Organized Crime Figure. The first unified boss of the Detroit underworld, he was born in Seleni, Trapani, Sicily on February 15, 1894. He arrived in Detroit in 1905, and was a popular figure who held tremendous influence in the Italian community due largely in part to charitable donations and his standing as the head of Detroit’s Unione Sicilione. He operated as a gunman for Sam and Tony Gianolla during the Gianolla / Vitale conflict. By the conflict’s end, the lives of more than 100 men had been lost between both sides.

On February 14, 1930, Catalanotte died in his home in Grosse Pointe due to complications with pneumonia; a day away from his 36th birthday. His funeral was held on February 17 in the Church of the Most Holy Family. Catalanotte’s body was taken from his home to the church in a procession more than a half a mile long. It is estimated to have cost around $20,000  Following the funeral, the body was taken in a procession to Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit where Catalanotte was buried. The procession following the funeral consisted of more than 200 cars.

Catalanotte’s death led to a vacancy in the leadership structure of the underworld sparking a power struggle between the predominant Mafia gangs in Detroit consisting mainly of the Eastside and Westside mobs. This ended the predominant peace that Catalanotte had maintained during his regime.