Scaglione was close from the beginning to other powerful mafiosi from Palermo such as Stefano Bontade, Salvatore Inzerillo and Rosario Riccobono, and future pentito Antonino Calderone recalled that, due to this, Mafia boss Michele Cavataio had been plotting to murder Scaglione, a plot which was called off at the last minute due to the intervention of the boss of Riesi Giuseppe Di Cristina but which also precipitated Cavataio's own murder on 10 December 1969, in the Viale Lazio massacre.

During the 1970s Scaglione worked particularly close with Salvatore Inzerillo and Rosario Riccobono in the cigarette smuggling operations that the Sicilian Mafia ran in Campania through the Nuvoletta brothers and Michele Zaza, themselves initiated as "men of honour" in the organization.

Soon enough, through the same contraband routes, these activities quickly evolved into extremely profitable heroin trafficking, which immensely enriched the Mafia families of Palermo within a few years.

This allowed Scaglione to become the de-facto owner of dozens of different buildings and apartments between the areas of San Lorenzo and the city's western outskirts.

As these meetings eventually moved over to the Favarella estate, Michele Greco, who was secretly allied with Riina, was able to inform the Corleonesi boss of the intentions of Scaglione, Inzerillo and Riccobono towards him.

Rather than punishing his daughter and killing Meola's son, Scaglione had agreed to a "rehabilitating marriage", thus, according to Riina, compromising his family's honor.

Soon, Scaglione was almost completely isolated and became in effect a "general without an army", as most of the up-and-rising members of the Noce family were allied with Riina and the Corleonesi.

Salvatore Scaglione and Rosario Riccobono were thus spared in the initial phase of the Mafia war and both bosses proved to be invaluable allies to the Corleonesi, luring many of their former friends to their deaths.