On a summer afternoon in the Bronx, Frank Scalice, a 64-year-old Italian-American man, found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was June 17, 1957, and the powerful mobster had just made a small purchase of peaches and lettuce at a bustling vegetable market on Arthur Avenue. As he was putting the change back into his pocket, two men with rolled-up sleeves brushed past the shop owner, raised their weapons, and opened fire.
The sudden eruption of violence left Scalice dead on the sidewalk, his blood staining his light-colored slacks and yellow sports shirt. The gunmen fled the scene, disappearing into the city in an old black sedan.
The brazen daylight execution of a man of Scalice's stature sent shockwaves through the criminal underworld. At the time, he was the underboss of the powerful crime family led by the feared Albert Anastasia. Whispers and theories about who ordered the hit began to circulate immediately. The most prevalent theory pointed directly at Anastasia himself. Word on the street was that Scalice had been selling memberships into their lucrative criminal organization for personal profit, a grievous offense in their world. Some believed Anastasia ordered the hit out of anger, while others speculated it was a calculated move to quell any rumors that he, too, was benefiting from the scheme. Another narrative suggested that rival mob boss Vito Genovese had orchestrated the murder, either to weaken Anastasia's power or because Scalice had welched on a significant drug debt.
In the aftermath of the shocking public murder, police and federal agents descended upon the scene and later attended Scalice's funeral, subpoenaing visitor records in an attempt to unravel the conspiracy. Despite their efforts, the murder officially remains unsolved, with no arrests ever being made for the assassination. Mob insider Joseph Valachi would later claim that James 'Vincent' Squillante was one of the men responsible for carrying out the hit, acting on Anastasia's orders. The violence did not end with Frank's death. His brother, Joseph Scalice, who had vowed to avenge him, was murdered later that same year. Another brother, Giovanni, who was held as a material witness, was eventually discharged and promptly left the country for Paris. The brutal and public nature of Frank Scalice's death served as a grim reminder of the swift and final justice meted out within the mob, a story that would later inspire a famous scene in the movie 'The Godfather.'
