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A March 2009 article in the New York Post stated that [[Salvatore Montagna|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.<ref name="circus">http://www.nypost.com/seven/03082009/news/regionalnews/its_a_mob_family_circus_158597.htm</ref>
A March 2009 article in the New York Post stated that [[Salvatore Montagna|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.<ref name="circus">http://www.nypost.com/seven/03082009/news/regionalnews/its_a_mob_family_circus_158597.htm</ref>

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.<ref name="Capeci">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-capeci/mob-murder-in-montreal-co_b_417688.html</ref> 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. Grimaldi, whose family has operated a bakery in Flushing, Queens for 100 years, 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.<ref name="Capeci"/> Another major player with key Sicilian backing is [[Vincent Badalamenti]], whose Christmas Party was raided by DEA agents on Christmas Day 2009. Who will ultimately lead the Bonannos is still up in the air, but both sides seem to agree that they won't be taking orders from the last wiseguy that Massino anointed as acting boss Vincent Basciano. "Joe's word don't count any more," said one source, adding that even if his words still had clout, it made no sense.<ref name="Capeci"/> Basciano has already been convicted of racketeering, and faces another trial for additional racketeering and murder charges.


==Historical leadership of the Bonanno family==
==Historical leadership of the Bonanno family==

Revision as of 04:48, 5 March 2010

Bonanno crime family
Founded bySalvatore "Caesar" Maranzano and named after Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno
Founding locationUnited States New York City
Years active1920s-present
TerritoryVarious neighborhoods over New York City
EthnicityMade men are Italian, Italian-American. Criminals of various ethnicities are employed as "associates"
Membership (est.)115 made members approx,[1] 2500+ associates
Criminal activitiesRacketeering, conspiracy, loan sharking, money laundering, murder, drug trafficking, pornography, and gambling
AlliesGambino, Colombo, Lucchese, and Genovese crime families
RivalsVarious gangs over NYC including their allies

The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that controls 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, this family was the first one of the New York families to be kicked off the Commission the second was the Colombo crime family in the 1990s.[2] The Commission is a council of the bosses that help to maintain order in the Mafia. The unacceptable infractions that lead to the family being kicked off was the allegation that the family was actively dealing heroin and the inner family fighting for control of leadership. These were unacceptable crimes and the commission members decided to kick out the Bonanno family. Since then the family faced shaky leadership with acting boss Carmine Galante being murdered on the order of imprisoned boss Philip Rastelli. This family has suffered two major indignities. The first came in 1981 when they learned that an FBI agent calling himself Donnie Brasco had infiltrated their ranks. The second time was in 2004 when boss Joseph Massino, who previously brought the family back to respectable stature and back on the commission, became the first-ever Mafia boss in history to become an FBI informant.

History

The formation of the family

The Castellammarese War between Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano was the catalyst for the creation of the Five Families. Having variously played both sides to further his own aims, Charles "Lucky" Luciano had both men killed within six months of each other in order to restructure the mob, remove the position of the "Boss of Bosses" so coveted by Maranzano and establish The Commission to regulate the affairs of the families. One of the five branches established was headed up by Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, formed from part of the Maranzano Family.

Bonanno was at the time the youngest of the bosses of the Five Families at 26 years old.[3] He directed the family into the popular organized crime dealings, involving gambling, loan-sharking, and racketeering. The Bonanno Family was considered the closest knit of the Five Families due to the fact that it was made up of mostly Sicilians from the seaside town where Bonanno was born – Castellamare del Golfo, Sicily. Bonanno strongly believed blood relations and a strict Sicilian upbringing could be the only way to hold the traditional values of La Cosa Nostra together.

Bonanno's powerbase was augmented by his close relations with Peter Panza, head of one of the strongest families in Montreal, including members such as Gino Camaro, Tony Arms and Coumbare Guliano D. Among these connections was the 1956 marriage of Bonanno's son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno to Joe Profaci's niece Rosalie. Joe Profaci was head of one of the five families of New York. If members of the other three families exercised thoughts of muscling in on Bonanno enterprises, the close ties to the Profaci family (which later became the Colombo family) made them think twice, but the death of Joe Profaci in 1962 threatened to undermine Bonanno's position.

The Bonanno War

Also called the "Banana Split", the Bonanno war was a civil war within the Bonanno Family. Many men in Bonanno's family were growing wary, complaining that he was never around. Eventually, the commission decided that he no longer deserved to be boss, naming Bonanno capo regime Gaspar DiGregorio, Peter Panzone's second cousin on his mother's side, the new boss.

The skirmishes that then took place between DiGregorio supporters and Bonanno loyalists, led by Frank Labruzzo and Bonanno's son Bill, became known as the Bonanno War. Matters came to a head in a house in Brooklyn where a peace summit was due to be held between the two sides - DiGregorio's men arrived intending to wipe out the opposition and a large gun battle ensued, though no one was killed.

Further peace offers from both sides were spurned and the family's troubles continued. The Commission grew tired of the affair and replaced DiGregorio with Paul Sciacca, but the fighting carried on regardless, with both sides losing a number of men.

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, but he was jailed on narcotics charges in 1971 and was replaced by Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola as boss of the Bonanno family. His leadership was short lived - his death (from natural causes) in 1973 brought Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli to the throne

Spurned by the Commission

Due to the infighting of the Bonanno family, they were stripped of their seat on the Commission, and 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-current Underboss 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. [1]

Donnie Brasco

Two of the men involved in the murder of the three rogue Bonanno men were Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero and his capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano. The former had become friendly with a man calling himself Donnie Brasco and had proposed him as a full member of the family, but unbeknownst to Napolitano, Brasco was in fact undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone. Numerous charges were aimed at members of the family following the evidence and testimony of Pistone, and both Ruggiero and Rastelli received lengthy sentences, Lefty spent a total of 11 years in prison and died of lung cancer 3 years after he was released. Napolitano faced a worse fate - on August 17, 1981, he was shot in the basement of Ronald Filocomo's house by Filocomo and Frank "Curly" Lino. The movie Donnie Brasco is based on these events.

The family regroups

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 Gotti, also helped to get the Bonannos a seat on "The Commission" again.

As a result, while the other families were finding their bosses targeted by the police for drug offenses, Massino managed to keep his nose clean until the killing of Napolitano came back to haunt him. He and his underboss, Salvatore Vitale, 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 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.

Indictments and informants

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 recently 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.

Federal law enforcement authorities have recently claimed in a New York Daily News column that current Bonanno Family Boss Vincent Basciano has named Brooklyn business owner Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna, age 35 of Elmont, Long Island as the new "acting boss" of the Bonanno Family. 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. The newly alleged acting boss 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."

Current position of the family

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."[4] Several top Bonanno family members including two former acting bosses and the current Boss Vincent Basciano have been indicted and convicted recently, reinforcing the government's claim of victory over the Bonanno family and New York's La Cosa Nostra. In February 2005, Bonanno family Capo Anthony "Tony Green" Urso pled guilty to racketeering, murder, gambling, loan sharking and extortion charges, while Capo Joseph "Joe Saunders" Cammarano, along with soldier Louis Restivo pled guilty to murder and racketeering charges."[5]

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."[6] The most recent blow to the Family came with the September 20, 2006 sentencing of capos Louis "Louie Ha Ha" Attanasio and Peter "Rabbit" Calabrese to 15 years in prison for the 1984 murder of capo Cesare Bonventre in Queens.

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.[7]

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 the upcoming trial of Capos Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso and Patrick "Patty from the Bronx" DeFilippo on murder, gambling and racketeering charges, the ability of the Bronx faction to stay in control of the crime family will be determined along with the Bonanno family's future position in North America's underworld. Basciano is still the alleged "Boss" of the Bonannos, with, from late 2006, Salvatore Montagna as "acting boss", following orders from the imprisoned Basciano. With Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora as "acting underboss" for the imprisoned Michael Mancuso, and Anthony Rabito as the alleged consigliere, Montagna is capable to run the day-to-day operations on behalf of Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano.[7][8]

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.[1]

Historical leadership of the Bonanno family

Bosses (official and acting)

Boss Don/Godfather. The don is the head of the family, no one can call the shots over his decisions. He is also only 1 of 2 people (the 2nd man is the underboss) who can initiate someone into the family, allowing them to become a made man. Since his rank gives him the authority to give the oath to new members and make them sgarrista (soldiers). He also has the authority to give people their positions and ranks. As the boss of the family he usually reigns as a dictator.

Underboss

Underboss- is the number two position in the family (after the Don, Godfather, Boss). Also known as the "capo bastone" in some criminal organizations, this individual 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.

Consiglieri

Consigliere 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."

Current family leaders

  • Vincent Asaro - acting boss and capo from Queens who is rumored to be a candidate for official boss.

Current family capos

Capo- Caporegime (Crew boss/Captain/Lieutenant) A Caporegime is appointed by the boss to operate a borgata (regime, or crew) of sgarrista (soldiers). Each Capo reports directly to the Underboss for permission to do different things. When someone is needed to be taken care of the capo's are usually asked to carry out the order. They are the head of day-to-day operations of their own crews. The capo heads a crew of any given number of soldiers. These soldiers give the Capo part of their earnings, and the Capo gives part up to the Underboss. Caporegimes are also the ones who may ask and recommend certain men to be sworn into their crews. When this happens they must ask the underboss or the don himself.

Brooklyn

  • Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora – current underboss and capo of a Brooklyn-based crew. Santora originally belonged to the The Motion Lounge crew run by Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano. Under Napolitano, this crew allowed an undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone (also known as Donnie Brasco) to work with them for years. The crew is active in the Western Brooklyn communities of Williamsburg and East Williamsburg among others.
  • Vincent "Vinny T.V." Badalamenti – 53 year-old 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.[15][16]
  • 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.[17][18]
  • Sandro Aiosa - capo in Brooklyn since 1970's.[19]
  • Louis "Louie Electric" DeCicco - capo of a Brooklyn-based crew with operations in Queens and Long Island. In March 2007 he was arrested along with other Bonanno family capos and the underboss.[20] The 63 year old DeCicco was released from prison on December 31, 2009.[21]

Brooklyn & Manhattan

  • William "Willie Glasses" Riviello – 70 year-old capo operating in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Westchester County. In 2004,Riviello was arrested for a bank fraud scheme that involved stolen checks which grossed over $500,000 for the family. The scam was operated in the Bronx and Yonkers. Riviello was released from prison in 2007.[22][23]

Manhattan & New Jersey

Queens

Staten Island

  • Anthony Calabrese – 42 year-old capo based in Staten Island. He was found with capo Vincent Badalamenti on December 2009 meeting at a Bensonhurst storefront for a Christmas party.[16]
  • Frank Porco - 70 year-old capo operating from Staten Island, Brooklyn and Florida. In 2005, was released from prison.[26][27]
  • Anthony "Tony Black" Furino - capo in Staten Island. In 2004, was arrested for extortion of Long Island clubs and Staten Island restaurants. In 2007, Furino was released from prison and is now allegedly operating his Staten Island crew.[19][28]

Bronx

New Jersey

  • Joseph "Sammy" Sammartino Sr. – 55 year-old capo in the New Jersey faction since 2003. He lives in North Arlington New Jersey and is part of the current ruling panel/committee that runs the family today. His crew is based in Bayonne New Jersey. On October 14, 2009, Sammartino was arrested on loan sharing charges along with capo Anthony Sclafani.[10][29]
  • Anthony "Scal" Sclafani – capo in the New Jersey faction. On October 14, 2009, was arrested on loansharking charges along with Joseph Sammartino Sr.[10][30]
  • Joseph "Joe Lefty" Loiacono - acting capo of the New Jersey Faction. On October 14, 2009, was arrested with capos Joseph Sammartino Sr. and Anthony Sclafani. Loiacono ran a loansharking operation is New Jersey, with top soldier Frank "Big Frank" Pastore and associate Peter DeFilippo serving as enforcers.[31]
  • Anthony "Little Anthony" Pipitone - acting capo in New Jersey. On October 14, 2009, Piptone was arrested with other Bonanno family figures.[32]

Florida

  • (In prison) Gerard "Jerry" Chilli- capo operating a crew in Broward County, Florida and Hollywood with his nephew Tom Fiore.[33]
  • Thomas Fiore - 46 year-old acting capo of Gerard Chilli’s South Florida crew. He is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On October 14, 2009 the Bonanno family 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 and four other associates. 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.[34]

Imprisoned capos

  • (In prison) Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso - Capo and former Underboss/Acting boss Reportedly a Bronx faction leader under Vincent Basciano, Mancuso is currently incarcerated on federal racketeering charges. He is currently incarcerated his projected release date is March 12, 2019.[35][36]
  • (In prison) Louis "Louie Ha Ha" Attanasio - Capo with the Bronx section. Attanasio was a longtime loyalist of Joseph Massino and Salvatore Vitale until they became government witnesses. Attanasio is currently incarcerated and under indictment. He is currently imprisoned his projected release date is January 23, 2018.[37]
  • (In prison) Patrick "Patty From the Bronx" DeFilippo - Capo in the Bronx wing and leader of the family's Sicilian faction. Was incarcerated on racketeering charges. Acting boss Salvatore Montagna took over upon his imprisonment. Projected released date is June 25, 2038.[38]
  • (In prison) Jerome "Jerry" Asaro - a capo with large illegal gambling and loansharking rings in Queens. He is the son of Vincent Asaro. In February 2007, Jerome pleaded guilty to 25 years of association with the Bonanno family. His release date is November 2, 2010.[39]
  • (In prison) Anthony "T.G." Graziano - Capo In the Staten Island wing since the 1980s and Consigliere. Graziano operated a pension fund scheme that eventually reaped over $11.7 million from elderly investors. He also supervised a large narcotics trafficking operation in Florida. In 2002, was imprisoned on federal racketeering and murder charges. His projected release date is January 30, 2012.[40]
  • (In prison) Anthony "Tony Green" Urso - Capo under Joseph Massino since the 1990s. Served as acting boss while Massino was on trial. In 2004, Urso was imprisoned for extortion and loansharking. Currently in prison his projected release date is December 5, 2021.[41]

Former capos

Family soldiers

Family crews

Allied criminal organization

Canadian faction

The Canadian Rizzuto family in Montreal Canada has been a faction of the Bonanno family from its creation. This changed in the 1990’s when the Rizzuto family decided and declared to go on their own, considering that it has outgrown the Bonanno family.[citation needed] Today the two crime families have remained allies.[44]

  • Nicolo "Nick" Rizzuto - He became the official Capo of the Montreal faction of the Bonanno crime family in 1984 with the death of previous leader, the Calabrian Godfather Vic Cotroni. By the late 1970s he was recognized as the leader of the sixth family, a title given to his Sicilian crime family by the media and by the late 1980s he was recognized as the Canadian mafia's Godfather. He was indicted and imprisoned in November 2006, but was released in October 2008 after time served and a plea agreement that included probation. Rizzuto is thought by law enforcement to be an adviser or consigliere for his crime family, while his son is the acting leader or boss. He was born in Sicily.
  • Vittorio "Vito" Rizzuto - The younger Rizzuto is also a capo within the Bonanno crime family, a position former Montreal mafia member and Rizzuto relative Gerlando "George from Cananda" Sciascia once held before his murder in 1999. Vito holds a unique position within the North American mafia as both a mid level leader within the Bonanno crime family and as the boss of the Rizzuto Crime Family, further more he is recognized as one of the most powerful, influential and wealthiest Italian mafia members worldwide. Born in Sicily, he immigrated with his father Nick in the mid 1950s and has since built a Mafia empire based in Canada which specializes in international narcotics trafficking. Arrested in January 2004, then extradited to the United States in August 2006, where he is currently incarcerated after a May 2007 plea deal. Rizzuto received ten years for his involvement in the May 1981 murders of three renegade Bonanno capos. His release date is scheduled for October 2012, but he faces the possibility of being extradited to Italy to face criminal conspiracy and money laundering charges concerning the Straits of Messina Bridge project.[45]

Other alliances

  • Vito Lucarelli - capo of the Detroit faction. Along with nephew Francesco "Frank Adonis" Lucarelli is involved in protection rackets, drug dealing, and import/export. They are believed to be also involved in a gang war with Black gang The Grey Hounds. Frank is a hitman for that faction.

Government Informants

  • Joseph "Big Joe" Massino – Was the first ever Mafia Boss in the United States to turn informant. He had been boss from the 1990s until 2004 when he turned informant. Massino had changed the Bonanno family from being the weakest family in New York City to become one of the most powerful families in the United States. He teamed up with Gambino family boss John Gotti and helped get the Bonnano's back on the Mafia's Commission. In the early 2000s he was the strongest and most influential boss that wasn't in jail. Massino was charged in January 2003 with the murder of Bonanno capo Dominick Napolitano in 1981. Massino had Napolitano killed for allowing FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone (know as Donnie Brasco) to work with his crew. In 2004 he turned informant and testified against members of his own family to avoid the death penalty. Massino began to were a wire in January 20005 and recorder conversations in prison against his acting boss Vincent Basciano. This left the entire Bonanno family in shame and disrespect.[46][47][48][49][50]
  • Salvatore "Handsome Sal" Vitale – was the former Bonanno family underboss before cooperating with the government in April 2003. Vitale was charged in January 2003 for the murder of Robert Perrino a Bonanno family associate in 1992. After turning government informant, Vitale testified in the trial of former family Boss Joseph Massino in July 2004. Vitale is brother-in-law to Massino and worked together in the Mafia for years.[51] [52]
  • Richard "Shellackhead" Cantarella – is a former acting underboss in the Bonanno family. He decided to become one of the first Bonanno family members to become a government informant in history in December 2002. He was indicted on murder charges of a 1991 New York Post deliver supervisor Robert Perrino. He decided to testify against former Bonanno family boss Joseph Massino in June 2004. His son Paul Cantarella a Bonnanno family soldier and wife Lauretta also became informants. Richard cousin Joseph D’Amico is another former Bonnano family capo who turned informant.[53] [54] [55] [56] [57]
  • Frank Coppa Sr. - is a former Bonanno family capo who decided to cooperate with the government in November 2002.[58] [59]
  • Frank "Curly" Lino – a former capo who became the first man in the Bonanno family history to break the code of omerta in 2003 and began testifying about the murders of Bonanno capos Alphonse Indelicato, Philip Giaccone and Dominick Trinchera. All three capos were killed on May 5, 1981 in Brooklyn. He then spoke about the murder of Dominick Napolitano in August 1981. Napolitano was killed by Bonanno family member Robert Lino Sr. (his cousin) and Ronald Filocomo. He testified with his son Joseph Lino a soldier and other Bonanno family members watching him in disappointment breaking the code of omerta.[60][61]
  • James "Big Louie" Tartaglione – also know as "Jimmy Tag" is former capo in the Bonanno family. He was a longtime Joseph Massino supporter who decided to turn informant and began to ware a wire in 2003. Tartaglione recorded conversations with other Bonanno family members. The former boss Joseph Massino was very disappointed in Big Louie defection even more than his brother-in-law Salvatore Vitale. He testified in the case against Vincent Basciano and Patrick DeFilippo in 2007.[62] [63] [64] [65]
  • Paul "Paulie" Cantarella - is a former soldier in the Bonanno family. His father is Richard Cantarella a former Bonanno family capo. The family decided that together Paul his father Richard and mother Lauretta would become government informants in 2002. [66] [67]
  • Joseph "Joey Moak" D'Amico – is a former soldier in the Bonanno family. He was part of his late uncle capo Alfred "Al Walker" Embarrato’s crew who died in 2001. Richard Cantarella his cousin took over the crew and continued to expand the crew’s role in extorting the New York Post. D’Amico was arrested for the murder of his cousin Anthony Mirra who allowed FBI agent Joseph Pistone to work for the family. He decided to turn government informant in March 2003.[68] [69]
  • Dominick Cicale –is a former soldier and acting capo in the Bonanno family. He was friends with Vincent Basciano the acting boss of the Bonanno family based in the Bronx. He became a government informant and testified against Basciano in 2007.[70] [71] [72]
  • Nicholas "P.J" Pisciotti – is a former acting capo in the Bonanno family. He turned informant in 2007 after he assaulted Genovese family associates running a Little Italy Bistro called Odea. He found out that Bonanno family legends Nicholas Santora and Anthony Rabito had given Genovese members the alright for revenge. He decided to become an informant and testified against Vincent Basciano in 2007.[73]
  • Joseph Calco – is former Bonanno family associate. He worked in the Bath Avenue crew until 2001 when he testified against Bonanno family Consigliere Anthony Spero. Calco then entered witness protection under the name "Joseph Milano" and was working in Florida until he got into a fight and his cover was revealed.[74]
  • Michael "Mikey Y" Yammine – is a former Bonanno family associate of the Bath Avenue crew. He became a government informant in 2001 and testified against Bonanno family consigliere Anthony Spero.[75] [76]
  • The 1997 film Donnie Brasco tells the story of how FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone was able to work undercover with the Bonanno crime family and almost became a made man. The film was directed by Mike Newell, Written by Joseph D. Pistone and starred Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.
  • 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 families 1990s turn around becoming a powerful force on the commission again after John Gotti helped them regain their lost seat.
  • In The Godfather: The Game Tattaglia Family could be based on the Bonanno Family in the game they are the weakest of the five families in New York City. The Tattaglia Family is based in Brooklyn controlling almost every business and racket on the Brooklyn waterfront.
  • In the film Bonanno: A Godfather's Story (1999) (the film is also called Youngest Godfather) was the true life story of mafia boss Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno. The story spans from Joe Bonanno's early life in Italy, to his America Mafia career. The film was directed by Michel Poulette based on the book writing by Bill Bonanno and Joseph Bonanno and Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno was played by Martin Landau/Tony Nardi/Bruce Ramsay.

Further reading

  • 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

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