Eastside gang leader Meli was uneasy about the meeting and felt the treacherous La Mare could be setting him and his associates up to die. Meli contacted Milazzo who was recognized as the new boss and a trusted mediator within the Italian underworld and asked him to represent the Eastside gang and mediate the dispute believing that La Mare would never attempt to murder such as highly respected and feared Detroit Mafia leader knowing it would instantly start a war. Around noon on May 31, 1930, Detroit Mafia leader Gaspar Milazzo and his driver and right-hand-man, Sam "Sassa" Parrino arrived at the Vernor Highway Fish Market, at the time a known meeting place of local mafiosi.