Early Days
Masseria was born in Menfi, Sicily. His father Giuseppe Masseria Sr. was a tailor. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Marsala. After emigrating to the United States in 1903 to avoid murder charges in Sicily, Masseria became an enforcer for the Morello Gang in the Lower East Side of New York City.
After the death of Nick Morello in 1916, he became the leader of one of several splinter groups who fought a "civil war" for control of the gang. In this struggle Masseria is said to have had the backing of Salvatore D'Aquila, the leader of a Brooklyn-based crime family. (D'Aquila's group was the ancestor to the Gambino crime family). After the death of Nick Morello, D'Aquilla came to be regarded as "capo consigliere" or "senior adviser" among the New York Mafia families. This means that, because of his perceived wisdom, he was considered first among equals and consulted by the other leaders on important matters. However this does not mean that he had any direct control over the other gangs or that they had to pay him any financial tribute. Some later chroniclers have erroneously equated his position with that of "Capo di Tutti Capi", a title to which Joe Masseria was later to aspire. His Maternal grandson, Tom Papania, son of his daughter, was a prominent enforcer in the Gambino and later Castellano crime families, until his conversion to Christianity in the 80's.
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