July 15, 2025 • 8 mins
In this episode, we dive into the mysterious life of Simone “Sam” Scozarri — a powerful yet often forgotten figure in the Los Angeles Mafia. From his Sicilian roots to his quiet rise as underboss, and his shocking deportation after the Apalachin Meeting, Scozarri’s story is one of influence, loyalty, and exile. Discover how this low-profile mobster helped shape California’s criminal underworld and why his legacy still lingers in the shadows.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So when you think of the American mafia, what usually
pops into your head? Is it like the streets of
New York, maybe Chicago?
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yeah, those are the big ones. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Well, what if I told you there was this sort
of hitting empire really operating right under the California sun,
and right at the heart of it was this guy,
Simone's Gazari, who history has well almost completely overlooked.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
It's a fascinating story, isn't it. Yeah, we're talking about
Simone Sam's Gazzari. People sometimes call him the forgotten godfather
of the West Coast, right, And despite playing a really
key role, especially during the La Crime Families, you know,
peak years, you just don't hear his name much, not
in the big mob histories anyway, exactly.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And that's what we want to get into today. Our
goal here in this deep dive is to unpack his story,
look at his quiet way of operating, his strategic thinking,
and then this really sudden, kind of controversial exile that
just stopped his rise right when he was becoming a
bigger deal. And we've got some great material to work with.
Exops from Sam Scazzari, California's exiled underworld architect and some
(01:05):
other sources too, to give you the shortcut on this
hidden chapter of organized crimes.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Okay, so let's start at the beginning. Sam Scazzari born
in Castelva, Trial, Sicily February fourteenth, nineteen hundred still Vitronto.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yeah, yeah, that name definitely rings a bell for anyone
who knows mafia history, deep deep roots.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
That absolutely a real breeding ground, you could say. And
like so many others back then, he came over to
the US looking for well opportunity, ends up in Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Now, LA wasn't like the East Coast families, right, it
was younger, less rigid. How did Scazari even get involved
in that scene? Sounds pretty different?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Well, he got in by being smart, by being discreet.
The La family, Jack Dragna was boss. Then they operated
with this quiet authority, very different from some of the
New York guys, less flashy exactly. Scazari basically cultivated this
low profile and it wasn't just his personality. It was
a smart strategy. LA is huge, spread out, lots of
eyes on you. So by the nineteen fifties he's a
(02:03):
made man. People respected him because he was loyal. He
got things done. But he did it, you know, under
the radar.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
What kind of things were they into?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
The rackets, Oh, the usual stuff, illegal gambling, definitely, loan sharking,
some narcotics, and importantly labor racketeering.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
That quiet approach sounds like it was almost necessary, given,
like you said, the territory, the diversity, the police watching.
But then there's Hollywood right next door that must have
offered unique opportunities mingling with stars, fixing fights, unions.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Oh, absolutely, especially the unions. Getting into something like IAC,
the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, that was huge.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Why IAT specifically, what did that give them?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Control? Influence? IC represents the film and TV crews, right, yeah,
so it gave them this like insidious grip on Hollywood's backstage,
it's infrastructure. Scazari played a key part in managing the
family's interests there and in Southern California generally. Maybe the
San Gabriel.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Valley and his style fit that the calm old school
Sicilian thing perfectly.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
It made him a natural choice for underboss, which eventually became.
It showed a different kind of power, not just violence,
but reliability. Trust.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Okay, so Skazar is quietly building his influence things are
humming along in LA. But then nineteen fifty seven Appalachian,
this meeting happens that just blows the lid off everything.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yeah, Appalachian was seismic, a total game changer. Picture this
over one hundred top mafia bosses from all over.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
The country, one hundred wow.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, all gathering secretly in this little town Appalachian, New York.
Vito Genovese, head of the Genevese family, he organized it.
They were there to talk big stuff, narcotics, territory settling disputes.
Thought they were completely invisible, but they weren't.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Local cops just stumble upon it, right your chance, almost
pretty much.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah, a total disaster for them. And guess who was
there caught up in the raid.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Samscazzari.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Sam Skazzari right there among the guys arrested or detained.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So what did that signal him being there for the Feds?
Speaker 2 (03:59):
They mean, it was huge. It told the FBI, Okay,
this guy isn't just some LA operator. He's important enough
to be at the national table. He's recognized across the country.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And this whole thing Appalachian. It basically forced law enforcement
to admit the mafia was real, didn't it after Hoover
denied it.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
For so long, completely shattered that denial. It was one
of the first times Lekosa Nostra was officially acknowledged as
a nationwide thing. Everything changed after that, especially for guys
like Scazari.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
So suddenly he's on the FBI's radar in a big way.
How did the government decide to go after him? He'd
been so careful for decades.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Well, Appalachian lit a fire Under the FBI, you had
guys like Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General then pushing hard,
and informants like Josephalacci would later come out of this
increased pressure. For Scazari, they didn't go for racketeering charges. Initially,
they got created creative. They looked into his background, his
immigration status, and they found it he'd never become a
(04:56):
naturalized US citizen.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Uh So they had an angle.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Exactly just months after apple Acchi in nineteen fifty eight,
they started deportation proceedings. The reason alien criminal background undesirable
due to mafia ties, simple as that.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
And he fought it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
He appealed, yeah, but it didn't work. By nineteen sixty two,
Sam'scazzari was aborted back to Italy.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
And this wasn't just about him, was it this deportation strategy.
It became a bigger thing.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, his case was one of the first really high
profile examples. It basically showed the government, hey, we can
use immigration law to take down major mob figures. They
used it later on guys like Carmine Galante, Carlos Marcello
down in New Orleans.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So Scozari was kind of a test case for this
new weapon against the mob.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
You could say that it proved they could dismantle organized
crime legally without needing a massive Riicho trial every time.
It became a key part of their long term playbook.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
What happened to him then? After he was sent back
to Italy? Does the story just end?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
It gets murky, really murky. He wasn't like, you know,
Bugsy Siegel making headlines or Carlo Gambino running things from.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Afar, right, not that kind of profile.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
The official record pretty much goes silent. Most people think
he went back to Guestelovitrano, his hometown in Sicily, and
just faded away live.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Quietly, unlike other deported guys who tried to keep pulling
strings exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
There's no real evidence he jumped back into major crime.
He's thought to have died sometime in the late sixties
maybe early seventies. A forgotten figure.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Really, but still his time is underboss in LA ensuring
they had that national connection. That was important, wasn't it,
especially being at Appalachian absolutely crucial.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
He helped solidify the La family when it was arguably at
its strongest. And yeah, him being Appalachian proved LA wasn't
just some West Coast side show. They had a voice,
a seat at the national level thanks in part to him.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
So his deportation wasn't just a personal blow. It hit
the La family hard too. Did it create you like
a power vacuum?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Oh? Definitely? Losing him, combined with Jack Dragna dying back
in fifty six, it started a real decline for the La.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Mob who took over after Dragna.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Rank decimone, but he just didn't have the same clout
or maybe effectiveness. Things weren't the same. Yeah, And with
the Feds turning up the heat post Appalachian. Yeah, by
the seventies eighties, the La Family was really just a shadow.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Of what had been So Skazari's era that was kind
of the peak. Then the high point for them.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
You could definitely argue that it was a time they
had national influence, stable leadership. You know, things were organized
After him, it started to unravel.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
It's still weird, though, isn't it Why we hear so
much about the East Coast guys and movies and books,
but figures like Skozari, these West Coast players are almost invisible.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
It's a good question. Part of it might be, like
we said that LA style, less public violence, less drama, maybe.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Not enough shootouts for Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Could be Scazari himself. He wasn't flashy, He didn't need
to be a killer in the headlines to have power.
His power came from, you know, loyalty, tradition, being trusted.
For people who really study the mafia, he's fascinating because
he represents that quieter, more side of things.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Right, So let's just sort of recap for you listening
Simone Sam's Gazzari. He was right there during a really
critical time for the American mafia. He brought those old
Sicilian ways to California, adapted them and even though you
probably haven't heard his name much, his quiet influence in
LA and the fact he was at Appalachian that really
(08:22):
secures a spot in the whole complicated history of the underworld.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Definitely, it makes you think, doesn't it. We always focus
on the loud, flashy figures, the big headlines. But what
is Skazari's story? This quiet influence followed by a quiet
exile tell us about how power really works, especially in
the shadows, and.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
About that long, slow battle between organized crime and law enforcements.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Exactly what other quiet stories, what other hidden figures might
we still be missing in the bigger picture of history.
Something to think about.
So when you think of the American mafia, what usually
pops into your head? Is it like the streets of
New York, maybe Chicago?
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yeah, those are the big ones. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Well, what if I told you there was this sort
of hitting empire really operating right under the California sun,
and right at the heart of it was this guy,
Simone's Gazari, who history has well almost completely overlooked.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
It's a fascinating story, isn't it. Yeah, we're talking about
Simone Sam's Gazzari. People sometimes call him the forgotten godfather
of the West Coast, right, And despite playing a really
key role, especially during the La Crime Families, you know,
peak years, you just don't hear his name much, not
in the big mob histories anyway, exactly.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And that's what we want to get into today. Our
goal here in this deep dive is to unpack his story,
look at his quiet way of operating, his strategic thinking,
and then this really sudden, kind of controversial exile that
just stopped his rise right when he was becoming a
bigger deal. And we've got some great material to work with.
Exops from Sam Scazzari, California's exiled underworld architect and some
(01:05):
other sources too, to give you the shortcut on this
hidden chapter of organized crimes.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Okay, so let's start at the beginning. Sam Scazzari born
in Castelva, Trial, Sicily February fourteenth, nineteen hundred still Vitronto.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yeah, yeah, that name definitely rings a bell for anyone
who knows mafia history, deep deep roots.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
That absolutely a real breeding ground, you could say. And
like so many others back then, he came over to
the US looking for well opportunity, ends up in Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Now, LA wasn't like the East Coast families, right, it
was younger, less rigid. How did Scazari even get involved
in that scene? Sounds pretty different?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Well, he got in by being smart, by being discreet.
The La family, Jack Dragna was boss. Then they operated
with this quiet authority, very different from some of the
New York guys, less flashy exactly. Scazari basically cultivated this
low profile and it wasn't just his personality. It was
a smart strategy. LA is huge, spread out, lots of
eyes on you. So by the nineteen fifties he's a
(02:03):
made man. People respected him because he was loyal. He
got things done. But he did it, you know, under
the radar.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
What kind of things were they into?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
The rackets, Oh, the usual stuff, illegal gambling, definitely, loan sharking,
some narcotics, and importantly labor racketeering.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
That quiet approach sounds like it was almost necessary, given,
like you said, the territory, the diversity, the police watching.
But then there's Hollywood right next door that must have
offered unique opportunities mingling with stars, fixing fights, unions.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Oh, absolutely, especially the unions. Getting into something like IAC,
the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, that was huge.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Why IAT specifically, what did that give them?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Control? Influence? IC represents the film and TV crews, right, yeah,
so it gave them this like insidious grip on Hollywood's backstage,
it's infrastructure. Scazari played a key part in managing the
family's interests there and in Southern California generally. Maybe the
San Gabriel.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Valley and his style fit that the calm old school
Sicilian thing perfectly.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
It made him a natural choice for underboss, which eventually became.
It showed a different kind of power, not just violence,
but reliability. Trust.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Okay, so Skazar is quietly building his influence things are
humming along in LA. But then nineteen fifty seven Appalachian,
this meeting happens that just blows the lid off everything.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yeah, Appalachian was seismic, a total game changer. Picture this
over one hundred top mafia bosses from all over.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
The country, one hundred wow.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, all gathering secretly in this little town Appalachian, New York.
Vito Genovese, head of the Genevese family, he organized it.
They were there to talk big stuff, narcotics, territory settling disputes.
Thought they were completely invisible, but they weren't.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Local cops just stumble upon it, right your chance, almost
pretty much.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah, a total disaster for them. And guess who was
there caught up in the raid.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Samscazzari.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Sam Skazzari right there among the guys arrested or detained.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So what did that signal him being there for the Feds?
Speaker 2 (03:59):
They mean, it was huge. It told the FBI, Okay,
this guy isn't just some LA operator. He's important enough
to be at the national table. He's recognized across the country.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
And this whole thing Appalachian. It basically forced law enforcement
to admit the mafia was real, didn't it after Hoover
denied it.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
For so long, completely shattered that denial. It was one
of the first times Lekosa Nostra was officially acknowledged as
a nationwide thing. Everything changed after that, especially for guys
like Scazari.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
So suddenly he's on the FBI's radar in a big way.
How did the government decide to go after him? He'd
been so careful for decades.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Well, Appalachian lit a fire Under the FBI, you had
guys like Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General then pushing hard,
and informants like Josephalacci would later come out of this
increased pressure. For Scazari, they didn't go for racketeering charges. Initially,
they got created creative. They looked into his background, his
immigration status, and they found it he'd never become a
(04:56):
naturalized US citizen.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Uh So they had an angle.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Exactly just months after apple Acchi in nineteen fifty eight,
they started deportation proceedings. The reason alien criminal background undesirable
due to mafia ties, simple as that.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
And he fought it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
He appealed, yeah, but it didn't work. By nineteen sixty two,
Sam'scazzari was aborted back to Italy.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
And this wasn't just about him, was it this deportation strategy.
It became a bigger thing.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, his case was one of the first really high
profile examples. It basically showed the government, hey, we can
use immigration law to take down major mob figures. They
used it later on guys like Carmine Galante, Carlos Marcello
down in New Orleans.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So Scozari was kind of a test case for this
new weapon against the mob.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
You could say that it proved they could dismantle organized
crime legally without needing a massive Riicho trial every time.
It became a key part of their long term playbook.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
What happened to him then? After he was sent back
to Italy? Does the story just end?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
It gets murky, really murky. He wasn't like, you know,
Bugsy Siegel making headlines or Carlo Gambino running things from.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Afar, right, not that kind of profile.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
The official record pretty much goes silent. Most people think
he went back to Guestelovitrano, his hometown in Sicily, and
just faded away live.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Quietly, unlike other deported guys who tried to keep pulling
strings exactly.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
There's no real evidence he jumped back into major crime.
He's thought to have died sometime in the late sixties
maybe early seventies. A forgotten figure.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Really, but still his time is underboss in LA ensuring
they had that national connection. That was important, wasn't it,
especially being at Appalachian absolutely crucial.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
He helped solidify the La family when it was arguably at
its strongest. And yeah, him being Appalachian proved LA wasn't
just some West Coast side show. They had a voice,
a seat at the national level thanks in part to him.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
So his deportation wasn't just a personal blow. It hit
the La family hard too. Did it create you like
a power vacuum?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Oh? Definitely? Losing him, combined with Jack Dragna dying back
in fifty six, it started a real decline for the La.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Mob who took over after Dragna.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Rank decimone, but he just didn't have the same clout
or maybe effectiveness. Things weren't the same. Yeah, And with
the Feds turning up the heat post Appalachian. Yeah, by
the seventies eighties, the La Family was really just a shadow.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Of what had been So Skazari's era that was kind
of the peak. Then the high point for them.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
You could definitely argue that it was a time they
had national influence, stable leadership. You know, things were organized
After him, it started to unravel.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
It's still weird, though, isn't it Why we hear so
much about the East Coast guys and movies and books,
but figures like Skozari, these West Coast players are almost invisible.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
It's a good question. Part of it might be, like
we said that LA style, less public violence, less drama, maybe.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Not enough shootouts for Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Could be Scazari himself. He wasn't flashy, He didn't need
to be a killer in the headlines to have power.
His power came from, you know, loyalty, tradition, being trusted.
For people who really study the mafia, he's fascinating because
he represents that quieter, more side of things.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Right, So let's just sort of recap for you listening
Simone Sam's Gazzari. He was right there during a really
critical time for the American mafia. He brought those old
Sicilian ways to California, adapted them and even though you
probably haven't heard his name much, his quiet influence in
LA and the fact he was at Appalachian that really
(08:22):
secures a spot in the whole complicated history of the underworld.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Definitely, it makes you think, doesn't it. We always focus
on the loud, flashy figures, the big headlines. But what
is Skazari's story? This quiet influence followed by a quiet
exile tell us about how power really works, especially in
the shadows, and.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
About that long, slow battle between organized crime and law enforcements.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Exactly what other quiet stories, what other hidden figures might
we still be missing in the bigger picture of history.
Something to think about.
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