Sam Gianolla and his brother Tony wrestled control of the Italian underworld from the previous kings Vito and Salvatore Adamo. The Gianolla's found themselves embroiled in a bitter battle with the former kings for controll of the Detroit area liquor market. The upstart Gianolla's were no match for the fiancially secure Adamo's who regarded the Gianolla's as little more than an annoyance. In an effort to make a push in the liquor market, Sam and Tony formed an alliance with John Vitale, Sam Cipriano, Peter Bosco and Joseph Stefano to take a piece of the liquor empire dominated by the Adamo boys.
The formation of this combine garnered the attention of the Adamo's who came up with a plan to deliver free ice with their liquor orders to all of their customers causing some anxiety for both Sam and Tony. Virtually locked out of the liquor business, Sam and Tony began attacking the Adamo brothers who in turn dispatched of several Gianolla supporters in a battle which lasted several months. The Gianolla's would emerge victorious when both Adamo brothers were gunned down as they strolled along Mullet Street near Russell. for the next 11 years the Gianolla brothers reigned supreme over the entire Italian community of Detroit while conducting their affairs from Sam's headquarters at 54 Biddle Street in Wyandotte which was also once the home address used by both brothers.
For a time the Gianolla's counted Cipriano, Bosco and John Vitale as their prime lieutenants but a business dispute between Tony Gianolla and Bosco concerning the proceeds from their bakery led to a mini fued which ended with the murder of Bosco causing a split within the Gianolla gang. The new gang headed by John Vitale "a close friend of Bosco's," manned by several members of the Gianolla gang loyal to Bosco formed what would later become the Eastside mob. The Vitale gang fought fiercely against the Gianolla brothers managing to kill Tony "January 3, 1920" as he arrived at the home of Giuseppe Braziola with a delivery of seafood and flowers to mark the passing of his henchman the day before in a shooting unrelated to the feud with the Vitale faction. The murder of Tony Gianolla was followed up with an attempt on Sam's life as he entered his home on February 6, 1919. Sam escaped harm in the attack but the Gianolla suffered yet another key loss when Sam's brother-in-law Pasquale D'Anna was mortally wounded in the brazen attack.
Revenge
With his forces wilting under the stress of the constant attacks of Vitale gunmen, Sam mounted two strong counter moves when he directed a team of gunmen to pepper the Vitale headquarters with a barrage of shots at precisely the moment D'Anna was being laid to rest. Although no one was killed in the attack, Vitale and his forces were unnerved enough to attack officers who responded to a call about the shots fired in the previous attack. Vitale was taken into custody and charged with assault on a police officer. One day after being arraigned on a charge of auto theft, Sam Gianolla led a team of shooters into the Wayne County Jail on February 27th and opened fire on Vito Renda, Joe Vitale and Salvadore Evola.
In the brief but savage attack Renda got the worst of the deal receiving 21 shots while young Joe Vitale "shot through the stomach," and Salvadore Evola were hit once each. Renda lived just long enough for authorities to extract the name of Sam Gianolla as one of the gunmen. Arrested and charged with the Wayne county shootings, Sam Gianolla stood trial "Joe Vitale appeared as a featured witness," but was acquitted in just 50 minutes for the death of Renda. The Wayne County shootings were the final straw for Vitale who saw the determination and or desperation coming from the Gianolla camp.
Faced with the loss of his brother, brother-in-law and the death of two of his young sons in a tragic fire in July of 1919, the fight seemed to fizzle from the old war horse that had been Sam Gianolla. Sam called for a peace conference with Vitale at the urging of his only remaining brother Vito. It is said that a peace pact written in blood was drawn up at a meeting between the two fuedist cheiftains during the summer of 1919.
Blood Washes Blood
At precisely 2:35 pm October 2, 1919 Sam Gianolla casually walked around what had become enemy territory over the past few years. As he entered the banking establishment of Ferdinand Palma "a former city police officer who had become an underworld associate in recent years," Gianolla apparently felt strongly about the peace accord which had been struck with his former confederate and later arch enemy John Vitale. Gianolla called upon a female clerk within the bank to cash a $200 check and proceeded to exit the facility located at Russell and Monroe Avenues. As Sam reached the side walk infront of the bank he was met with a barrage of shots from an auto parked at the curb.
It can only be surmised that in his final moments, Sam Gianolla saw the weapons of his attackers leveled in his direction as several of the 28 shots which found their mark entered his body below his left arm which was upraised in a futile attempt to ward off the attack. Immediately following what witnesses described as "the sound of a bunch of firecrackers exploding," Gianolla managed to return to the bank forcing the heavy glass door open with one knee before collapsing steps from the cashiers cage. Officers encountered three men running from the scene of the shooting but in their haste to investigate the source of the shots, they allowed the potential suspects to escape. No one was ever caught or convicted in the murder and the prime suspect John Vitale, was apparently in the office of his attorney Antonio Majullo discussing a strategy for Vitale's upcoming trial on charges of wounding Deputy Sheriff Joseph Burman in the gun battle which ensued on the night of the burial of Gianolla brother-in-law Pasquale D'Anna.
Bad Actor Laid to Rest
After a run of 10 years the Gianolla stranglehold over Detroit's Sicilian community was finally broken, Sam who had been the most recognized of the Gianolla brethren was laid to rest following funeral services conducted at St.Patrick's church in Ford. Sam's obsequies were modest in comparison to those of his brother Tony 8 months before in which 44 taxi's filled with floral arrangements marked the procession. Sam garnered a mere 14 cars which followed his remains to the grave in Detroit's Mt. Carmel cemetery. During the entire affair 2 Ford motor cars filled with Gianolla gunmen circled the area preventing a sudden outbreak of violence.
For quite sometime following Sam's death, the Ford home of the lone surviving Gianolla brother Vito was patrolled by armed men who took the threats to wipe out the entire generation of Gianolla relatives very seriously. Inspite of the dire threats made by their father's former adversaries, none of Sam's surviving 4, Tony's 5 and Pasqualle D'Anna's 7 children were harmed, a fact that would cost John Vitale the life of his own son Joseph in August of 1920 followed shortly thereafter by his own demise at the hand of Mike D'Anna the son of Pasquale D'Anna.
Gianolla's criminal record
From 1911 to the date of his death on October 2, 1919, the criminal register containing the history of Sam Gianolla as an underworld figure reads as such. On October 14, 1911 Sam Gianolla was arrested and charged with grand larceny, a charge which was later dismissed by the superintendent. June 3, 1911 Frank Fararo an alias of Sam Gianolla was arrested in Toledo Ohio and charged with horse theft. This case resulted in Sam's first Americain conviction when he pled guilty and was sentenced to pay a $100 fine and $10 in court costs or 1 year in the Detroit House of Corrections on October 24, 1911.
May 1, 1915 arrested on a charge of cruelty to animals, Gianolla was given the option of paying a $50 dollar fine or a sentence of 30 days in the DHC. December 17, 1917 Frank Farue, another Gianolla alias was arrested and charged with grand larceny. This case was discharged soon after by the Superintendent. November 18, 1918 arrested for breaking the Webb-Kenyon law. Gianolla was turned over to a federal officer but the disposition of the case was unknown.
The final entry in the book on Gianolla occured when he was arrested and charged with the murder of Vito Renda on February 28, 1919. Sam was found innocent in this case just months before his murder. In addition to the aforementioned charges, Gianolla was also a suspect in the murder of officer Emmanuel Rogers in 1917. Following his own death, Sam Gianolla was named as the instigator of a plot aimed at two of the highest ranking officers in the Detroit police department.
