James Squillante
Vincent James Squillante, aka Jimmy Jerome (June 7, 1919 – September 23, 1960), was a New York mobster who belonged to the Gambino crime family and was known as "king of the garbage collection racket." Squillante also worked as an assassin for mob boss Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia.
Vincent 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 claimed that Squillante participated in the 1957 slaying of Anastasia underboss Frank "Don Cheech" Scalise. After the murder, Scalise's brother Joe 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 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, [1] Squillante disappeared. According to some accounts, Squillante was handcuffed live to the steering wheel of a rusty Chevrolet and the car was moved into a baling press type compactor. The metal was then melted down in an open hearth furnace. However, some newspaper accounts of that period claim that Squillante was actually seen on September 30 at 2 a.m. driving around the Bronx neighborhood in his brother-in-law's car. In any case, Squillante's body was never found and no murder suspects were ever arrested.
Further reading
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 978-0-02-864225-3
- 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. ISBN 978-0-8147-4247-1
- Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-312-30094-4
- 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. [2]
- 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. [3]
- United States. Congress. Senate. Government Operations Committee. Organized Crime and Illicit Traffic in Narcotics: Hearings before the Government Operations Committee. 1964. [4]
- 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. [5]
References
- Devito, Carlo. Encyclopedia of International Organized Crime. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. ISBN 978-0-8160-4848-9
- Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. ISBN 978-0-688-04350-6
- Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-313-30653-2
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8160-5694-1
- Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. ISBN 978-0-8160-4040-7
- Mafia: The Government's Secret File On Organized Crime
