Avena took over the Philadelphia crime family after the first boss, Salvatore Sabella stepped down at the end of the Castellammarese War in 1931. The Philly Mob sided with Salvatore Maranzano faction in the underworld conflict. Avena was an odd choice as Mafia boss because he was born in the Messina region of Sicily, usually not associated with the Mafia tradition. During his time as boss, the Philadelphia crime family formed an alliance with Jewish organized criminals called the 69th Street Mob. A civil war erupted in the Family during the mid-1930s. The Lanzetti brothers are believed to have been responsible for the shooting death of 43-year-old Avena at the corner of Washington and Passyunk Avenues in the summer of 1936. A gunman firing from the rear window of a passing automobile shot