Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila (; November 7, 1873 – October 10, 1928) was an early Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City of the D'Aquila crime family, what would later become known as the Gambino crime family. Early life and career Salvatore D'Aquila was born on November 7, 1873 in Palermo, Sicily to Salvatore D'Aquila and his wife Provvidenza Gagliardo. D'Aquila emigrated to the United States in 1906 and became an early captain within the Morello crime family in East Harlem. D'Aquila was arrested in 1906 and in 1909; both times the charges were dropped. In 1910, boss of bosses Giuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello was imprisoned and Salvatore D'Aquila separated from the Morello family. D'Aquila formed his own crime family and was appointed the new capo dei capi. His crime family operated from East Harlem and the Bronx, where he rivaled the Morellos'. D'Aquila expanded his crime family's power into Brooklyn and southern Manhattan's Lower East Side/Little Italy neighborhoods. The most prominent members of the D'Aquila family were Umberto Valenti, Manfredi Mineo, Giuseppe Traina, and Frank Scalise. In 1920, after Giuseppe Morello was released from prison, D'Aquila tried to have him and his closest allies murdered. In 1925, D'Aquila moved back into the Bronx. Death On October 10, 1928, D'Aquila was shot dead on Avenue A in Manhattan, aged 54. After his murder, D'Aquila's family was taken over by Manfredi Mineo. See also Black Hand (extortion) References Citations Sources External links D'Aquila biography on The American Mafia website La Cosa Nostra Database "Salvatore D'Aquila" Struggle for Control – The Gangs of New York, article by Jon Black at GangRule.com 1928 D'Aquila photos 1873 births 1928 deaths Bosses of the Gambino crime family Burials at St. John's Cemetery (Queens) Capo dei capi Deaths by firearm in Manhattan Murdered American gangsters of Sicilian descent Gangsters from Palermo People murdered in New York City Male murder victims Prohibition-era gangsters 1928 murders in the United States Italian emigrants to the United States