Editing Giuseppe Masseria (section)

== The Castellamarese War ==

Masseria next began to put pressure on a Mafia family known as the Castellamarese from Sicily. [[Nicola Schiro]], the group's official leader, turned out to be a weak man, nothing more than the avatar of more senior men elsewhere. He paid Masseria $10,000 and then "went into hiding", although in fact he was never heard from again. After the disappearance of Cola Schirò, Joe the Boss attempted to install his own candidate as the new leader, as he had with the other families. He supported Joe Parrino; however, Parrino was soon shot to death in a restaurant.

Instead, Schirò's place as leader was taken by [[Salvatore Maranzano]]. Maranzano was sent with several other men from Sicily in 1927 to gain control of the American Mafia for Don [[Vito Cascio Ferro]]. Masseria issued a decree ordering the death of Maranzano. This event marked the formal beginning of the [[Castellammarese War]].