Bonanno crime family
Encyclopedia
The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families
" that dominates organized crime
activities in New York City
, United States
, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia
(or Cosa Nostra).
Founded and named after Joseph Bonanno
, the Bonanno family was the first of the New York families to be kicked off the Commission
(a council of the bosses that helps to maintain order in the Mafia), due to allegations that the family was actively dealing heroin and the inner family fighting for control of the leadership. Later, the family faced shaky leadership, with acting boss Carmine Galante
being murdered in 1979 on the order of imprisoned boss Philip Rastelli
, as well as two major setbacks: in 1981, they learned that an FBI agent calling himself Donnie Brasco had infiltrated their ranks; in 2004, boss Joseph Massino, who previously brought the family back to respectable stature among the families and back on the Commission, became a government informant
.
located in the Province of Trapani
, Sicily
. During the 1900s, top members of the Bonanno, Bonventre, and Magaddino Mafia families relocated to New York, forming the Castellammarese clan due to their rivalry with Felice Buccellato, the boss of the Buccellato Mafia clan. The newly arriving Bonanno, Bonventre and Magaddino Mafia members began establishing dominance and control in the Castellammarese community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn
. While operating in Brooklyn, the Castellammarese leaders were able to preserve the criminal organization's future.
. It all started when members of the Castellammarese Clan began hijacking truckloads of illegal liquor that belonged to Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. The Castellammarese clan was based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
and led by Nicola "Cola" Schiro who tried to work with Masseria. But one of the group's leaders Salvatore Maranzano
wanted to take control over New York's underworld. Maranzano took control of the Castellammarese Clan continuing a bloody Mafia War. The Castellammarese faction was organized and more unified than Masseria family
members were. Maranzano's powerful allies that supported him were fellow Castellammarese's, Buffalo family Boss Stefano Magaddino
, Detroit family Boss Gaspar Milazzo
and Philadelphia family Boss Salvatore Sabella
. Maranzano's faction included his underboss, Joseph Bonanno
, Carmine Galante
, Gaspar DiGregorio
, and others. He also kept a close relationship with Joseph Profaci Boss of the New York Profaci family
and a secret alliance with Bronx Reina family
Boss Gaetano Reina
. After Reina’s murder on February 26, 1930 more members of Masseria faction began to defect. By 1931, momentum had shifted in favor of Maranzano and his Castellammarese faction. Maranzano would receive help from Masseria faction defectors Charles "Lucky" Luciano
, Vito Genovese
, Frank Costello
, Reina family Boss Tommy Gagliano
and Tommy Lucchese
. Luciano, the leader of a group referred to as the "Young Turks," wanted to end the war. He concluded a secret deal with Maranzano to have Masseria killed. On April 15, 1931 Masseria was murdered ending the long Castellammarese War.
("Boss of Bosses") and outlined a peace plan to all the Sicilian and Italian Mafia leaders in the United States. There would be 24 organizations (to be known as "families") throughout the United States who would elect their own boss. In New York City, the five Mafia families were established and headed by Salvatore Maranzano, Lucky Luciano, Vincent Mangano
, Tommy Gagliano
and Joseph Profaci. Maranzano soon began planning to have Luciano killed, but before he had a chance he was murdered on September 10, 1931 by Jewish gangsters. Luciano instead of becoming the new "Boss of Bosses" removed the position and established The Commission
to regulate the families' affairs.
Boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano who served as head of the Commission, Mangano family
Boss Vincent Mangano, Gagliano family
Boss Tommy Gagliano, Profaci family
Boss Joseph Profaci and Chicago Outfit
Boss Al "Scarface" Capone
. At only 26 years old, he was the youngest boss of a crime family. He directed the family into popular organized crime dealings, involving gambling, loansharking, and narcotics. The family also had significant interests in California
and Arizona
. With the support of his cousin, Buffalo crime family
boss Stefano Magaddino
, he also expanded into Canada
.
Bonanno was more steeped in the Old World Mafia traditions of "honor," "tradition," "respect," and "dignity" than other mafiosi of his generation, and was widely reckoned as the most traditional boss in New York. His family was considered the closest knit of the Five Families due to the fact that it was made up mostly of Castelammarese. He strongly believed that blood relations and a strict Sicilian upbringing would be the only way to hold the traditional values of the Mafia together. Bonanno's power was due to his close relationship with fellow boss Joe Profaci
. The relationship between the two bosses became stronger when Bonanno's son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno
married Profaci's niece Rosalie in 1956. If any members of the other three families exercised thoughts of muscling in on Bonanno enterprises, the close ties to the Profaci family made them think twice. With the death of Joe Profaci in 1962 an alliance of Tommy Lucchese
and Carlo Gambino
threatened to undermine Bonanno's position.
. This led to a civil war in the family, widely referred to in the media as the "Banana Split" or "Banana War". The war was triggered in 1963 when Bonanno conspired with Joe Magliocco
, Profaci's successor as boss of the Profaci family, to wipe out several other mob leaders, including Magaddino, Carlo Gambino
, Tommy Lucchese
and Frank DeSimone
. Magliocco was given the task of wiping out Gambino and Lucchese, and gave the contract to one of his top hit men, Joe Colombo
. However, Colombo instead alerted Gambino and Lucchese. The other bosses quickly realized that Magliocco could not possibly have planned this by himself. Remembering how close Magliocco was to Bonanno (and before him, Profaci), they realized that Bonanno was the real mastermind. The commission summoned Magliocco and Bonanno, intending to go easy on them, with nothing more than a fine and loss of their family. However, only Magliocco showed up. He admitted his role in the plot and was forced to give up his family to Colombo. After months of no word from Bonanno, the commission named Bonanno capo Gaspar DiGregorio
as the new boss.
Bonanno still claimed to be the rightful boss. Magaddino, acting on behalf of the commission, sent two of his soldiers to kidnap Bonanno and take him to a rural area in Upstate New York. He was finally released after a month, with the commission hoping he'd fade quietly into the background. Instead, he rallied a large part of the family to his side. The family split into two factions, the DiGregorio supporters and the Bonanno loyalists. The Bonanno loyalists were led by Bonanno, his brother-in-law Frank Labruzzo and Bonanno's son Bill
.
There had been no violence from either side until a 1966 Brooklyn sit-down. DiGregorio's men arrived at the meeting, and when Bill Bonanno arrived a large gun battle ensued. The DiGregorio loyalists had planned to wipe out the opposition, but they failed, and no one was killed. Further peace offers from both sides were spurned with the ongoing violence and murders. The Commission grew tired of the affair and replaced DiGregorio with Paul Sciacca
, but the fighting carried on regardless.
The war was finally brought to a close with Joe Bonanno, still in hiding, suffering a heart attack and announcing his permanent retirement in 1968 (he went on to live to the age of 97, dying in Tucson, Arizona in 2002). Both factions came together under Sciacca's leadership. His replacement was Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola
as boss of the Bonanno family. Evola's leadership was short lived - his death (from natural causes) in 1973 brought Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli to the throne.
and stripped of its Commission seat. Rastelli took charge of a seemingly hapless, doomed organization. Rastelli's former friend Carmine Galante became a powerful and dangerous renegade.
Having previously acted as a focal point for the importation of heroin to the USA via Montreal
, Galante set about refining the family's drug trafficking operations. The incredibly lucrative deals he was able to make made the family a fortune, but with the other four families being kept out of the arrangements, Galante was making a rod for his own back.
When eight members of the Genovese family
were murdered on Galante's orders for trying to muscle in on his drug operation, the other families decided he had outlived his usefulness at the head of the Bonanno family. On July 12, 1979, Galante was shot dead by three men, at a restaurant in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn
.
Rastelli took over once again, but the family's internal strife was far from over. Three renegade capos - Phillip Giaccone, Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato and Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera
- began to openly question Rastelli's leadership and apparently to plot to overthrow him. With the blessing of the other families, Rastelli had the three men wiped out in a hit arranged by then-street boss Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, as well as the future Boss Joseph "Big Joe" Massino.
The alleged boss of the Mafia in Montreal Vito Rizzuto
was extradited from Canada to the USA in August 2006 and will face charges in connection with the murder of three captains of the Bonanno family in 1981. Vito Rizzuto is now in prison and will be out in 2 years.
Two of the men involved in the murder of the three rogue capos were Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero
and his capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano
. Ruggiero had an associate, Donnie Brasco, whom he proposed for full family membership. In reality, Brasco was undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone
, conducting what would become a six-year infiltration of the family.
Pistone's undercover work led to numerous charges against the Bonanno family. Both Ruggiero and Rastelli received lengthy sentences. On August 17, 1981, Napolitano was shot and killed in a basement by Ronald Filocomo and Frank "Curly" Lino
as punishment for admitting Pistone to his crew. Anthony Mirra
, the man who had brought Pistone to the family, was also killed.
After the Donnie Brasco affair, the Mafia Commission
removed the Bonanno family from the panel. However, when the federal government pressed charges against the New York Cosa Nostra leadership in the Mafia Commission Trial
, the Bonannos avoided indictment. As a result, the Bonanno family was able to keep its leadership intact and build up its power again.
, also helped to get the Bonannos a seat on "The Commission
" again. Over the next 10 years the family regrouped while the other families bosses were in prison. The FBI considered Massino the most powerful mob boss in the country.
, were charged with the crime in 2003 after two of their capos turned themselves over as witnesses for the government. Vitale, who had until that point been utterly loyal to his boss, also faced a further murder charge and decided to switch sides himself, condemning Massino to life imprisonment. Capital punishment had been a possibility for Massino, but in 2004 he became the first serving New York City Mafia boss to turn informant, sparing himself the ultimate penalty.
Massino is believed to be the man who pointed the FBI towards a spot in Ozone Park, Queens, called "The Hole", where the body of Alphonse Indelicato had been found in 1981. Told to dig a little deeper, authorities duly uncovered the remains of Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone, as well as a body suspected to be that of John Favara
, a neighbor of Gambino family boss John Gotti
who had killed the mobster's son in a car/bicycle accident, and paid with his life.
Former Boss Joseph Massino is also believed to have provided the police with information on a number of high ranking Bonanno Family members and former acting boss Vincent Basciano, whose conversations with Massino were taped in late 2004 and early 2005 by the turncoat himself. Before Massino became an informant himself, his acting boss on the outside was Anthony "Tony Green" Urso, but his tenure was short-lived as he too was imprisoned on numerous charges, leading to Basciano taking control. Vincent Basciano's term as acting boss was hampered with his arrest in late 2004, but with Massino's eventual betrayal, authorities claim that Basciano assumed the top position in 2005, is allegedly the current Boss and leading the broken Bonanno family from his prison cell.
The authorities continue to plague the family, with the February 16, 2006 arrest of acting boss Michael Mancuso on murder charges, while alleged Boss Vincent Basciano was convicted on charges of conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, and illegal gambling and was sentenced to life imprisonment
in late 2007. The main charge against him was that he conspired to murder both the judge and prosecutor in the case, as well as Patrick DeFilippo
, a fellow Bonanno crime family captain.
named Brooklyn business owner Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna
, as the new "acting boss" of the Bonanno Family. He is sometimes referred to as "Sal the Zip" being that he is from Joseph Bonanno's hometown of Castellammare del Golfo, is closely associated with the Family's Sicilian faction and fellow Castellammarese, Baldo Amato who is currently in prison and former Bonanno Capo Cesare Bonventre
who was murdered in 1984." Sal Montagna was an unknown soldier in the Bronx crew of capo Patrick "Patty from the Bronx" DeFilippo
and became acting capo of the crew upon DeFilippo's 2003 arrest on murder and racketeering charges. Law enforcement sources have stated that Salvatore Montagna was tabbed as "acting boss" with Vincent Basciano's consent to maintain the Bonanno Family's base of power within the Bronx
faction of the Bonanno crime family. The Bonanno family's base of power was traditionally held by the Brooklyn
faction from the time of Family patriarch Joseph Bonanno
until the eventual rise of Queens
faction leader Philip "Rusty" Rastelli
in the early 1970s. The ascension of the Bronx faction began with Basciano's promotion to acting boss, eventual ascension to the top position of Boss, continued through Michael Mancuso's short tenure and now remains with Sal Montagna acting on behalf of Basciano.
In July 2004, The New York Times
reported that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn "say that overall, in the last four years, they have won convictions against roughly 75 mobsters or associates in a crime clan with fewer than 150 made members." In February 2005, Bonanno family Capo Anthony "Tony Green" Urso pleaded guilty to racketeering, murder, gambling, loan sharking and extortion charges, while Capo Joseph "Joe Saunders" Cammarano, along with soldier Louis Restivo pleaded guilty to murder and racketeering charges."
Twelve Bonanno family member and associates, seven over the age 70, including acting consigliere Anthony "Mr. Fish" Rabito and respected soldier Salvatore Scudiero were indicted and arrested on June 14, 2005 on charges of operating a $10 million a year gambling ring."
The defection of former Bonanno family Bosses Joseph Massino and Salvatore Vitale, along with four high ranking former Capos, has caused the Bonanno family to lose power, influence and respect within the New York underworld to a degree not seen since the Donnie Brasco incident. With Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora
as "acting underboss" for the imprisoned Michael Mancuso, and Anthony Rabito as the alleged consigliere, Montagna was capable of running the day-to-day operations on behalf of Vincent Basciano.
A March 2009 article in the New York Post stated that Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna
is the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family. The article also stated that the Bonanno family current consists of approximately 115 "made" members. Montagna was later deported to Canada in April 2009 leaving the family to create a ruling panel until a new boss was chosen.
On January 11, 2010 Jerry Capeci
quoted sources as saying that Nicholas Santora
and Anthony Rabito, who were both released from prison in 2009 and are still unable to meet freely with their fellow wiseguys, are supporting capo Vincent Asaro
to become the new boss of the family. Asaro also has close ties to Queens-based mobsters from the Lucchese, Gambino and Genovese families who have voiced their support for him, sources say. A key player in the recent talks is Vito Grimaldi, who is viewed as an adviser to the Zips
(Sicilian mobsters in the United States).
Capeci's sources say Asaro, who for many years has had dealings as both a mob supervisor and cohort of Sicilian wiseguys, may win Grimaldi's support. Another candidate with key Sicilian backing is Vincent Badalamenti. Due to Joseph Massino deciding to cooperate with the FBI, both sides agree that the family will no longer take orders from the man he previously appointed acting boss, Vincent Basciano. "[Joseph Massino's] word don't count any more," said one source, adding that even if his words still had clout, it made no sense.
(sometimes called Godfather or Don) is the head of the crime family, no one can override his decisions. Only the boss and underboss can initiate an associate into the family, allowing them to become a made man. The boss gives the family oath to new members and make them sgarrista (soldiers). The boss also has the authority to give people their positions and ranks. The boss usually reigns as a dictator (until somebody deposes him).
Ruling panel(s)
During the 1960s, members of the Boanno family went to war with their boss Joseph Bonanno. The Commission assembled a ruling panel (or committee) of capos was to control the decision making of the crime family. A ruling panel of capos may be assemble if the official boss dies, goes to prison, or is incapacitated.
is the number two position in the family (after the Boss). Also known as the "capo bastone" in some criminal organizations, the underboss is responsible for sending a share of the family's profits to the boss. The underboss also oversees the selection of caporegimes and soldier(s). After the boss dies, the underboss normally takes control of the crime family until a new boss is chosen, in some cases the underboss.
is the number three position in the organization. Together, the boss, underboss and consigliere are referred to as "the administration." In Italian, consigliere means "advisor."
Brooklyn faction
Staten Island faction
Manhattan faction
Queens faction
Bronx faction
New Jersey faction
Five Families
The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...
" that dominates organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
activities in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
(or Cosa Nostra).
Founded and named after Joseph Bonanno
Joseph Bonanno
Joseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. was a Sicilian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family. He was nicknamed "Joe Bananas," a name he despised.-Early life:...
, the Bonanno family was the first of the New York families to be kicked off the Commission
The Commission (mafia)
The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia. Formed in 1931, the Commission replaced the "Boss of all Bosses" title, with a ruling committee, consisting of the New York Five Families bosses and the boss of the Chicago Outfit...
(a council of the bosses that helps to maintain order in the Mafia), due to allegations that the family was actively dealing heroin and the inner family fighting for control of the leadership. Later, the family faced shaky leadership, with acting boss Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
being murdered in 1979 on the order of imprisoned boss Philip Rastelli
Philip Rastelli
Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:...
, as well as two major setbacks: in 1981, they learned that an FBI agent calling himself Donnie Brasco had infiltrated their ranks; in 2004, boss Joseph Massino, who previously brought the family back to respectable stature among the families and back on the Commission, became a government informant
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
.
Sicilian origins
The origins of the Bonanno crime family can be traced back to the early 1880s in the town of Castellammare del GolfoCastellammare del Golfo
Castellammare del Golfo is a town and comune in the Trapani Province of Sicily. The name is roughly translated "Sea- Fortress of the Gulf", deriving from the medieval fortress in the harbor...
located in the Province of Trapani
Province of Trapani
Trapani is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Trapani.It has an area of 2,460 km², and a total population of 425,121...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. During the 1900s, top members of the Bonanno, Bonventre, and Magaddino Mafia families relocated to New York, forming the Castellammarese clan due to their rivalry with Felice Buccellato, the boss of the Buccellato Mafia clan. The newly arriving Bonanno, Bonventre and Magaddino Mafia members began establishing dominance and control in the Castellammarese community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
. While operating in Brooklyn, the Castellammarese leaders were able to preserve the criminal organization's future.
Castellammarese War
In 1927 violence broke out between the two rival New York Mafia factions and soon developed into a full out war known as the Castellammarese WarCastellammarese War
The Castellammarese War was a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salvatore Maranzano. It was so called because Maranzano was based in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily...
. It all started when members of the Castellammarese Clan began hijacking truckloads of illegal liquor that belonged to Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. The Castellammarese clan was based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
and led by Nicola "Cola" Schiro who tried to work with Masseria. But one of the group's leaders Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss in the United States. He instigated the Castellammarese War to seize control of the American Mafia operations, and briefly became the Mafia's "Boss of Bosses"...
wanted to take control over New York's underworld. Maranzano took control of the Castellammarese Clan continuing a bloody Mafia War. The Castellammarese faction was organized and more unified than Masseria family
Genovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
members were. Maranzano's powerful allies that supported him were fellow Castellammarese's, Buffalo family Boss Stefano Magaddino
Stefano Magaddino
Stefano Magaddino was an Sicilian mafioso who became the boss of the Buffalo crime family in western New York. His underworld influence stretched from Ohio and Southern Ontario as far north as Montreal, Quebec...
, Detroit family Boss Gaspar Milazzo
Gaspar Milazzo
Gaspar Milazo was a major organized-crime figure in Detroit, Michigan, during the Prohibition era. He is also credited with helping establish one of the early Brooklyn-based crime families in New York City, the Castellammarese Clan, better known today as the Bonanno crime family.-Early life:Born...
and Philadelphia family Boss Salvatore Sabella
Salvatore Sabella
Salvatore Sabella was the Sicilian Mafia boss of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the 1920s. Sabella built the future Bruno crime family and trained its leaders.-Early life:...
. Maranzano's faction included his underboss, Joseph Bonanno
Joseph Bonanno
Joseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. was a Sicilian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family. He was nicknamed "Joe Bananas," a name he despised.-Early life:...
, Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
, Gaspar DiGregorio
Gaspar DiGregorio
Gaspar or Gaspare DiGregorio was a New York mobster and a high-ranking member of the Bonanno crime family who was a key figure in the so-called "Banana War"....
, and others. He also kept a close relationship with Joseph Profaci Boss of the New York Profaci family
Colombo crime family
The Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
and a secret alliance with Bronx Reina family
Lucchese crime family
The Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
Boss Gaetano Reina
Gaetano Reina
Gaetano "Tommy" Reina was the first Boss of the Lucchese crime family in New York City.-Early years:Gaetano Reina was born in September 1889 in Corleone, Sicily to Giacomo Reina and Carmela Runmore. In the early 1900s the Reina family moved to New York City and settled on 107th Street in East Harlem...
. After Reina’s murder on February 26, 1930 more members of Masseria faction began to defect. By 1931, momentum had shifted in favor of Maranzano and his Castellammarese faction. Maranzano would receive help from Masseria faction defectors Charles "Lucky" Luciano
Lucky Luciano
Charlie "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian mobster born in Sicily. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission...
, Vito Genovese
Vito Genovese
Vito "Don Vito" Genovese was an Italian mafioso who rose to power in America during the Castellammarese War to later become leader of the Genovese crime family. Genovese served as mentor to future mob boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante...
, Frank Costello
Frank Costello
Frank Costello was an Italian New York City gangster who rose to the top of America's underworld, controlled a vast gambling empire across the United States and enjoyed political influence.Nicknamed the "Prime Minister of the Underworld", he became one of the most powerful and influential Mafia...
, Reina family Boss Tommy Gagliano
Tommy Gagliano
Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano was an American gangster who founded the Lucchese crime family, one of the powerful "Five Families" of New York City, and served as its low-profile Boss for over two decades...
and Tommy Lucchese
Tommy Lucchese
Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese , also known as "Tom Brown" or "Three-Finger Brown", was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Lucchese crime family in New York City...
. Luciano, the leader of a group referred to as the "Young Turks," wanted to end the war. He concluded a secret deal with Maranzano to have Masseria killed. On April 15, 1931 Masseria was murdered ending the long Castellammarese War.
The Commission
After Masseria's murder, Maranzano became the new capo di tutti capiCapo di tutti capi
Capo di tutti capi or capo dei capi is Italian for "boss of all bosses" or "boss of bosses". It is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole...
("Boss of Bosses") and outlined a peace plan to all the Sicilian and Italian Mafia leaders in the United States. There would be 24 organizations (to be known as "families") throughout the United States who would elect their own boss. In New York City, the five Mafia families were established and headed by Salvatore Maranzano, Lucky Luciano, Vincent Mangano
Vincent Mangano
Vincent Mangano , born Vincenzo Giovanni Mangano, also known as "The Executioner" as he was named in a Brooklyn newspaper, was the head of the Mangano crime family from 1931 to 1951. His brother Philip Mangano was his right hand man and de facto, or substituto, underboss of the crime family which...
, Tommy Gagliano
Tommy Gagliano
Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano was an American gangster who founded the Lucchese crime family, one of the powerful "Five Families" of New York City, and served as its low-profile Boss for over two decades...
and Joseph Profaci. Maranzano soon began planning to have Luciano killed, but before he had a chance he was murdered on September 10, 1931 by Jewish gangsters. Luciano instead of becoming the new "Boss of Bosses" removed the position and established The Commission
The Commission (mafia)
The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia. Formed in 1931, the Commission replaced the "Boss of all Bosses" title, with a ruling committee, consisting of the New York Five Families bosses and the boss of the Chicago Outfit...
to regulate the families' affairs.
The Bonanno era
Bonanno was awarded most of Maranzano's crime family. He was one of the charter members of the Commission, along with Luciano familyGenovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
Boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano who served as head of the Commission, Mangano family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
Boss Vincent Mangano, Gagliano family
Lucchese crime family
The Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
Boss Tommy Gagliano, Profaci family
Colombo crime family
The Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
Boss Joseph Profaci and Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
Boss Al "Scarface" Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
. At only 26 years old, he was the youngest boss of a crime family. He directed the family into popular organized crime dealings, involving gambling, loansharking, and narcotics. The family also had significant interests in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. With the support of his cousin, Buffalo crime family
Buffalo crime family
The Buffalo crime family, also known as the Magaddino crime family and The Arm, is an Italian American criminal organization based in Buffalo, United States. As part of the American Mafia the family operates throughout Western New York and Canada.The Buffalo crime family, gained power during the...
boss Stefano Magaddino
Stefano Magaddino
Stefano Magaddino was an Sicilian mafioso who became the boss of the Buffalo crime family in western New York. His underworld influence stretched from Ohio and Southern Ontario as far north as Montreal, Quebec...
, he also expanded into Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Bonanno was more steeped in the Old World Mafia traditions of "honor," "tradition," "respect," and "dignity" than other mafiosi of his generation, and was widely reckoned as the most traditional boss in New York. His family was considered the closest knit of the Five Families due to the fact that it was made up mostly of Castelammarese. He strongly believed that blood relations and a strict Sicilian upbringing would be the only way to hold the traditional values of the Mafia together. Bonanno's power was due to his close relationship with fellow boss Joe Profaci
Joe Profaci
Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci was a New York La Cosa Nostra boss who was the founder of what is today known as the Colombo crime family. Established in 1928, this was the last of the Five Families to be organized. He was the family's boss for over three decades.-Family ties:Profaci's sons were Frank...
. The relationship between the two bosses became stronger when Bonanno's son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno
Salvatore Bonanno
Salvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno was the son of Cosa Nostra boss Joseph Bonanno. Although his father never intended for him to be the underboss of the Bonanno crime family, his appointment to high positions in the syndicate precipitated a "mob war" which led to the Bonanno family's exile to Arizona...
married Profaci's niece Rosalie in 1956. If any members of the other three families exercised thoughts of muscling in on Bonanno enterprises, the close ties to the Profaci family made them think twice. With the death of Joe Profaci in 1962 an alliance of Tommy Lucchese
Tommy Lucchese
Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese , also known as "Tom Brown" or "Three-Finger Brown", was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Lucchese crime family in New York City...
and Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino
"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
threatened to undermine Bonanno's position.
The Bonanno War
In the early 1960s many of the Bonanno family members were complaining that boss Joe Bonanno spent too much time at his second home in Tucson, ArizonaTucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. This led to a civil war in the family, widely referred to in the media as the "Banana Split" or "Banana War". The war was triggered in 1963 when Bonanno conspired with Joe Magliocco
Joseph Magliocco
Joseph Magliocco, also known as "Joe Malayak" was a New York mobster and the boss of the Profaci crime family from 1962 to 1963...
, Profaci's successor as boss of the Profaci family, to wipe out several other mob leaders, including Magaddino, Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino
"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
, Tommy Lucchese
Tommy Lucchese
Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese , also known as "Tom Brown" or "Three-Finger Brown", was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Lucchese crime family in New York City...
and Frank DeSimone
Frank DeSimone
Frank A. DeSimone was the Boss of the Los Angeles crime family from 1956 to 1967. DeSimone was the son of former don Rosario DeSimone. He was sometime referred to as "One Eye" because one of his eyes drooped, in the same way as Charles "Lucky" Luciano...
. Magliocco was given the task of wiping out Gambino and Lucchese, and gave the contract to one of his top hit men, Joe Colombo
Joseph Colombo
Joseph "Joe" Colombo, Sr. was the boss of the Colombo crime family, one of the "Five Families" of the Cosa Nostra in New York.-Background:...
. However, Colombo instead alerted Gambino and Lucchese. The other bosses quickly realized that Magliocco could not possibly have planned this by himself. Remembering how close Magliocco was to Bonanno (and before him, Profaci), they realized that Bonanno was the real mastermind. The commission summoned Magliocco and Bonanno, intending to go easy on them, with nothing more than a fine and loss of their family. However, only Magliocco showed up. He admitted his role in the plot and was forced to give up his family to Colombo. After months of no word from Bonanno, the commission named Bonanno capo Gaspar DiGregorio
Gaspar DiGregorio
Gaspar or Gaspare DiGregorio was a New York mobster and a high-ranking member of the Bonanno crime family who was a key figure in the so-called "Banana War"....
as the new boss.
Bonanno still claimed to be the rightful boss. Magaddino, acting on behalf of the commission, sent two of his soldiers to kidnap Bonanno and take him to a rural area in Upstate New York. He was finally released after a month, with the commission hoping he'd fade quietly into the background. Instead, he rallied a large part of the family to his side. The family split into two factions, the DiGregorio supporters and the Bonanno loyalists. The Bonanno loyalists were led by Bonanno, his brother-in-law Frank Labruzzo and Bonanno's son Bill
Salvatore Bonanno
Salvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno was the son of Cosa Nostra boss Joseph Bonanno. Although his father never intended for him to be the underboss of the Bonanno crime family, his appointment to high positions in the syndicate precipitated a "mob war" which led to the Bonanno family's exile to Arizona...
.
There had been no violence from either side until a 1966 Brooklyn sit-down. DiGregorio's men arrived at the meeting, and when Bill Bonanno arrived a large gun battle ensued. The DiGregorio loyalists had planned to wipe out the opposition, but they failed, and no one was killed. Further peace offers from both sides were spurned with the ongoing violence and murders. The Commission grew tired of the affair and replaced DiGregorio with Paul Sciacca
Paul Sciacca
Paul Sciacca was a New York City mobster who became boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Bonanno family war:In 1964, a rivalry in the Bonanno crime family started when boss Joseph Bonanno promoted his son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno to the position of consigliere over senior capo Gaspar DiGregorio...
, but the fighting carried on regardless.
The war was finally brought to a close with Joe Bonanno, still in hiding, suffering a heart attack and announcing his permanent retirement in 1968 (he went on to live to the age of 97, dying in Tucson, Arizona in 2002). Both factions came together under Sciacca's leadership. His replacement was Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola
Natale Evola
Natale "Joe Diamond" Evola was a New York mobster who briefly became boss of the Bonanno crime family.Born in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn to parents Filippo and Francesca, who was natives of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. He was the brother of Paul, Joseph and Anna...
as boss of the Bonanno family. Evola's leadership was short lived - his death (from natural causes) in 1973 brought Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli to the throne.
Rastelli regime
Due to the infighting of the Bonanno family, it was spurned by the other familiesFive Families
The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...
and stripped of its Commission seat. Rastelli took charge of a seemingly hapless, doomed organization. Rastelli's former friend Carmine Galante became a powerful and dangerous renegade.
Having previously acted as a focal point for the importation of heroin to the USA via Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Galante set about refining the family's drug trafficking operations. The incredibly lucrative deals he was able to make made the family a fortune, but with the other four families being kept out of the arrangements, Galante was making a rod for his own back.
When eight members of the Genovese family
Genovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
were murdered on Galante's orders for trying to muscle in on his drug operation, the other families decided he had outlived his usefulness at the head of the Bonanno family. On July 12, 1979, Galante was shot dead by three men, at a restaurant in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
.
Rastelli took over once again, but the family's internal strife was far from over. Three renegade capos - Phillip Giaccone, Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato and Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera
Dominick Trinchera
Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera was a Bonanno crime family capo who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Phillip Giaccone for planning the overthrow of aspiring Bonanno boss Phillip Rastelli.-Biography:Born in Rockland, New York, Trinchera was the son of an immigrant from Rome, Italy and an...
- began to openly question Rastelli's leadership and apparently to plot to overthrow him. With the blessing of the other families, Rastelli had the three men wiped out in a hit arranged by then-street boss Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, as well as the future Boss Joseph "Big Joe" Massino.
The alleged boss of the Mafia in Montreal Vito Rizzuto
Vito Rizzuto
Vito Rizzuto , known as Montreal's Teflon Don, was alleged to be the leading Mafia boss of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada and heads the Rizzuto crime family.-Family:...
was extradited from Canada to the USA in August 2006 and will face charges in connection with the murder of three captains of the Bonanno family in 1981. Vito Rizzuto is now in prison and will be out in 2 years.
Donnie Brasco
Benjamin Ruggiero
Benjamin Ruggiero, also known as "Lefty," "Lefty Guns," "Lefty Two Guns" , was a soldier in the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for his friendship and mentorship of FBI undercover agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone. Ruggiero was an old school Cosa Nostra mobster who knew how Mafia...
and his capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano
Sonny Black Napolitano
Dominick Napolitano , also known as Sonny Black, was an American Mafia caporegime in the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for allowing FBI agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone to become an associate in his crew and nearly getting him made.-Biography:Napolitano's grandparents were immigrants...
. Ruggiero had an associate, Donnie Brasco, whom he proposed for full family membership. In reality, Brasco was undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone
Joseph D. Pistone
Joseph Dominick Pistone, alias Donnie Brasco, , is a former FBI agent who worked undercover for six years infiltrating the Bonanno crime family and to a lesser extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City...
, conducting what would become a six-year infiltration of the family.
Pistone's undercover work led to numerous charges against the Bonanno family. Both Ruggiero and Rastelli received lengthy sentences. On August 17, 1981, Napolitano was shot and killed in a basement by Ronald Filocomo and Frank "Curly" Lino
Frank Lino
Frank "Curly" Lino is a Sicilian-American caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who later became an informant.-Biography:...
as punishment for admitting Pistone to his crew. Anthony Mirra
Anthony Mirra
Anthony "Tony" Mirra was an Italian-American mobster and soldier for the Bonanno crime family...
, the man who had brought Pistone to the family, was also killed.
After the Donnie Brasco affair, the Mafia Commission
The Commission (mafia)
The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia. Formed in 1931, the Commission replaced the "Boss of all Bosses" title, with a ruling committee, consisting of the New York Five Families bosses and the boss of the Chicago Outfit...
removed the Bonanno family from the panel. However, when the federal government pressed charges against the New York Cosa Nostra leadership in the Mafia Commission Trial
Mafia Commission Trial
The Mafia Commission Trial was a criminal trial in New York City, USA. Using evidence obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, eleven organized crime figures, including the heads of New York's so-called "Five Families," were indicted by United States Attorney Rudolph Giuliani under the...
, the Bonannos avoided indictment. As a result, the Bonanno family was able to keep its leadership intact and build up its power again.
Under Massino's command
Rastelli's death in 1991, following a period in which he ruled the family from inside prison, saw the promotion of Massino to the top spot. Finally, the family had found a man who could reverse its fortunes. By promoting a far more secretive way of doing business, Massino not only concentrated on the narcotics trade as had become mandatory for a mob boss, but also in other areas less likely to draw the attention of the authorities than drugs, such as the Mafia's stock trades of racketeering, money laundering and loan sharking. A close friend of Massino's, and boss of the Gambino crime family, John GottiJohn Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
, also helped to get the Bonannos a seat on "The Commission
The Commission (mafia)
The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia. Formed in 1931, the Commission replaced the "Boss of all Bosses" title, with a ruling committee, consisting of the New York Five Families bosses and the boss of the Chicago Outfit...
" again. Over the next 10 years the family regrouped while the other families bosses were in prison. The FBI considered Massino the most powerful mob boss in the country.
Massino turns informant
Massino managed to keep his nose clean until the killing of Napolitano came back to haunt him. He and his underboss, Salvatore VitaleSalvatore Vitale
Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale was a New York City caterer and former underboss of the Bonanno crime family of La Cosa Nostra before becoming a government informant.-Biography:...
, were charged with the crime in 2003 after two of their capos turned themselves over as witnesses for the government. Vitale, who had until that point been utterly loyal to his boss, also faced a further murder charge and decided to switch sides himself, condemning Massino to life imprisonment. Capital punishment had been a possibility for Massino, but in 2004 he became the first serving New York City Mafia boss to turn informant, sparing himself the ultimate penalty.
Massino is believed to be the man who pointed the FBI towards a spot in Ozone Park, Queens, called "The Hole", where the body of Alphonse Indelicato had been found in 1981. Told to dig a little deeper, authorities duly uncovered the remains of Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone, as well as a body suspected to be that of John Favara
John Favara
John Favara was the backyard neighbor of Gambino crime family godfather John Gotti, in Howard Beach, New York....
, a neighbor of Gambino family boss John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
who had killed the mobster's son in a car/bicycle accident, and paid with his life.
Former Boss Joseph Massino is also believed to have provided the police with information on a number of high ranking Bonanno Family members and former acting boss Vincent Basciano, whose conversations with Massino were taped in late 2004 and early 2005 by the turncoat himself. Before Massino became an informant himself, his acting boss on the outside was Anthony "Tony Green" Urso, but his tenure was short-lived as he too was imprisoned on numerous charges, leading to Basciano taking control. Vincent Basciano's term as acting boss was hampered with his arrest in late 2004, but with Massino's eventual betrayal, authorities claim that Basciano assumed the top position in 2005, is allegedly the current Boss and leading the broken Bonanno family from his prison cell.
The authorities continue to plague the family, with the February 16, 2006 arrest of acting boss Michael Mancuso on murder charges, while alleged Boss Vincent Basciano was convicted on charges of conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, and illegal gambling and was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
in late 2007. The main charge against him was that he conspired to murder both the judge and prosecutor in the case, as well as Patrick DeFilippo
Patrick DeFilippo
Patrick "Patty From the Bronx" DeFilippo is a reputed high-ranking member of the Bonanno crime family.-Bonanno member:A longtime member of the Bonanno family, DeFilippo became a made man sometime in the 1970s, though his involvement with the family dates back much farther...
, a fellow Bonanno crime family captain.
Basciano's leadership
Bonanno family Boss Vincent BascianoVincent Basciano
Vincent J. Basciano is an American mobster who rose to become acting boss of the Bonanno crime family after the arrest of Joseph Massino. He is nicknamed "Vinny Gorgeous", due to owning a Bronx beauty salon called "Hello Gorgeous," and for his fastidious grooming, hairstyle and looks...
named Brooklyn business owner Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna
Salvatore Montagna
Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna was an acting boss of the Bonanno crime family of the New York City mafia families, and the Sicilian faction-leader of the Bronx section. At the time of his death, he had been associated with the Rizzuto crime family of Montreal...
, as the new "acting boss" of the Bonanno Family. He is sometimes referred to as "Sal the Zip" being that he is from Joseph Bonanno's hometown of Castellammare del Golfo, is closely associated with the Family's Sicilian faction and fellow Castellammarese, Baldo Amato who is currently in prison and former Bonanno Capo Cesare Bonventre
Cesare Bonventre
Cesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre was a Sicilian mobster and caporegime for the New York Bonanno crime family.-Early life:...
who was murdered in 1984." Sal Montagna was an unknown soldier in the Bronx crew of capo Patrick "Patty from the Bronx" DeFilippo
Patrick DeFilippo
Patrick "Patty From the Bronx" DeFilippo is a reputed high-ranking member of the Bonanno crime family.-Bonanno member:A longtime member of the Bonanno family, DeFilippo became a made man sometime in the 1970s, though his involvement with the family dates back much farther...
and became acting capo of the crew upon DeFilippo's 2003 arrest on murder and racketeering charges. Law enforcement sources have stated that Salvatore Montagna was tabbed as "acting boss" with Vincent Basciano's consent to maintain the Bonanno Family's base of power within the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
faction of the Bonanno crime family. The Bonanno family's base of power was traditionally held by the Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
faction from the time of Family patriarch Joseph Bonanno
Joseph Bonanno
Joseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. was a Sicilian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family. He was nicknamed "Joe Bananas," a name he despised.-Early life:...
until the eventual rise of Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
faction leader Philip "Rusty" Rastelli
Philip Rastelli
Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:...
in the early 1970s. The ascension of the Bronx faction began with Basciano's promotion to acting boss, eventual ascension to the top position of Boss, continued through Michael Mancuso's short tenure and now remains with Sal Montagna acting on behalf of Basciano.
In July 2004, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn "say that overall, in the last four years, they have won convictions against roughly 75 mobsters or associates in a crime clan with fewer than 150 made members." In February 2005, Bonanno family Capo Anthony "Tony Green" Urso pleaded guilty to racketeering, murder, gambling, loan sharking and extortion charges, while Capo Joseph "Joe Saunders" Cammarano, along with soldier Louis Restivo pleaded guilty to murder and racketeering charges."
Twelve Bonanno family member and associates, seven over the age 70, including acting consigliere Anthony "Mr. Fish" Rabito and respected soldier Salvatore Scudiero were indicted and arrested on June 14, 2005 on charges of operating a $10 million a year gambling ring."
The defection of former Bonanno family Bosses Joseph Massino and Salvatore Vitale, along with four high ranking former Capos, has caused the Bonanno family to lose power, influence and respect within the New York underworld to a degree not seen since the Donnie Brasco incident. With Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora
Nicholas Santora
Nicholas Angelo "Nicky Mouth" Santora is the reputed underboss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:Nicholas Santora was born on June 21, 1942, and became known in his teens as a tough mobster from New York City...
as "acting underboss" for the imprisoned Michael Mancuso, and Anthony Rabito as the alleged consigliere, Montagna was capable of running the day-to-day operations on behalf of Vincent Basciano.
Current position of the family
Under the rule of former Boss Joseph Massino, the Bonanno family climbed back to the top of New York's crime family hierarchy and once again became a top power in America's underworld, but high level defections and convictions have left the family a shell of its former self once more during its long criminal history. Vincent Basciano is serving a prison sentence for racketeering and Salvatore Montagna has been deported to Canada. Both were appointed acting bosses during Massino's imprisonment and after Massino's defection to the FBI.A March 2009 article in the New York Post stated that Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna
Salvatore Montagna
Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna was an acting boss of the Bonanno crime family of the New York City mafia families, and the Sicilian faction-leader of the Bronx section. At the time of his death, he had been associated with the Rizzuto crime family of Montreal...
is the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family. The article also stated that the Bonanno family current consists of approximately 115 "made" members. Montagna was later deported to Canada in April 2009 leaving the family to create a ruling panel until a new boss was chosen.
On January 11, 2010 Jerry Capeci
Jerry Capeci
Gerald "Jerry" Capeci is an American journalist and author who specializes in coverage of the Five Mafia crime families of New York City. Capeci has been described by news organizations, such as CNN and BBC, as an expert on the American Mafia.-Gang Land:Capeci writes a column called Gang Land...
quoted sources as saying that Nicholas Santora
Nicholas Santora
Nicholas Angelo "Nicky Mouth" Santora is the reputed underboss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:Nicholas Santora was born on June 21, 1942, and became known in his teens as a tough mobster from New York City...
and Anthony Rabito, who were both released from prison in 2009 and are still unable to meet freely with their fellow wiseguys, are supporting capo Vincent Asaro
Vincent Asaro
Vincent "Vinny" Asaro is a New York City mobster and recognized captain in the Bonanno crime family.According to US authorities and the Lucchese crime family associate turned informant Henry Hill, Asaro of Ozone Park, Queens, has been a reputed captain or caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and...
to become the new boss of the family. Asaro also has close ties to Queens-based mobsters from the Lucchese, Gambino and Genovese families who have voiced their support for him, sources say. A key player in the recent talks is Vito Grimaldi, who is viewed as an adviser to the Zips
Zips
Zips is a slang term often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi...
(Sicilian mobsters in the United States).
Capeci's sources say Asaro, who for many years has had dealings as both a mob supervisor and cohort of Sicilian wiseguys, may win Grimaldi's support. Another candidate with key Sicilian backing is Vincent Badalamenti. Due to Joseph Massino deciding to cooperate with the FBI, both sides agree that the family will no longer take orders from the man he previously appointed acting boss, Vincent Basciano. "[Joseph Massino's] word don't count any more," said one source, adding that even if his words still had clout, it made no sense.
Bosses (official and acting)
BossCrime boss
A crime boss or boss is a person in charge of a criminal organization. A boss typically has absolute or near-absolute control over his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his influence, and profits come from the...
(sometimes called Godfather or Don) is the head of the crime family, no one can override his decisions. Only the boss and underboss can initiate an associate into the family, allowing them to become a made man. The boss gives the family oath to new members and make them sgarrista (soldiers). The boss also has the authority to give people their positions and ranks. The boss usually reigns as a dictator (until somebody deposes him).
- 1890s–1901 — Giuseppe "Don Peppino" Bonanno – older brother to Salvatore and Stefano Bonanno. He started the Castellammarese clan in New York City. He died in 1901.
- 1908–1911 — Salvatore "Don Turridu" Bonanno – came to New York City with his wife Caterina Bonventre and son Giuseppe. He returned to Italy in 1911 and died of a heart attack in 1915.
- 1911–1930 — Nicola Schiro – disappeared in 1930 to avoid paying $10,000 extortion demand to rival Joe Masseria.
- 1930 — Vito BonventreVito BonventreVito Bonventre was a New York mobster involved in bootlegging with Brooklyn mobster Cola Schiro throughout the Prohibition era.Bonventre later served as underboss to New York mob boss Salvatore Maranzano during the Castellammarese War...
– murdered on July 15, 1930 - 1930–1931 — Salvatore "Caesar" MaranzanoSalvatore MaranzanoSalvatore Maranzano was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss in the United States. He instigated the Castellammarese War to seize control of the American Mafia operations, and briefly became the Mafia's "Boss of Bosses"...
– murdered on September 1931 - 1931–1965 — Giuseppe "Joseph/Don Peppino" BonannoJoseph BonannoJoseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. was a Sicilian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family. He was nicknamed "Joe Bananas," a name he despised.-Early life:...
– forcibly retired by Mafia Commission- Acting — 1956–1957 — John "Johnny Burns" Morales
- Acting— 1962–1964 — John "Johnny Burns" Morales
- 1965–1966 — Gaspar "Gasparino" DiGregorioGaspar DiGregorioGaspar or Gaspare DiGregorio was a New York mobster and a high-ranking member of the Bonanno crime family who was a key figure in the so-called "Banana War"....
– forcibly replaced by Mafia Commission - 1966–1971 — Paul SciaccaPaul SciaccaPaul Sciacca was a New York City mobster who became boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Bonanno family war:In 1964, a rivalry in the Bonanno crime family started when boss Joseph Bonanno promoted his son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno to the position of consigliere over senior capo Gaspar DiGregorio...
– installed by Mafia Commission - 1971–1973 — Natale "Joe Diamonds" EvolaNatale EvolaNatale "Joe Diamond" Evola was a New York mobster who briefly became boss of the Bonanno crime family.Born in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn to parents Filippo and Francesca, who was natives of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. He was the brother of Paul, Joseph and Anna...
– died 1973 - 1973–1979 — Carmine "Cigar" GalanteCarmine GalanteCarmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
– seized power without Rastelli's support or Commission sanction, but with the underboss and majority of capos publicly supporting him, he carried the true power. He was murdered on July 12, 1979 in Commission sanctioned plot aganist him allowing Rastelli to assume control again. - 1979–1991 — Phillip "Rusty" RastelliPhilip RastelliPhillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:...
– imprisoned from 1975 to 1984 and 1986 to 1991- Acting — 1979–1983 — Salvatore "Sally Fruits" Farrugia – appointed by the Commission
- Acting — 1987–1991 — Anthony "Old Man" SperoAnthony SperoAnthony Spero was the consigliere and one time acting boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:Spero was a large man with dark hair, a dark complexion and was good looking in a rough way" Philip Carlo wrote...
- 1991–2004 - Joseph "Big Joe" Massino (a.k.a. "The Ear") – imprisoned January 2003, became government informant in October 2004
- Acting — 1991–1993 — Anthony "Old Man" Spero
- Acting — 2003–2004 — Anthony "Tony Green" Urso
- Acting — 2004–2009 — Vincent BascianoVincent BascianoVincent J. Basciano is an American mobster who rose to become acting boss of the Bonanno crime family after the arrest of Joseph Massino. He is nicknamed "Vinny Gorgeous", due to owning a Bronx beauty salon called "Hello Gorgeous," and for his fastidious grooming, hairstyle and looks...
– was the last acting boss chosen by Massino. He was viewed as the unofficial Boss; convicted July 2007 receiving a life sentence. - Acting — 2005–2006 — Michael Mancuso – imprisoned February 2006
- Acting — 2006–2009 — Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" MontagnaSalvatore MontagnaSalvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna was an acting boss of the Bonanno crime family of the New York City mafia families, and the Sicilian faction-leader of the Bronx section. At the time of his death, he had been associated with the Rizzuto crime family of Montreal...
– deported to Canada in April 2009 Assassinated outside of Montreal, Quebec on November 24, 2011. - Acting — 2010–present — Vincent AsaroVincent AsaroVincent "Vinny" Asaro is a New York City mobster and recognized captain in the Bonanno crime family.According to US authorities and the Lucchese crime family associate turned informant Henry Hill, Asaro of Ozone Park, Queens, has been a reputed captain or caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and...
— candidate to become Official Boss
Street Boss and Ruling panel(s)
Street Boss- 1979–1981 — Salvatore "Toto" Catalano – leader of the Sicilian faction, became Underboss
- 1981 — Dominick "Sonny Black" NapolitanoSonny Black NapolitanoDominick Napolitano , also known as Sonny Black, was an American Mafia caporegime in the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for allowing FBI agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone to become an associate in his crew and nearly getting him made.-Biography:Napolitano's grandparents were immigrants...
– murdered on August 17, 1981
Ruling panel(s)
During the 1960s, members of the Boanno family went to war with their boss Joseph Bonanno. The Commission assembled a ruling panel (or committee) of capos was to control the decision making of the crime family. A ruling panel of capos may be assemble if the official boss dies, goes to prison, or is incapacitated.
- 1964– Gasparino DiGregorio, Angelo Caruso, Nicolino Alfano, Joseph Notaro, Thomas D’Angelo, Natale Evola, Joseph DeFilippo, Peter Crociata and Paul Sciacca
- 1964–1965 — Gasparino DiGregorio, Angelo Caruso, and Nicolino Alfano
- 2009–2010 — Joseph Sammartino Sr. (capo in New Jersey), the other members are unknown
Underboss
UnderbossUnderboss
Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...
is the number two position in the family (after the Boss). Also known as the "capo bastone" in some criminal organizations, the underboss is responsible for sending a share of the family's profits to the boss. The underboss also oversees the selection of caporegimes and soldier(s). After the boss dies, the underboss normally takes control of the crime family until a new boss is chosen, in some cases the underboss.
- 1908-1930 - Vito BonventreVito BonventreVito Bonventre was a New York mobster involved in bootlegging with Brooklyn mobster Cola Schiro throughout the Prohibition era.Bonventre later served as underboss to New York mob boss Salvatore Maranzano during the Castellammarese War...
(promoted to Boss in 1930) - 1930 - Angelo Caruso
- 1930-1931 - Giuseppe "Joe" Bonanno (promoted to Boss in September 1931)
- 1931-1950 - Giovanni "John" BonventreGiovanni BonventreGiovanni "John" Bonventre was a New York mobster with the Bonanno crime family.-Early years:Born in Castellammare del Golfo in Sicily, Bonventre emigrated to New York with his family. The family settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, a stronghold of immigrants from their village...
- 1950-1956 - Francesco "Frank Caroll" Garafolo
- 1956-1962 - Carmine "Lilo" GalanteCarmine GalanteCarmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
- 1964 – Vacant due to Bonanno War.
- 1964-1965 - John "Johnny Burns" Morales (Promoted to front boss in 1965)
- 1965-1968 - Pietro "Skinny Pete" Crociata
- 1968 - Frank "Russo" Mari
- 1968-1971 - Natale "Joe Diamonds" EvolaNatale EvolaNatale "Joe Diamond" Evola was a New York mobster who briefly became boss of the Bonanno crime family.Born in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn to parents Filippo and Francesca, who was natives of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. He was the brother of Paul, Joseph and Anna...
(Promoted to boss in 1971) - 1971-1973 - Phillip "Rusty" RastelliPhilip RastelliPhillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:...
(Promoted to acting boss in 1973) - 1974-1979 - Nicholas "Nicky Glasses" MarangelloNicholas MarangelloNicholas Marangello , also known as "Nicky Glasses", "Nicky Cigars", "Nicky the Butler" and "Little Nicky", was the underboss of the Bonanno crime family under Phillip Rastelli, the father-in-law of Robert Perrino and grandfather of Nicola Langora.-Biography:Marangello was born on the Lower East...
(demoted) - 1979-1981 - Salvatore "Sal" Catalano (leader of the Sicilian faction)
- 1981-1988 - Joseph "Big Joe" Massino (imprisoned in 1984)
- Acting 1984-1988 - Louis "Louie Ha Ha" Attanasio
- 1991-2004 - Salvatore "Handsome Sal" VitaleSalvatore VitaleSalvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale was a New York City caterer and former underboss of the Bonanno crime family of La Cosa Nostra before becoming a government informant.-Biography:...
(became FBI informant in October 2004)- Acting 2001-2003 - Richard "Shellackhead" CantarellaRichard CantarellaRichard Cantarella , was an New York mobster who became a caporegime for the Bonanno crime family and later a government witness.-Biography:...
(became an FBI informant on December 2002, and in June 2004 testified aganist Bonanno boss Joseph Massino.) - Acting 2003-2004 - Joseph "Joe C." Cammarano Sr.
- Acting 2005–present - Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" SantoraNicholas SantoraNicholas Angelo "Nicky Mouth" Santora is the reputed underboss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:Nicholas Santora was born on June 21, 1942, and became known in his teens as a tough mobster from New York City...
- Acting 2001-2003 - Richard "Shellackhead" Cantarella
Consigliere
ConsigliereConsigliere
Consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...
is the number three position in the organization. Together, the boss, underboss and consigliere are referred to as "the administration." In Italian, consigliere means "advisor."
- 1931-1964 - John TartamellaJohn TartamellaJohn Tartamella was consigliere for over 30 years to Joseph Bonanno and his family. He was considered a very wise and shrewd elder-statesman who was respected throughout La Cosa Nostra...
- 1964 - Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno
- 1964-1965 – Vacant due to the Bonanno War.
- 1965-1968 - Nicolino "Nick" Alfano
- 1968 - Michael "Mike" Adamo
- 1968-1971 - Phillip "Rusty" RastelliPhilip RastelliPhillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:...
(Promoted to underboss in 1971) - 1971-1974 - Joseph DiFilippo
- 1974-1984 - Stefano "Stevie Beefs" Cannone
- 1984-2001 - Anthony "Old Man" Spero (acting boss from 1987–1993, died September 29, 2008)
- Acting 1987-1992 - Joseph Buccellato
- Acting 1999-2001 - Anthony "T.G." Graziano
- 2001–present - Anthony "T.G." GrazianoAnthony GrazianoAnthony "T.G." Graziano is a New York mobster and former consigliere of the Bonanno crime family.- Bonanno captain :...
- Acting 2001-2003 - Anthony "Tony Green" Urso
- Acting 2003–present - Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito
Administration
- Boss Unknown
- Acting Boss Unknown - either Vincent AsaroVincent AsaroVincent "Vinny" Asaro is a New York City mobster and recognized captain in the Bonanno crime family.According to US authorities and the Lucchese crime family associate turned informant Henry Hill, Asaro of Ozone Park, Queens, has been a reputed captain or caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and...
or Vincent Badalamenti both are candidates to become the official boss.
- Underboss Unknown
- Acting Underboss Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" SantoraNicholas SantoraNicholas Angelo "Nicky Mouth" Santora is the reputed underboss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:Nicholas Santora was born on June 21, 1942, and became known in his teens as a tough mobster from New York City...
- took over as acting underboss in 2005, when Joseph Massino and Salvatore VitaleSalvatore VitaleSalvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale was a New York City caterer and former underboss of the Bonanno crime family of La Cosa Nostra before becoming a government informant.-Biography:...
became government witnesses. Santora is a longtime Brooklyn capo of the Motion Lounge crewThe Motion LoungeThe Motion Lounge was a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, nightclub owned by Bonanno crime family caporegime Dominick Napolitano which also was the capo's apartment away from his home. The lounge was located at 420 Graham Avenue, across the street from the Wither's Italian-American War Veterans Club. It was...
, which originally belonged to "Sonny Black" NapolitanoSonny Black NapolitanoDominick Napolitano , also known as Sonny Black, was an American Mafia caporegime in the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for allowing FBI agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone to become an associate in his crew and nearly getting him made.-Biography:Napolitano's grandparents were immigrants...
. The Motion Lounge crew is active in the Western Brooklyn communities of Williamsburg and East WilliamsburgEast Williamsburg, BrooklynEast Williamsburg is a name for the area in the northwestern portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States, which lies between Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Bushwick. Much of this area has been and still is referred to as either Bushwick, Williamsburg, or Greenpoint with the...
among others. Santora is currently on trial for racketeering and extortion charges.
- Consigliere Anthony "T.G." GrazianoAnthony GrazianoAnthony "T.G." Graziano is a New York mobster and former consigliere of the Bonanno crime family.- Bonanno captain :...
- consigliere, former capo in the Staten Island faction in the 1980s. He operated a pension fund scheme that eventually reaped over $11.7 million from elderly investors and supervised a large narcotics trafficking operation in FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. In 2002, Graziano was imprisoned on federal racketeering and murder charges. His projected release date is January 30, 2012.
- Acting Consigliere Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito - was acting Consigliere for Vincent Basciano prior to his incarceration and a longtime member of the Bonanno family. From January 2003 to July 2004, Rabito operated an illegal gambling and loansharking ring in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten IslandStaten IslandStaten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, earning $210,000 a week. Currently on trial for RICO charges.
Capos
Capo - Caporegime (Crew boss/Captain/Lieutenant/Skipper) The boss appoints a capo to operate a borgata (regime, or crew) of sgarrista (soldiers). Each capo reports directly to the underboss and must get permission from the underboss to perform any actions. If the family wants to kill someone, the leadership usually asks the capo to carry out the order. The capo runs the day-to-day operations of his own crew. The soldiers in his crew give the capo part of their earnings, and the capo sends a part of these earnings to the underboss. A capo can recommend to the boss or underboss that a new recruit be sworn into his crew. A soldier becomes acting capo while the capo is in imprisoned, sick or on trial.Brooklyn faction
- Vincent "Vinny T.V." Badalamenti – capo operating in Brooklyn and Staten Island. In December 2009, Badalamenti was found with Staten Island-based capo Anthony Calabrese and soldier John "Johnny Green" Faracithe meeting at a Bensonhurst storefront. He is considered a top member and is backed by the Sicilian faction of the family to become the new boss.
- Joseph Cammarano Sr. – capo operating a crew in Brooklyn with his son Joseph "Joe Saunders" Cammarano Jr. His son Joe Jr. has been in the Bonanno family since 1990s under Joseph Massino. In 2007, Joe Jr. was indicted for racketeering, conspiracy, illegal gambling, extortion, loansharking and drug trafficking.
- Anthony "Anthony from Elmont" Mannone - (aka Anthony from the Five Towns) - capo who was arrested on February 24, 2010 for running an illegal gambling and extortion ring throughout Brooklyn. He is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention CenterMetropolitan Detention Center"Metropolitan Detention Centers" are federal detention facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and located throughout the United States...
in Brooklyn awaiting trial.
- Louis "Louie Electric" DeCicco - capo in Brooklyn with operations in Queens and Long Island. In March 2007, DeCicco was arrested along with other Bonanno capos. On December 31, 2009, DeCicco was released from prison.
Staten Island faction
- Anthony Calabrese – capo based in Staten Island. He was found with capo Vincent Badalamenti on December 2009 meeting at a Bensonhurst storefront for a Christmas party.
- Anthony Furino - capo based in Staten Island. In 2004, Furino was arrested for extortion of Long IslandLong IslandLong Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
night clubs and Staten Island restaurants. In 2007, Furino was released from prison and is now allegedly operating his Staten Island crew.
- Anthony "Scal" Sclafani – capo in the Staten Island faction who operates illegal gambling. Sclafani also operates in New Jersey with capo Joseph Sammartino Sr. On October 14, 2009, Sclafani was arrested om loansharking charges. Sclafani is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention CenterMetropolitan Detention Center"Metropolitan Detention Centers" are federal detention facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and located throughout the United States...
in Brooklyn awaiting trial.
- Frank Porco - 70 year-old capo operating from Staten Island, Brooklyn and Florida. In 2005, Calabrese was released from prison.
- (In prison) Gerard "Jerry" Chilli - capo in the Staten Island faction. Chilli along with his nephew Tom Fiore controlled operations in Broward County, FloridaBroward County, Florida-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
and Hollywood, FloridaHollywood, Florida-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
.
Manhattan faction
- Joseph Indelicato - capo in Manhattan and New Jersey. Took over crew of from his deceased brother, Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato. Joseph's nephew Anthony "Bruno" IndelicatoAnthony IndelicatoAnthony "Bruno" Indelicato , also known as "Bruno", "Whack-Whack" and "Anthony Indelligado" is a capo with the Bonanno crime family in New York City,-Biography:...
is a soldier in the crew.
- William "Willie Glasses" Riviello – capo operating in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Westchester County. In 2004, Riviello was arrested for a stolen bank check scheme in the Bronx and Yonkers, New YorkYonkers, New YorkYonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
, that grossed over $500,000 for the family. In 2007, Riviello was released from prison.
Queens faction
- Vincent "Vinny" AsaroVincent AsaroVincent "Vinny" Asaro is a New York City mobster and recognized captain in the Bonanno crime family.According to US authorities and the Lucchese crime family associate turned informant Henry Hill, Asaro of Ozone Park, Queens, has been a reputed captain or caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and...
- capo since the 1980s. During the 1990s, Asaro allegedly operated a multi-million-dollar stolen car ring and oversaw the hijacking of cargo at John F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
. In 1995, Asaro was convicted of racketeering and enterprise corruption and sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Bronx faction
- (In prison) Patrick "Patty From the Bronx" DeFilippoPatrick DeFilippoPatrick "Patty From the Bronx" DeFilippo is a reputed high-ranking member of the Bonanno crime family.-Bonanno member:A longtime member of the Bonanno family, DeFilippo became a made man sometime in the 1970s, though his involvement with the family dates back much farther...
- capo operating in the Bronx and allie to the Sicilian faction. DeFilippo was incarcerated on racketeering charges and acting boss Salvatore MontagnaSalvatore MontagnaSalvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna was an acting boss of the Bonanno crime family of the New York City mafia families, and the Sicilian faction-leader of the Bronx section. At the time of his death, he had been associated with the Rizzuto crime family of Montreal...
took his crew. DeFilippo's projected released date is June 25, 2038.
New Jersey faction
- Joseph "Sammy" Sammartino Sr. – capo in the New Jersey faction since 2003. Sammartino lives in North Arlington, New JerseyNorth Arlington, New JerseyNorth Arlington is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 15,392...
and is part of the current ruling panel/committee. His crew is based in Bayonne, New JerseyBayonne, New JerseyBayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
. On October 14, 2009, Sammartino was arrested on loansharking charges He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $50,000 dollar fine for extortion. On January 27, 2011, Sammartino was released from prison.
Soldiers
- Sandro Aiosa - a former capo in the 1970s who operated in Brooklyn.
- Jerome Asaro - a former acting capo with large illegal gambling and loansharking rings in Queens. Asaro is the son of Vincent AsaroVincent AsaroVincent "Vinny" Asaro is a New York City mobster and recognized captain in the Bonanno crime family.According to US authorities and the Lucchese crime family associate turned informant Henry Hill, Asaro of Ozone Park, Queens, has been a reputed captain or caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and...
. In February 2007, Jerome Asaro pleaded guilty to a 25-year association with the Bonanno family. On November 2, 2010, Asaro was released from prison.
- Baldassare "Baldo" Amato - a soldier in the Sicilian faction and leader of a freelance crew operating in Ridgewood, QueensRidgewood, QueensRidgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Historically, the neighborhood straddled the Queens-Brooklyn boundary. The neighborhood is part of Queens...
.
- Joseph "Joe Saunders, Jr." Cammarano, Jr. - his father Joseph Cammarano Sr. is a Bonanno family capo. Joseph Jr., served in the U.S. Navy for six years before joining the Bonanno crime family. In February 2007, he was arrested on racketeering charges. In January 2009, Joseph Jr. was released from federal prison.
- Salvatore "Toto" Catalano - a former capo and Street boss of the Sicilian faction. Catalano was heavily involved in the Pizza ConnectionPizza Connection TrialThe Pizza Connection Trial was one of the longest criminal jury trials on record in the district of Manhattan. It took place between October 24, 1985 and March 2, 1987-Scope of the trial:...
a heroin drug distribution scheme with boss Carmine Galante. The heroin was shipped into the U.S. and sold through pizzerias in New York City and New Jersey. In 1976, Catalano became capo of the Knickerbocker Avenue Crew. On March 2, 1987, Catalano was sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $1.15 million. He was released from prison on November 16, 2009.
- Joseph "Joe Desi" DeSimone - a former capo. DeSimone was involved in the 1981 murders of Phillip Giaccone, Dominick TrincheraDominick TrincheraDominick "Big Trin" Trinchera was a Bonanno crime family capo who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Phillip Giaccone for planning the overthrow of aspiring Bonanno boss Phillip Rastelli.-Biography:Born in Rockland, New York, Trinchera was the son of an immigrant from Rome, Italy and an...
and Alphonse Indelicato.
Imprisoned soldiers
- Louis "Louie Ha Ha" Attanasio - a former capo in the Bronx. Attanasio along with his brother Robert and Peter Calabrese murdered Bonanno family Sicilian faction member Cesare BonventreCesare BonventreCesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre was a Sicilian mobster and caporegime for the New York Bonanno crime family.-Early life:...
in 1984. On September 20, 2006 Attanasio and Peter Calabrese were sentenced to 15 years in prison for the 1984 Bonventre murder. Attanasio's projected release date is January 23, 2018.
- Peter "Peter Rabbit" Calabrese - a former capo involved in the 1984 murder of Cesare Bonventre with brothers Louis and Robert Attanasio. In 2006, Calabrese and Louis Attanasio were sentenced to 15 years for Cesare Bonventre's murder. Calabrese's projected release date is February 13, 2017.
- Thomas Fiore - former "acting capo" of Gerard Chilli's South Florida crew. He is based in Palm Beach County, city of Boynton BeachBoynton Beach, FloridaBoynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 60,389 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the city had a population of 66,714 according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research...
. On October 14, 2009 his crew in South Florida was charged under the RICO law. Six of the eleven crew members pleaded guilty to a list of crimes. The members that plead guilty included crew enforcer Pasquale Rubbo his brother Joseph Rubbo. The crew is involved in arson, insurance fraud, identity theft, illegal gambling and other crimes. They send some tribute up to Bonanno family bosses in New York City. On March 2, 2010 Fiore was sentenced to twelve years for racketeering. His projected release date is January 18, 2020.
- Anthony "Bruno" IndelicatoAnthony IndelicatoAnthony "Bruno" Indelicato , also known as "Bruno", "Whack-Whack" and "Anthony Indelligado" is a capo with the Bonanno crime family in New York City,-Biography:...
- soldier in the crew of his uncle, Joseph Indelicato and the son of Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato. A made member since the late 1970s, Anthony Indelicato may have participated in the 1979 murder of Carmine Galante. Indelicato was a defendant in 1986 Mafia Commission TrialMafia Commission TrialThe Mafia Commission Trial was a criminal trial in New York City, USA. Using evidence obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, eleven organized crime figures, including the heads of New York's so-called "Five Families," were indicted by United States Attorney Rudolph Giuliani under the...
he was sentenced to 45 years and was released in 2000. On December 16, 2008 Indelicato received a 20 year prison sentence for the 2001 killing of Frank Santoro. Indelicato's projected release date is May 20, 2023.
- Joseph "Joe Lefty" Loiacono - former acting capo who was arrested on October 14, 2009 for running a loansharking operation. Loiacono is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn awaiting trial.
- Michael Mancuso - former capo, underboss, and acting boss, reportedly with the Bronx faction under Vincent Basciano. Mancuso is incarcerated on federal racketeering charges with a projected release date from prison of March 12, 2019.
- Anthony "Little Anthony" Pipitone - former acting capo arrested on October 14, 2009. Pipitone is currently incarcerated in federal prison. His project release date is February 7, 2013.
- Thomas PiteraThomas PiteraThomas "Tommy Karate" E. Pitera is a former Mafia hitman in the Bonanno crime family. Pitera earned a reputation as a vicious and sadistic killer who enjoyed murdering people. He was suspected by law enforcement of as many as 60 murders. He was well known for his use of karate and other martial...
- soldier and hitman who was sentenced to life in federal prison.
- Anthony "Tony Green" Urso - former capo and acting capo under Joseph Massino in the 1990s. In 2004, Urso was imprisoned for extortion and loansharking. Currently in prison, his projected release date is December 5, 2021.
Former members
- Cesare "The Tall Guy" BonventreCesare BonventreCesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre was a Sicilian mobster and caporegime for the New York Bonanno crime family.-Early life:...
- a former capo and member of the Sicilian faction. He was related to Vito Bonventre, John Bonventre, and Joseph Bonanno. He was murdered on April 16, 1984.
- John "Boobie" Cerasani – was a Bonanno family soldier and right-hand man to Sonny "Black" Napolitano. Cerasani was involved in the 1981 murders of three warring captains Alphonse Indelicato, Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone. In July 26, 1982 Cerasani, Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, Anthony Rabito, Nicholas Santora and Antonio Tomasulo were tried at a Manhattan federal district court. Cerasani was later acquitted.
- James "Jimmy Legs" Episcopia - a soldier who worked for capo Sonny "Black" Napolitano.
- Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" MontagnaSalvatore MontagnaSalvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna was an acting boss of the Bonanno crime family of the New York City mafia families, and the Sicilian faction-leader of the Bronx section. At the time of his death, he had been associated with the Rizzuto crime family of Montreal...
- CapoCaporegimeA caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
and acting boss after the 2005 conviction of Vincent Basciano. Based in the Bronx, Montagna was reportedly the leader of the Sicilian faction. Montagna was born in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and resided in Elmont, New YorkElmont, New YorkElmont is an unincorporated census-designated place located in the northwest corner of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City...
. His family originated from Castellammare del Golfo, SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. On April 21, 2009, Montagna was deported to Canada. The Rizzuto crime familyRizzuto crime familyThe Rizzuto family is a Mafia organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The family territory covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The FBI considers the family connected to the Bonanno family, but the Canadian law enforcement considers it a separate crime family...
led by Vito RizzutoVito RizzutoVito Rizzuto , known as Montreal's Teflon Don, was alleged to be the leading Mafia boss of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada and heads the Rizzuto crime family.-Family:...
allowed Montagna to work with his family but would not take orders from him. Montagna was assassinated on November 24, 2011, outside of Montreal, his body was found near Repentigny, QuebecRepentigny, QuebecRepentigny is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, located north of Montreal, on the lower end of the L'Assomption River and on the Saint Lawrence River. Repentigny and Charlemagne are the first towns off the island of Montreal.-History:...
, in the Assomption RiverL'Assomption RiverThe Assomption River is the most important waterway in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, is over 200 km long, and has a drainage basin of 4220 km². Its source is the Mont Tremblant massif...
, on Île Vaudry, having been shot at around 10am.
- Gerlando "George from Canada" SciasciaGerlando SciasciaGerlando Sciascia , also known as "George from Canada", was a New York mobster and a caporegime for the Bonanno crime family, also the Sixth family's Rep for New York, who was a major narcotics trafficker in Canada.-Background:...
- a former capo who operated out of Montreal, Canada and worked with the Sicilian faction in New York. Sciascia served as mediator between Bonanno family and Montreal's Rizzuto familyRizzuto crime familyThe Rizzuto family is a Mafia organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The family territory covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The FBI considers the family connected to the Bonanno family, but the Canadian law enforcement considers it a separate crime family...
in the early 1990s. He was murdered on March 18, 1999.
Family crews
- The Sicilian faction - in the 1950s the Bonanno family started bringing Sicilian-born Mafia members to New York to keep closer ties with the Sicilian Mafia families. American mobsters frequently refer to these Sicilian mobsters as ZipsZipsZips is a slang term often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi...
. The derogatory term name derives from their Sicilian birth and their fast-spoken, difficult-to-understand Sicilian dialects. - The Motion Lounge crewThe Motion LoungeThe Motion Lounge was a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, nightclub owned by Bonanno crime family caporegime Dominick Napolitano which also was the capo's apartment away from his home. The lounge was located at 420 Graham Avenue, across the street from the Wither's Italian-American War Veterans Club. It was...
- run by underboss and capo Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" SantoraNicholas SantoraNicholas Angelo "Nicky Mouth" Santora is the reputed underboss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:Nicholas Santora was born on June 21, 1942, and became known in his teens as a tough mobster from New York City...
. This Brooklyn-based crew is active primarily in the Western Brooklyn communities of Williamsburg and East WilliamsburgEast Williamsburg, BrooklynEast Williamsburg is a name for the area in the northwestern portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States, which lies between Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Bushwick. Much of this area has been and still is referred to as either Bushwick, Williamsburg, or Greenpoint with the...
. - The Indelicato crew - run by capo Joseph Indelicato. This crew is active in Manhattan and New Jersey. Indelicato's nephew Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato is a soldier in this crew.
- Bath Beach crew - was run by consigliereConsigliereConsigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...
Anthony Spero until his death in 2008. - Phoenix crew - possibly inactive after retiring of Joe Bonanno.
Allied criminal organization
- The Bonanno's and the Canadian faction - In the late 1950s, Carmine GalanteCarmine GalanteCarmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
established two groups to control the illegal rackets in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The Sicilian groupRizzuto crime familyThe Rizzuto family is a Mafia organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The family territory covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The FBI considers the family connected to the Bonanno family, but the Canadian law enforcement considers it a separate crime family...
was led by Luigi Greco and the Calabrian group was led by Vic Cotroni. The Montreal groups became part of the Bonanno crime family having made members in each group. Joseph Bonanno promoted Vic Controni to become the boss (capo) of both Montreal groups. In 1964, Sicilian group leader Pasquale Cuntrera was arrested and Nicolo "Nick" RizzutoNicolo RizzutoNicolo Rizzuto , also known as Nick Rizzuto, was the crime boss of the Sicilian faction of the Italian Mafia in Montreal who later pushed out the Calabrian Cotroni family. Rizzuto was born in Cattolica Eraclea, Sicily, in 1924, and immigrated to Canada in 1954 when the family settled in Montreal...
took over the group starting a war in 1973. The Sicilians killed the Controni-Calabrian group underboss Paolo VioliPaolo VioliPaolo Violi was an Italian-Canadian mobster and longtime underboss of the Bonanno crime family's faction in Montreal, the Cotroni crime family. The Violi and Cotroni families were from Calabria while the Rizzuto crime family, like the Bonannos, were from Sicily...
and others. With the death of Vic Controni in 1984, the Rizzuto crime family became the most powerful Mafia family in Montreal, Canada. In 1988, Nick Rizzuto was convicted of cocaine trafficking and his son Vittorio "Vito" RizzutoVito RizzutoVito Rizzuto , known as Montreal's Teflon Don, was alleged to be the leading Mafia boss of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada and heads the Rizzuto crime family.-Family:...
became boss of the family. By 1999 the Rizzuto crime familyRizzuto crime familyThe Rizzuto family is a Mafia organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The family territory covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The FBI considers the family connected to the Bonanno family, but the Canadian law enforcement considers it a separate crime family...
began working independently, while remaining allies to the Bonanno family. Vito Rizzuto was arrested in January 2004 and extradited to the United States on murder charges in August 2006. In May 2007, Rizzuto accepted a plea deal for his involvement in the May 1981 murders of three renegade Bonanno capos in New York. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, with a projected release date of October 2012. However, after his release, Rizzuto faces the possibility of extradition to Italy to face conspiracy and money laundering charges concerning the Straits of Messina Bridge project there. On November 10, 2010, Nick Rizzuto was killed at his residence in the Cartierville boroughAhuntsic-CartiervilleAhuntsic-Cartierville is a borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Geography:The borough is located in the northern part of Montreal along the banks of the Rivière des Prairies, and includes some islands in the river such as Île aux Chats, Île Perry, and Île de la Visitation...
of MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
Government Informants and Witnesses
- Joseph "Big Joe" Massino – former boss from early 1990s until 2004. Massino became the first official boss from New York to become an informant. While boss, Massino changed the Bonanno family from being the weakest family in New York City to one of the most powerful in the country. He teamed up with Gambino family boss John GottiJohn GottiJohn Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
to reinstate the Bonanno family on the Mafia Commission. In the early 2000s, Massino was the strongest and most influential boss not in prison. In January 2003, Massino was charged with the 1981 murder of Bonanno capo Dominick Napolitano. Massino had Napolitano killed for admitting FBI agent Joseph D. PistoneJoseph D. PistoneJoseph Dominick Pistone, alias Donnie Brasco, , is a former FBI agent who worked undercover for six years infiltrating the Bonanno crime family and to a lesser extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City...
(known as Donnie Brasco) to his crew. In 2004, Massino turned informant and testified against members of his own family to avoid the death penalty. In January 2005, Massino wore a surveillance device to record conversations in prison with his acting boss Vincent Basciano. - Salvatore "Handsome Sal" VitaleSalvatore VitaleSalvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale was a New York City caterer and former underboss of the Bonanno crime family of La Cosa Nostra before becoming a government informant.-Biography:...
– former underboss. In January 2003, Vitale was charged with the 1992 murder of Bonanno associate Robert Perrino. in April 2003, Vitale became a government informant. In July 2004, he testified at the trial of his brother-in-law, boss Joseph Massino. - Richard CantarellaRichard CantarellaRichard Cantarella , was an New York mobster who became a caporegime for the Bonanno crime family and later a government witness.-Biography:...
– former underboss. In December 2002, Cantarella became one of the first Bonanno government witnesses. In January 2003, Cantarella was indicted for the 1991 murder of Bonanno associate Robert Perrino. In June 2004, Cantarella testified against boss Joseph Massino. Cantarella's wife Lauretta, his son Paul, a Bonanno soldier, and cousin Joseph D’Amico, a Bonanno capo, also became government witnesses. - Frank Coppa Sr.Frank CoppaFrank Coppa Sr. is a Sicilian-American gangster in the Bonanno crime family who was a close friend of Joseph Massino and Frank Lino.-Further reading:...
- former capo. Became a government witness in November 2002. - Frank "Curly" LinoFrank LinoFrank "Curly" Lino is a Sicilian-American caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who later became an informant.-Biography:...
– former capo. Became the first government witness in Bonanno history. Lino testified at the trial for the 1981 murders of Bonanno capos Alphonse Indelicato, Philip Giaccone, and Dominick Trinchera. Lino then testified on the 1981 murder of Dominick Napolitano. Napolitano was killed by Bonanno family member Robert Lino Sr. (his cousin) and Ronald Filocomo. - James "Big Louie" Tartaglione – former capo. In 2003, Tartaglione began wearing a surveillance device and recorded conversations with other Bonanno family members. In 2007, Tartaglione testified against Vincent Basciano and Patrick DeFilippo.
- Paul "Paulie" Cantarella - former soldier and son of Bonanno capo Richard Cantarella. In 2002, Paul became government witness with his father and his mother Lauretta.
- Joseph "Joey Moak" D'AmicoJoseph D'AmicoJoseph D'Amico , also known as "Joey Moak" was a made man in the Bonanno crime family who later turned informant...
– former soldier in the crew of his uncle, Bonanno capo Alfred "Al Walker" Embarrato’s. D’Amico was arrested for the murder of his cousin Anthony Mirra, who had allowed FBI agent Joseph Pistone to work for the family. In March 2003, D'Amico decided to become a government informant. - Dominick Cicale – former capo and former friend of acting capo Vincent Basciano. In 2007, Cicale became a government witness and testified against Basciano.
- Nicholas "P.J" Pisciotti – former acting capo. In 2007, Pisciotti assaulted several Genovese crime familyGenovese crime familyThe Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
associates in a Little ItalyLittle ItalyLittle Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.-Canada:*Little Italy, Edmonton, in Alberta*Little Italy, Montreal, in Quebec...
restaurant. When Piscotti learned that Bonanno mobsters Nicholas Santora and Anthony Rabito had given the Genovese family permission to kill him, Pisciotti became a government witness. In 2007, he testified against Vincent Basciano. - Joseph Calco – former associate with the Bath Avenue crew. In 2001, Calco became a government witness and testified against Bonanno Consigliere Anthony Spero. Calco then entered the Witness Protection Program under the name "Joseph Milano". While working in Florida, Calco got into a fight and his true identity became public knowledge.
- Michael "Mikey Y" Yammine – former associate with the Bath Avenue crew. In 2001, Yammine became a government informant and testified against Bonanno consigliere Anthony Spero.
- Duane "Goldie" Leisenheimer – a family associate and ally to Joseph Massino since the age of twelve. He joined Massino hijacking crew and helped hide Massino in 1980s. Leisenheimer was the lookout for the 1981 murder of three captains. In 2004 with Salvatore Vital testifying against him he turned informant against Massino.
- Chris "King of South Beach" PacielloChris PacielloChris Paciello is a convicted felon who was a nightclub owner in Miami in the 1990s. After serving a prison sentence, he is currently a restaurant owner in Los Angeles....
- former associate of the Bonanno and Colombo crime familyColombo crime familyThe Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
's. In 1993, Paciello became a government informant.
Hearings
| Boss | Joseph Bonanno Joseph Bonanno Joseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. was a Sicilian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family. He was nicknamed "Joe Bananas," a name he despised.-Early life:... |
| Underboss | Carmine Galante Carmine Galante Carmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family... |
| Consigliere | Frank Garafolo |
| Caporegimes: | Joseph Notaro, other caporegimes unidentified |
| Soldiers: | Michael Angelina, James Colletti, Michael Consolo, Rasario Dionosio, Nicholas Marangello, Frank Mari, John Petrone, Angelo Presinzano, Frank Presinzano, Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli Philip Rastelli Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:... , George Rizzo, Michael Sabella Michael Sabella Michael "Mimi" Sabella was a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and a relative of Philadelphia crime family mob boss Salvatore Sabella.-Early years:... , Joseph Spadaro, Costenze Valente Constenze Valenti Constenze "Stanley" Valenti was boss of the criminal organization known as the Rochester crime family in the 1950s... , Frank Valente Frank Valenti Frank J. Valenti was boss of the criminal organization known as the Rochester crime family from 1964 to 1972... , Nicholas Zapprana |
In popular culture
- The 1997 film Donnie BrascoDonnie Brasco (film)Donnie Brasco is a 1997 crime drama film directed by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Michael Madsen. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based in New York City...
tells the story of how FBI agent Joseph D. PistoneJoseph D. PistoneJoseph Dominick Pistone, alias Donnie Brasco, , is a former FBI agent who worked undercover for six years infiltrating the Bonanno crime family and to a lesser extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City...
was able to work undercover with the Bonanno crime family and almost became a made manMade manA made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
. The film was directed by Mike Newell, Written by Joseph D. Pistone and starred Al PacinoAl PacinoAlfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
and Johnny DeppJohnny DeppJohn Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
. - In the video game GTA 4 the Messina crime family is based on the Bonanno crime family. The Messina family is said to return its lost power back in the last years because of their alliance with Jon Gravelli. This is like the Bonanno family 1990s turn around becoming a powerful force on the commission again after John Gotti helped them regain their lost seat. They have a stronghold in Dukes the GTA 4 version of Queens like the real life Bonannos and also are involved in construction business.
- The 1999 film Bonanno: A Godfather's Story is an autobiography of boss Joseph "Joe Bananas" BonannoJoseph BonannoJoseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. was a Sicilian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family. He was nicknamed "Joe Bananas," a name he despised.-Early life:...
. Directed by Michel Poulette, the film was based on the book written by Bill and Joseph Bonanno. Joseph was played by Martin LandauMartin LandauMartin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
, Tony NardiTony NardiTony Nardi is a Canadian actor, playwright, director and producer.Tony Nardi is a two-time winner of the Genie Award for Best Actor, for his roles in La Sarrasine and My Father's Angel....
. and Bruce RamsayBruce RamsayBruce Ramsay is a Canadian film, television and stage actor.-Early life:Ramsay was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
.
Further reading
- Bonanno, Bill. Pistone, Joseph. (2008). "The Good Guys." MUST READ.
- Bonanno, Bill (1999). "Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story." New York: St Martin's Paperbacks
- Bonanno, Joe (1983). A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno. New York: St Martin's Paperbacks. ISBN 0-312-97923-1
- Talese, Gay (1971). Honor Thy FatherHonor Thy FatherFor the song by Dream Theater, see Train of Thought Honor Thy Father was a 1971 book by Gay Talese, about the travails of the Bonanno crime family in the 1960s, especially Salvatore Bonanno and his father Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno.- Background :In 1965, Gay Talese left his job as a reporter at...
. Cleveland: World Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8041-9980-9 - Pistone, Joseph D.; & Woodley, Richard (1999) Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the MafiaDonnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the MafiaDonnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia is a non-fiction crime book written by Joseph D. Pistone. It is the true story of FBI agent Joseph Pistone going undercover and infiltrating the Mafia...
, Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-66637-4. - Pistone, Joseph D. (2004). The Way of the WiseguyThe Way of the WiseguyThe Way of the Wiseguy, by Joseph D. Pistone , is a non-fiction description of Mafia personalities and culture, published in 2004. The author, Joseph D...
, Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-1839-7. - Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-2707-8.
- Alexander, Shana. The Pizza Connection: Lawyers, Drugs, Money, Mafia. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988.
- Blumenthal, Ralph. Last Days of the Sicilians. New York: Simon & Schuster (Pocket Books), 1988.
- Sterling, Claire. Octopus: How the Long Reach of the Sicilian Mafia Controls The global Narcotics Trade. New York: Simon & Schuster (Touchstone), 1990.
- Stille, Alexander. Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia & the Death of the First Italian Republic. New York: Random House, 1995.
- Nicaso, Antonio & Lamothe, Lee. Bloodlines: The Rise & Fall of the Mafia's Royal Family. Canada: Harper Collins, 2001.
- Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families: The Rise, Decline & Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empire. New York: St. Martins Press, 2005.
- Edwards, Peter. The Northern Connection: Inside Canada's Deadliest Mafia Family. Canada: Optimum International, 2006.
- Humphreys, Adrian & Lamothe, Lee. The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia & the Rise of Vito Rizzuto. Canada: Wiley, 2006.
- Crittle, Simon. The Last Godfather: The Rise & Fall of Joey Massino. New York: Berkley Books, 2006.
- DeStefano, Anthony. The Last Godfather: Joey Massino & the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family. California: Citadel, 2006.
- - SECRETS OF THE DEAD . Gangland Graveyard - PBS
External links
- Dieland: Bonanno crime family "American Zips"
- Press release on the 2004 indictment of Vincent Basciano on racketeering charges
- Acting boss Michael Mancuso arrested on 2004 murder charge, February 17, 2006
- Mafia Who's Who