Salvatore Maranzano

Salvatore Maranzano
A facial recreation of Maranzano based on pictures of his corpse
Born	(1886-07-31)July 31, 1886 Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy
Died	September 10, 1931(1931-09-10) (aged 45) New York City, U.S.
Cause of death	Stab wounds and gunshots
Resting place	Saint John's Cemetery, Queens, New York City, U.S.
Other names	Little Caesar The Boss of All Bosses
Occupation	Crime boss
Predecessor	Nicolo Schiro
Successor	Joseph Bonanno
Allegiance	Maranzano crime family

Salvatore Maranzano (Italian: [salvaˈtoːre maranˈtsaːno]; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931), nicknamed Little Caesar,^[1] was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City. He instigated the Castellammarese War in 1930 to seize control of the American Mafia, winning the war after the murder of rival faction head Joe Masseria in April 1931. He then briefly became the Mafia's capo di tutti capi ("boss of all bosses") and formed the Five Families in New York City, but was murdered on September 10, 1931, on the orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who established The Commission, in which families shared power to prevent future turf wars.