There isn't much on John Scalish (Giovanni Scalise)
But he rose fast in the family ranks.
he was a stick up man and took the rap for a robbery in the early 30's
He got a early pardon.
He was a lieutinent under Big Al Polizzi.
When Polizzi had made enough $$$$,he "retired" to Florida.
Because Scalish took the rap and didn't sell anybody out on that robbery of a bottling company,they made him boss at the Statler Hotel in Cleveland in 1944.
He was able to successfully merge business interests with the Jewish boys..Maishe Rockman, Shonder Birns.
But Dalitz, Tucker, Milano, already formed the "Combination" a decade earlier.
Scalish just did what was working well.
But after the Applachian Bust in 1957 with John DeMarco...Scalish decided to stop making new members. Closed the books. He had enough $$$$. Skim $$$,
casinos in Southern Ohio...gambling proceeds from Youngstown...his vending sevice....
At this time his health was slowly going south.
He moved out Kinsman Road(ghetto) in Cleveland to Gates Mills(Eastern Suburb) in 1964. Rockman and Lonardo moved to the same suburb.
Scalish was so well off,he gave the numbers rackets to Shonder Birns.
Intresting side note about Scalish.....the guys beneath him...Frank Brancato, Dominic Sospirato(Ange's cousin) John DeMarco, Anthony Milano all spoke in their old country dialects...Sicilian, Calabresian.....but Scalish didn't have a accent...I guess part of that being he was born in Cleveland.
I do know at some point Scalish instructed all his capos, and street bosses to drive Buicks instead of Cadillacs.
But Scalish was a very low key boss was very much in the shadows. He was close to Mickey Cohen and Jackie Pressers dad Bill Presser.
I don't think he imposed a street tax like that do in Chicago.
He lets all his underlings make their own money. Every earned under Scalish.
I don't he had "green eyes"