Steven Squitieri was born on April 11th, 1960, the fourth child of five born to Matteo and Theresa Squitieri of the Bronx. He spent his youth in the Bronx, attending public schools until he quit at age 15 to go to work full-time with his father on the garbage truck. Four years later, he bought his own garbage truck, and began collecting trash from commercial customers in the Bronx. Sanitation Salvage Corp. was born.
It was a family business in every sense of the word. Father Matteo drove the truck, Steven and his brothers John and Andrew rode on the back, hauling the trash; their sister Louise answered the phone, and Theresa, their mother, made out the bills and kept the books on the kitchen table of the family's home on Haight Ave.
He learned the value of hard work early from his enterprising parents.
Though he wasn't very interested in school, he soon learned to utilize his excellent memory, aptitude with figures, and a friendly way with people as effective tools for business development. He opened and operated a candy store, and then a deli grocery store, in his family's Morris Park neighborhood.
In 1984, Squitieri and his cousin Joseph Gallito opened a small cab company. They operated out of a trailer on Bronxdale Ave., and stored their handful of cars in a gas station parking lot overnight. He spent every day developing both Sanitation Salvage Corp. and Citicar, dividing his time between each company, and establishing a reputation for service and competitiveness in each industry. Now, more than 20 years later, he still works at both companies each day. The companies that grew out of Citicar are multimillion dollar corporations, recognized as industry leaders, and models of quality and service excellence.
Sanitation Salvage Corp. is a leading waste hauler in New York, serving over 8,000 customers daily, earning tens of millions of dollars annually.
Steven and his cousin Joseph, and brothers John and Andrew still can be found at their Bronx offices each day, operating their businesses in a hands-on, old fashioned way. Their companies employ hundreds of Bronx workers, and donate many thousands of dollars annually to community and charitable organizations throughout the borough.
He is the proud father of four sons and lives with his wife Andrea in Westchester County. He is a Bronx boy made good. Squitieri is a sterling example of a business leader whose vision, dedication, and energy have provided bountiful opportunities to the people of the Bronx. Tags: