After emigrating from Sicily to New York in the 20's, Salvatore became involved in bootlegging.  That led to prostitution and narcotics and he built up a large gang.   With Vito Genovese, Albert Anastasia, Joe Adonis and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, he organized the Mafia into the Five Families with Lucky Luciano as his lieutenant.  This arrangement didn't last all that long.

By September 1931, Maranzano realized Luciano was a threat, and hired Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, an Irish gangster, to kill him. However, Tommy Lucchese alerted Luciano that he was marked for death. On September 10, Maranzano ordered Luciano and Genovese to come to his office at 230 Park Avenue. Convinced that Maranzano planned to murder them, Luciano decided to act first. He sent to Maranzano's office four Jewish gangsters whose faces were unknown to Maranzano's people. They had been secured with the aid of Lansky and Siegel. Disguised as government agents, two of the gangsters disarmed Maranzano's bodyguards. The other two, aided by Lucchese, who was there to point Maranzano out, stabbed the boss multiple times before shooting him.