CARLO "DON CARLO" GAMBINO - CHECK ENDORSED 06/08/1961 CO-SIGNED BY: HENRY SALTZSTEIN, GEORGE SCHILLER - HFSID 280343

CARLO GAMBINO, CO-SIGNED BY HENRY SALTZSTEIN and GEORGE SCHILLER
S.G.S. Associates check for $400, endorsed by Carlo Gambino, the model for The Godfather, and signed by business associated Henry Saltzstein and George Schiller in 1961. S.G.S. was one of the few businesses financed by and registered to Gambino. Accompanied by an unsigned b/w photo of a smiling Gambino in handcuffs.
Check endorsed "Carlo Gambino" in black ink and signed "Henry H Saltzstein" in black ink and "George Schiller" in blue ink. 8¼x3 with perforations at left and bottom edges. June 8, 1961. Check no. 1124, drawn on the account of S.G.S. Associates at the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City and payable to Carlo Gambino for $400. Lightly toned. Normal bank stamps and cancellation holes; show-through from stamps on verso touches handwriting and Schiller's signature. Folded in half and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Accompanied by: Unsigned b/w photo of Gambino. B/w, 7¾x10 overall, 7¼x9¼ image, one surface. Image is grainy. Otherwise in fine condition. S.G.S. Associates was a labor relations company that Don CARLO GAMBINO (1902-1976) formed with GEORGE SCHILLER, a Russian-born businessman, and HENRY SALTZSTEIN, a convicted burglar. Gambino's name appeared on the door of the office suite at 141 East 44th Street in Manhattan, New York. The business, one of the few financed by Gambino and registered in his name, flourished until 1965, when constant attention from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies resulted in its closure. As Gambino gained power in organized crime, he successfully avoided the FBI and CIA. Every time they sought to deport him or put him on trial, he would suffer a heart attack or end up in the hospital for some reason. Gambino, known as "The Godfather", was the model for Mario Puzo's novel. He died of natural causes in 1976 at the age of 74.