James Squillante
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Vincent James Squillante, also known as Jimmy Jerome (June 7, 1919 – disappeared September 23, 1960), was an American New York mobster who belonged to 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 the Ame ...
and was known as "king of the garbage collection racket". Squillante also worked as an assassin for mob boss Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia.


Biography

Squillante was born to Luigi and Bedelia Alberti, one of two sons, the other being Nunzio and seven sisters. He stood at 5-foot-2 and weighed 130 pounds. He married Theresa Scialabba in 1949 and fathered one child, Bedelia. He divorced Theresa in 1951 and married Olivia Hughes and fathered two daughters with her, Donna and Olivia. He is the uncle to mobster Jerry Mancuso. In 1963, Government informant
Joe Valachi Joseph Michael Valachi (September 22, 1904 – April 3, 1971) was an American mobster in the Genovese crime family who is notable as the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly in 1963. He is credited wit ...
claimed that Squillante participated in the 1957 slaying of Anastasia underboss Frank "Don Cheech" Scalise. After the murder, Scalise's brother
Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
publicly declared that he would avenge Frank's death. However, the Gambino family did not support Joe's declaration, possibly due to Anastasia's opposition. As a result, Joe was forced into hiding for several months until the family ostensibly forgave him. On September 7, 1957, according to Valachi, Squillante invited Joe to his house. Once Joe arrived, Squillante and several others murdered him, dismembered his body, loaded the remains onto one of Squillante's garbage trucks, and dumped them. In fall 1960, Squillante was indicted on
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
charges. Reportedly, the Gambino family worried that Squillante could not handle the upcoming trial and probable prison sentence. So, to "put him out of his misery," the family ordered Squillante's death. On September 23, 1960, Squillante disappeared. According to some accounts, Squillante was handcuffed live to the steering wheel of a rusty
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
and the car was moved into a baling press type
compactor A compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of material such as waste material or bio mass through compaction. A trash compactor is often used by a home or business to reduce the volume of trash it produces. A baler-wrapper comp ...
. The metal was then melted down in an open hearth furnace. However, some newspaper accounts of that period claim that Squillante was seen on September 30 at 2 a.m. driving around
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
in his brother-in-law's car. Squillante's body was never found and no murder suspects were ever arrested.


See also

*
List of fugitives from justice who disappeared This is a list of fugitives from justice, notable people who disappeared or evaded capture while being sought by law enforcement agencies in connection with a crime, and who are currently sought or were sought for the duration of their presume ...


Notes and references


Notes


General references

*Devito, Carlo. ''Encyclopedia of International Organized Crime.'' New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. *Fox, Stephen. ''Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America.'' New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. *Kelly, Robert J. ''Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States.'' Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. *Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia.'' New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. *Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime.'' New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. * Mafia: The Government's Secret File On Organized Crime


Further reading

*Capeci, Jerry. ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia.'' Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. *Davis, John H. ''Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family.'' New York: HarperCollins, 1993. *Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel and Robert Radick. ''Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime.'' New York: NYU Press, 2001. *Raab, Selwyn. ''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires.'' New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. *Reuter, Peter. ''Racketeering in Legitimate Industries: A Study in the Economics of Intimidation.'' 1987. *United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. ''Investigation of Improper Activities in the Labor Or Management Field: Index to Hearings Before the Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field.'' 1959

*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi: Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.'' 1988

*United States. Congress. Senate. Government Operations Committee. ''Organized Crime and Illicit Traffic in Narcotics: Hearings before the Government Operations Committee.'' 1964

*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Profile of Organized Crime, Mid-Atlantic Region: Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.'' 1983


External links


TIME.com - Taking Out the Garbage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Squillante, James 1919 births 1960 deaths 1960s missing person cases Criminals from New York City Missing gangsters Gambino crime family Murdered American gangsters of Italian descent