An associate of Joe Catalanotte, Santo Perrone and Louis Oddo, Sam Caruso was born like so many other outfit leaders in Trapani, Sicily on November 11, 1910. Caruso's first few brushes with the law were relatively minor incidents involving reckless driving a traffic warrant and a dismissed case of assault and battery from 1929 and 1948. Caruso was believed to have owned and operated the Cadillac Beverage Company (located at 686 E. Columbia St., in Detroit) which carried him as an empoloyee on it's roster in addition to the East Detroit Auto Wash (23454 Gratiot) and the White House Bar (2325 Gratiot) until 1952. Caruso married Rose Quarilla and the couple produced two daughters one of which went on to marry Angelo Padalino. The stockily built Caruso weighed in at 220 lbs yet stood a mere 5'8" with green eyes which contrasted sharply with his rudy complexion.
High Grade Heroin For Sale
Identified during the Valachi hearings as a lieutenant in the Windsor faction of the Detroit Outfit, Caruso was a key component in the partners drug smuggling operation headed by deportee Joe Catalonotte. Caruso was caught in a federal drug probe selling massive amounts of high grade heroin to James Paing in Detroit's Chinatown. Caruso was snared after undercover narcotics agents arranged the purchase of heroin from Caruso customer Paing on several different occasions between December 4, 1951 and February 21, 1952. During the course of the operation originally aimed at Paing, it was noted that Paing contacted Caruso a resident of 24810 Roxana St, in East Detroit to obtain his goods. Caruso in turn contacted notorious narcotics figure Louis Oddo who then made arrangements to have a portion of his large stash delivered to Detroit gas station owner Robert Tassiano for delivery. Caruso would usually arrive at Tassiano's gas station for collection of the cash and then turn it over to Joe Catalanotte. The 2 month probe ended on February 21, 1951 with the arrest of the conspirators. Caruso was charged as the leader of the ring which faced charges of Violating teh U.S. Narcotics laws. Tasiana, Oddo, Paing and another Chineese man pled guilty to the charges placed before them but Caruso chose to fight his case to a conclusion. Oneday after being indicted Caruso won a small victory when the prosecution dropped a charge of possession and sale of heroin against Sam but proceeded with the conspiracy charge. Santo Russell Caruso was found guilty on Narcotics Conspiracy charges on April 25, 1952 and received a sentence of 10 years imposed on January 30 1953. Caruso would serve 5 1/2 years of this sentence before being released from federal prison August 2, 1958.
In Concusion
Following completion of his 5 1/2 year prison stretch Caruso returned to Detroit where he was picked up and charged with adulterating soft drinks in December of 1962 and wilful hindering. Caruso's punishment in these cases amounted to a smack on the wrist with a $100 fine and court costs being paid in lue of a 90 day stay in the DHC on June 191963.
End Of The Line
Sam Caruso died in Detroit in in December of 1971 at the age of 68.
