John Sciandra

Giovanni "John" Sciandra (1899–1949) was the notorious boss of the Bufalino crime family of Pennsylvania from 1933 until his death in 1949.

Very little is known about Sciandra's early life. The Sciandra family immigrated to the United States from Montedoro, Sicily in the 1880s. Originally a coal miner in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Sciandra became an enforcer and bootlegger for Bufalino family boss Santo Volpe. Like so many crime families, they are built upon blood ties, long standing friendships and various powerful arms. The Bufalino crime family would have four very powerful members who pulled all the strings. These included Santo "King of The Knights" Volpe, Angelo Polizzi, Giuseppe "Joe The Barber" Barbara and John "Johnny" Sciandra. In 1933, after being questioned about his possible involvement in the murder of Samuel Wichner, Santo Volpe appointed John Sciandra as boss and quietly worked behind the scenes within the family while also devoting more attention to legitimate business. Volpe later served as Russell Bufalino's consigliere and mentor before dying in December of 1958. Polizzi became consigliere, maintaining this role before moving to Detroit and getting involved in organized crime in that city.

It is a common misunderstanding that Sciandra was murdered in 1940, when in fact, he died of natural causes in 1949.[1]