John (Zackie) Savino: An Early Bronx Mafioso

John (Zakie) Savino was an early mafioso who operated quietly in the Bronx with a “career” that spanned nearly 60 years. He was affiliated with the Genovese Family.

John (Zackie) Savino - aka Sam Savino and Giovanni Savino (TN) - was born on February 20, 1898, in the town of Bari in Southern Italy.

At the age of 14 years old in 1912, his family immigrated to the US, settling in the Upper Manhattan section of Italian Harlem.

John (Zackie) Savino

He later moved to the Bronx area where he lived with his wife Grace and children at 2221 Adam’s Place. He operated in that area for the rest of his life. He operated rackets for decades in the Arthur Avenue, Throggs Neck, and Morris Park sections of the borough.

Savino had a kid brother who partnered with him named Girolamo, who was better known as “Jimmy.” Zackie and his brother operated an open-air fruit and vegetable market in the Bronx.

The Savino brothers became affiliated with a crew of the Genovese Family active in the Bronx. I am not certain if he ever rose above a “soldier” status during his career, but regardless of his “official” rank, Savino was always a well-liked and well-respected mafioso.

NYCPD # B-78188

John Savino listed the infamous mafioso Giuseppe (The Clutch Hand) Morello as an associate. Another was the Bronx beer Baron and top racketeer named Dutch Schultz.

To name some other close associates through the years is like a veritable “who’s who” of the Mafia. Men with colorful names such as Rudolph (Rudy) Santobello, Daniel (Uncle Danny) Cilenti, Frank (Cheech) Livorsi, Morris (Mickey Morris) Barra, Rocco Barra, Joseph (Jojo) Barra, Orlando (Earl) Coralluzzo, Matteo (Matty Brown) Fortunato, Rudolph (Rudy) Prisco, Tobias (Toby) DeMiccio, and Giuseppe (Joe the Baker) Catania

The Gala

Dating back to the late 1920s, Savino figured into a highly-publicized political scandal involving a criminal court judge after it became public knowledge that he and other Italian hoodlums had attended a city magistrate's political bigwig dinner banquet.

The Albert H. Vitale Dinner was held at the Roman Gardens Restaurant located on 187th Street and Southern Boulevard.

During the gala, rival gunmen and gangsters stormed the dining hall, robbing the politicians and other important patrons of their money and jewelry at gunpoint. It turned out to have been a “fake” staged robbery.

This scandal was front-page news, naming people such as Harlem underworld powers Ciro (The Artichoke King) Terranova, Giuseppe (Tough Joey) Rao, Michael (Trigger Mike) Coppola, Daniel Iamascia, and Paul Marchione.

Underworld legend has it that Savino first served in Terranova’s regime, which was later taken over by Mike Coppola. In later years, he served under succeeding capo Jimmy Angelina and possibly Rudy Santobello.

During his lifetime Savino had been arrested a number of times.

Felonious Assault and Other Mayhem

Starting in 1920, charges included armed robberies, felonious assault, burglary, and other such mayhem. He also served prison time on more than one occasion.

As he matured in later years after being paroled, Savino concentrated on operating more white-collar local gambling activities such as steady card and dice games, an area numbers game in partnership with Cilenti, and steady horse and sports bookmaking.

He opened a “horse-betting parlor” right on the street, accessible to the public and neighborhood people. These locations accepted policy-number bets as well.

He also kept an eye out for stolen goods and loads, cons and other schemes, and a little neighborhood shylocking as well.

In his later years, it’s thought that his “caporegime” had been Rudy Santobello, a very respected skipper, who also had a reputation for toughness.

This crew operated out of several storefront mob social clubs that they rented along the main drags of Arthur Avenue or Morris Park Avenue. These men would typically live and operate their entire lives from that little strip of earth in their Bronx neighborhood.

For the most part, in his later years, Zackie primarily concentrated on the “bread and butter” rackets of gambling and shylocking in his Bronx neighborhood.

Savino passed away in March 1977. Zackie was said to have been active until nearly the end.

Until next time..."The Other Guy!"

John (Zackie) Savino: An Early Bronx Mafioso

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John (Zackie) Savino: An Early Bronx Mafioso

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