Bufalino Soldier Salvatore (Sam) Alaimo

Sam Alaimo was a soldier in the Bufalino Family of Pittston-Scranton, Pennsylvania. Active in gambling and garment racketeering, Sam and his capo brother, Dominick, partnered with boss Russ Bufalino in a dress factory in Pittston.

Sam and Dominick were even suspected of holding hidden ownership interests in garment factories in Manhattan.

Salvatore (Sam) Alaimo -- aka “Samuel Alaimo -- was born on January 2, 1914, in Pittston, Pennsylvania to Giovanni (John) and Giuseppina (nee’ Falcone) Alaimo.

He was one of six children born to their family, including two sisters named Rose and Kate and three brothers named Charles, Gregory, and Dominick.

The Alaimo clan initially hailed from the town of Montedoro, Sicily. Except for Sam and his Sicilian-born older brother Dominick, who was called Nicky, by all accounts, the remaining Alaimo children all lived legitimate lives far away from the underworld.

Sam Alaimo

Sam Alaimo had a small frame at 5 feet 5 inches tall and was slimly built at 140 pounds. He had brown eyes and sported a thick mane of dark brown hair in a 1950s mugshot. He had smooth facial features and was generally considered a nice-looking man.

As a young man, Alaimo met and soon married a local Italian girl named Rose Rallo. The couple had one daughter, Josephine, named after Sam’s mother.

Sam and Rose eventually bought a small home for themselves at 45 Elizabeth Street in Pittston. This is where they would reside and raise their daughter. It is also where they lived for the rest of their lives.

FBI #2878224, Penn-SP #B-19463

By the late 1940s, Alaimo was viewed by the Pittston Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police as a local hoodlum.

By the early 1950s, the FBI also started to take an interest in him. After a preliminary investigation, they labeled Sam a racketeer in league with his older, more notorious brother Nick.

Sam had a limited criminal record with the local police department. He was first arrested in 1942 for pandering. Over the next decade, he was arrested two more times on illegal gambling charges.

By the mid-1950s, federal authorities were listing Sam Alaimo as a known organized crime figure and suspected mafia “soldier” aligned with the Pittston-Scranton family of Cosa Nostra.

By then, the Family was headed by boss Giuseppe (Joe) Barbara Sr. and his trusted underboss and future successor Rosario (Russ) Bufalino. Sam’s brother Dominick served as a capo under Russ Bufalino.

Dominick was a highly placed mafioso, indeed. This fact became clearly evident by his attendance and subsequent capture by the NYS Police after they raided the infamous Apalachin Meeting held at Joe Barbara’s home in Upstate New York on November 14, 1957.

Dominick Alaimo

In their internal records, federal agents said Sam was actively engaged in gambling, labor-union extortion and shakedowns, and garment racketeering with Dominick. They also referred to Sam Alaimo as a strong-arm enforcer for the Mafia in the Pittston area.

Alaimo was known to hold ownership in the Jane Hogan Dress Company in partnership with Nick. This was a large dress factory and a thriving business known to be Mafia-controlled.

Sam and Dominick were also partnered with Russ Bufalino and capo Angelo Sciandra in the Alaimo Dress Company of Pittston.

In addition, the Alaimos were suspected of holding a hidden ownership in several other dress factories around the Pittston-Scranton area and Manhattan’s Garment District.

Their positions of power were greatly assisted by the fact that, for many years, Dominick Alaimo was a top labor union official. This allowed him to gain favorable treatment for their garment firms by keeping them “non-union.”

In this way, the companies could pay lower wages and avoid providing union benefits to their factory workers.

Sam Alaimo passed away while still a relatively young man in April 1976. He was only 62 years old.

His brother Dominick died fourteen years later, in April 1990.

Until next time..."The Other Guy"

Bufalino Soldier Salvatore (Sam) Alaimo

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You May Also Enjoy

Salvatore (Turiddo) Scaglione

“Soldier” Carlo Barbara: Joe Barbara’s Shadowy Brother

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