Salvatore Catalanotte

Salvatore "Sam" Catalanotte (born Catalanotto; February 15, 1893 In his immigration records, he reports having black hair and blue eyes and he was 5 foot 3 inches, weighing 142 pounds. When he lived in Detroit, his residence was at 2942 Leland Street, Detroit, later in life, he resided at 303 Rivard Boulevard, Grosse Pointe Park. He married Frances (Francesca) Sabitina Joe and Sam did business together and Joe lived for much longer after Sam. Sam had been a major gangster figure in Detroit and after his death, Joe attempted to regain Sam's power. At the same time, Alcamo was plagued by phylloxera—a bug that infects and destroys grape crops—and two banks went bankrupt, leaving many residents in poor financial standing. Catalanotte decided to join the emigration wave in hopes of better opportunities abroad. He first arrived in America on June 4, 1912 at the age of 19. He took the Ancona ship from the Palermo port, Sicily's capital ~50 km from his hometown. He returned to Sicily within the year, then came back to America for good on April 13, 1913. He settled in Detroit because of the large community of Italian immigrants.

Criminal career Catalanotte immigrated to Detroit, Michigan, in 1912. He arrived from Palermo with the SS Ancona, landing in Ellis Island the 4 June 1912. The Giannola gang participated in “rum running”, or illegal liquor business. After this gang war, Catalanotte assumed a leadership position within the Detroit mafia and was generally viewed as an Italian-American community leader.

Catalanotte was also a director of Detroit Italian bakeries, which the public assumed much of his wealth came from, and was also a member of the organization Cuello D’Alamo.

Death On February 14, 1930, Catalanotte died in his home in Grosse Pointe due to complications with pneumonia; a day away from his 36th birthday. The procession following the funeral consisted of more than 200 cars.