
trafficking, but the case was dropped. A close associate of
John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and Crime boss, boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of ...
, Scala was a suspect in the 1985 murders of Gambino boss Paul Castellano and underboss Thomas Bilotti 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 and associates. On May 18, 2001, Scala was convicted of extorting money from the owner of Cherry's Video, an
adult entertainment The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...
store on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
. 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 Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...
and of extorting $2.5 million from
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's V.I.P. Club, an adult entertainment venue. Scala was sentenced to 72 months in prison."Mob's Role in Strip Club Excuses Taxes, Judge Says"
by Joel Stashenko ''New York Law Journal'', December 10, 2009 On December 30, 2008, Scala died in federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, from
liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...
. He had requested early release on compassionate grounds, but it was denied.


References


Further reading

* Davis, John H. ''Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family''. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.


External links


New York Sun: Judge Gives Ailing Capo Sympathy, Little Else
by Jerry Capeci

by Allen May {{DEFAULTSORT:Scala, Salvatore 1944 births 2008 deaths American people who died in prison custody American people convicted of tax crimes Gambino crime family American gangsters of Italian descent Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention