The longtime supervisor of the FBI squad investigating the Gambino crime family has been whacked - by his bosses, the Daily News has learned.
Supervisory special agent Phil Scala, one of the most respected investigators in the metropolitan area, reached the mandatory retirement age of 57 last year and was granted a six-month extension to stay on the job.
Scala wanted to extend for another six months, but the suits in Washington refused and he was ordered to clean out his office late last week.
FBI spokesman James Margolin confirmed Scala's retirement but declined to comment further.
Sources said Scala wanted to stay on, especially on the heels of last month's massive takedown of 62 members and associates of the crime family, including the boss, underboss and consigliere, which he coordinated from the FBI command center in lower Manhattan.
"This is the way they treat somebody they like," said a source loyal to Scala. "He was led to believe the request was going to be approved."
For the past two decades, Scala and legendary Gambino-buster Bruce Mouw - who brought the late John Gotti to justice - were the only supervisors of the vaunted squad.
"Guys like Phil want to stay because they really make a contribution," Mouw said Thursday. "He knew all the names and places. You can't keep tabs on the players with a scorecard."
Sources said FBI Assistant Director Mark Mershon had backed Scala's extension, but headquarters want to end the practice of agents staying longer than six months past their 57th birthday.
"His in-depth understanding of organized crime will be difficult to replace," said Thomas Seigel, the former chief of Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's organized crime section.
Another source said Scala's expertise would be particularly missed in the next critical stage of the Gambino racketeering case as some defendants may defect from the Mafia.
Scala, a 29-year veteran of the FBI, was also a longtime member of the bureau's SWAT team.
