Paul Sciacca – The Reluctant Representante

Paul Sciacca was a low-profile member of the Bonanno Family until an internal conflict catapulted him to the top.

Paul Sciacca was born in Sicily in 1909. He lived in Brooklyn for many years until settling into a high ranch-style home at 31 Lake Court in Massapequa, Long Island by the early 1960s. Sciacca was a very low-profile and longtime member who only sustained one arrest in his lifetime.

He was a business-oriented soldier, gaining partnership in several large garment factories early in his career. He first operated Sands Fashions and later expanded with a second operation under the name S&S Garments Inc., both in Brooklyn.

Paul Sciacca

At one point in the 1960s, his clothing firms won a government contract worth over $1,000,000 to manufacture military uniforms. This was a huge sum of money for that era and reflects on the size and capacity of his “contract shops” to service the contract bid.

Sciacca was such a low-profile mob member that he was able to infiltrate and control the Hackensack Bank and Trust Co. of Hackensack, New Jersey becoming a “director” on the board of the bank. He blended into the “woodwork,” so to speak, for many decades.

With the advent of the “Bonanno War” conflict, Sciacca was forced to take sides choosing to support his “compare” Gaspare DiGregorio in his bid for the big seat.

Gaspare Di Gregorio

It’s unclear when Paul was “bumped up” to capo di decina but by the time of conflict, he was indeed a “skipper” supervising a crew that included a brother.

As the conflict progressed, Di Gregorio was clearly not up for the fight. He was a “weak sister.” In time, Di Gregorio stepped down, and Sciacca was promoted almost out of leftfield to the “Acting Boss” position.

He promoted several of his associates within the hierarchy, including Michael (Mikey Adams) Adamo , Frank (Frankie T) Mari, and Gaetano (Smitty) D’Angelo .

These men were among the “powers” in the Family, “capable” as they say for the street fighting that would follow. Each was promoted to “Capo” status or higher.

In time, each would meet his maker with Adamo and Mari “disappearing” in one of the biggest blows to Sciacca’s position in 1969 and “Smitty” D’Angelo machine-gunned to death in a high-profile triple killing at the Cypress Gardens Restaurant in Ridgewood, Queens in 1967.

The other two murder victims were Smitty’s brother, James, and Frank (Frankie 500) Telleri, a major policy banker for the Family.

Another casualty of the fighting was Pietro (Skinny Pete) Crociata, an old-timer who had only been promoted to consigliere a short time before Joe Bonanno’s gunman shot him six times near his Ridgewood home.

Crociata was a close friend and advisor to Sciacca counted on for swaying some of the “old-timers” toward the Sciacca “rebel” faction.

In spite of support from Commission members Stefano Magaddino, Carlo Gambino, and the young boss Joe Colombo, Sciacca found it hard to consolidate the splintered factions of the Family. The massive publicity generated over the years by the bloodletting also exposed Sciacca to a level of law enforcement scrutiny that unsettled him.

He was called before several local and federal grand juries investigating the war, by DAs and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Nassau which resulted in “contempt of court” charges.

A year or two later, he was indicted in a nationwide sweep of dozens of wholesale heroin traffickers, getting picked up at dawn by agents at his home at 31 Lake Ct. in Massapequa. He and close aide, Michael Casale, were charged with drug conspiracy.

Despite the big splash arrest, the charges were quietly dropped in the ensuing months for lack of evidence. All this was too much for Sciacca who wanted nothing more than to fade quietly into the rafters in his retirement years.

Subsequently, he stepped down in favor of Natale (Joe Diamond) Evola, an influential and highly-respected “Capo” from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Evola was able to consolidate the troops in large part thanks to his reputation and the respect he carried.

The Commission fully supported Evola, a veteran garment racketeer, and heroin dealer (Evola was a defendant in the 1959 heroin trial of Vito Genovese, Carmine Galante, etc.)

Unfortunately, Evola didn’t last long, dying in the early 1970s..... but that’s a story for another day.

Paul Sciacca

Sciacca quietly lived out his days on the south shore of Long Island. He is believed to have died in the late 70s or early 80s.

Having only sustained a burglary arrest in his youth, a contempt of court charge, and the ill-fated narcotics conspiracy charge in 1971, Sciacca had a relatively smooth “career” in his chosen profession! ..... just one more storied tale in the saga that is organized crime!

Paul Sciacca – The Reluctant Representante

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Paul Sciacca – The Reluctant Representante

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You May Also Enjoy

The Gyp DeCarlo Regime Leadership Chart

The Life and Death of Capo Giuseppe (Joe) Scalice

Frank (The Spoon) Cucchiara – “The Cheeseman” of Boston

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