Originally Posted By: Dwalin2011
Originally Posted By: Oscarthedago

John Scalish, longtime (Front) Boss of Cleveland

"Front" boss? I thought Scalish was the real power.


Milano was considered part of the "old guard" and at the end of the day, if Milano didn't like it, Scalish went with whatever Milano said. In the Ohio River Valley, there were basically two factions by the 1930's, the Calabrese and the Sicilians. The Calabrese were part of the old Black Hand and had strong ties to the N'Drangheta as well as NY, Montreal and Austrailia. As the mafia was taking form and being more organized, some of the old Calabrese were held in the highest regard. While Scalish was boss, he truly wasn't independent of consulting Milano until the early 1960's when Milano was spending more and more time in Holmby Hills, CA where he had another home...if all that makes sense to you...there are deep rooted Calabrian ties in the ORV. In some parts, it still exists today.


As Uncle Charlie used to say, "Never get into pissing matches with skunks."