Hostilities Begin
It is hard to tell when the warfare actually started. According to Bonanno, in February 1930, Masseria supposedly ordered the death of Gaspar Milazzo, a Castellemmarese native who was the president of Detroit's chapter of Unione Siciliane. Masseria was reportedly humiliated by Milazzo's refusal to support him in a Unione Siciliane dispute involving the Chicago Outfit and Capone.
However, according to most sources, the opening salvo in the war was fired within the Masseria faction. On February 26, 1930 Masseria ordered the murder of an ally, Gaetano Reina (whose daughter Carmela—often referred to incorrectly as Mildred due to her nickname, Millie—would marry Joe Valachi two years later). Masseria gave the job to a young Vito Genovese, who killed Reina with a shotgun. Masseria's intent was to protect his secret allies Tommy Gagliano, Tommy Lucchese, and Dominick "The Gap" Petrilli; however, his treachery would come back to haunt him, as the Reina family then threw its support to Maranzano.
Read more about this topic: Castellammarese War
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