• Born: 9 Nov 1878 Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• Died: 10 Oct 1928 Manhattan, New York, USA

D’Aquila was the leader and founder of the D’Aquila crime family, which would eventually become the Gambino crime family. D’Aquila emigrated to the United States in 1906 and became a captain within the Morello crime family. After Giuseppe “the Clutch Hand” Morello was imprisoned in 1910 D’Aquila left the Morello family and formed the D’Aquila family.

D’Aquila had influence over various criminal activities, including extortion, racketeering, and illegal gambling operations.

On October 10, 1928, D’Aquila was shot dead on Avenue A in Manhattan. After his murder, D’Aquila’s family was taken over by Manfredi Mineo.