Bonanno crime family

Bonanno crime family

Joseph "Big Joey" Massino was boss until 2004, when he became a government witness
Founded by (named after Joseph Bonanno)
Founding location New York City, United States
Years active C. 1890s-present
Territory Various neighborhoods in New York City
Ethnicity Made men are Italian, Italian-American. Criminals of various ethnicities are employed as "associates"
Membership (est.) 130-150 made members, 500+ associates
Criminal activities Racketeering, conspiracy, loan sharking, money laundering, murder, drug trafficking, pornography, extortion and illegal gambling, prostitution, bookmaking, corruption
Allies Gambino, Colombo, Lucchese, Genovese and Rizzuto crime families
Rivals Various gangs over NYC including their allies

The Bonanno crime family (pronounced [boˈnanno]) 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 American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra).

Founded by and named after Joseph Bonanno, for over 30 years the family was one of the most powerful in the country. However, in the early 1960s, Bonanno attempted to seize the mantle of boss of bosses, but failed and was forced to retire. This touched off a period of turmoil within the family that lasted almost a quarter-century. It 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 infighting for the boss's mantle, as well as allegations the family was actively dealing heroin and that an FBI agent calling himself Donnie Brasco had infiltrated their ranks. Later, the family faced shaky leadership, with the acting boss Carmine Galante murdered in 1979 at the command of Philip Rastelli, the actual boss. The family only recovered in the 1990s under Joseph Massino, and by the dawn of the new millennium was not only back on the Commission, but also was the most powerful family in New York. However, in the early 2000s, a rash of convictions and defections culminated in Massino himself becoming a government informant in 2004.

History

Sicilian origins

The origins of the Bonanno crime family can be traced back to the town of Castellammare del Golfo located in the Province of Trapani, Sicily.[1] The Bonanno Mafia clan was led by boss Giuseppe "Peppe" Bonanno and his older brother Stefano as advisor.[1] The strongest ally of the Bonanno clan was the boss of the Magaddino Mafia clan Stefano Magaddino.[1] During the 1900s, the Bonanno and Magaddino Mafia clans feuded with Felice Buccellato, the boss of the Buccellato Mafia clan.[1] After the deaths of Stefano Bonanno and Giuseppe Bonanno, their younger brother, Salvatore, took revenge, killing members of the Buccellato clan.[1] In 1903, Salvatore Bonanno married Catherine Bonventre and on January 18, 1905 she gave birth to Giuseppe. Three years later Salvatore Bonanno moved his family to New York City. While away Stefano Magaddino took over running the Bonanno-Magaddino-Bonventre Mafia clan.[1] Salvatore Bonanno along with members of the Bonanno-Magaddino-Bonventre clan 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.[1] In 1911, Salvatore Bonanno returned to Sicily and died of a heart attack in 1915.[2] Stefano Magaddino arrived in New York and became a powerful member of the Castellammarese clan.[3] In 1921, Magaddino fled to Buffalo to avoid murder charges.[3] The Castellammarese clan was taken over by Nicolo Schirò.[4]

Castellammarese War

Main article: 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 War.[5] The conflict 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 Nicolo "Cola" Schirò 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.[5]

The Castellammarese faction was more organized and unified than Masseria family. Maranzano's allies were Buffalo family boss Stefano Magaddino, Detroit family boss Gaspar Milazzo and Philadelphia family boss Salvatore Sabella, all Castellammarese.[5] Maranzano's faction included mobsters Joseph Bonanno, Carmine Galante, and Gaspar DiGregorio. Maranzano was also close to Joseph Profaci future boss of the New York Profaci family. Finally, Maranzano established a secret alliance with Bronx Reina family boss Gaetano Reina, a nominal Masseria ally.

After Reina's murder on February 26, 1930, members of the Masseria faction began to defect to Maranzano.[5] By 1931, momentum had shifted to Castellammarese faction. That spring, a group of younger mafiosi from both camps, known as the "Young Turks", decided to switch to Maranzano and end the war. This group included future mob bosses Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Vito Genovese, Frank Costello, Tommy Lucchese, Albert Anastasia and Joe Adonis.[6] As leader of the Young Turks, Luciano concluded a secret deal with Maranzano and promised to kill Masseria. On April 15, 1931 Masseria was murdered ending the long Castellammarese War.[5]

Maranzano's murder and the Commission

After Masseria's death, Maranzano 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.[5] In New York City, Maranzano established five Cosa Nostra families: the Luciano family under Lucky Luciano, the Mangano family under Vincent Mangano, the Gagliano family under Tommy Gagliano, the Profaci family under Joseph Profaci, and the Maranzano crime family under himself. Maranzano created an additional post for himself, that of capo di tutti capi, or boss of bosses.[5]

Although Maranzano was more forward-looking than Masseria, at bottom he was still a Mustache Pete. It did not take long for Maranzano and Luciano to come into conflict. Luciano was not pleased that Maranzano had reneged on his promise of equality, and soon came to believe he was even more hidebound and greedy than Masseria had been. Maranzano, in turn, grew uncomfortable with Luciano's ambitions and opposed his partnership with Jewish mobsters Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel. Maranzano secretly plotted to have Luciano killed. However, after Lucchese alerted Luciano that he was marked for death, Luciano struck first on September 10, 1931. Jewish gangsters hired by Luciano murdered Maranzano in his office.[5] Now in control of the Cosa Nostra, Luciano replaced the "boss of bosses" with The Commission to regulate the Mafia's national affairs and mediate disputes between families.[5] Luciano was appointed the first chairman of the Commission.

The Bonanno era

After Maranzano's death, Joseph Bonanno was awarded most of Maranzano's crime family. At only 26 years old, Bonanno was the youngest Mafia leader in the nation.[7] Years later, he claimed not to have known about the plot to eliminate Maranzano, but it is very unlikely that Luciano would have allowed him to live had he still backed Maranzano.[8] Bonanno directed his family into illegal gambling, loansharking, and narcotics. The family also built significant criminal interests in California and Arizona. With the support of his cousin, Buffalo crime family boss Stefano Magaddino, Bonanno also expanded into Canada.[9]

Like Maranzano, Bonanno believed in the Old World Mafia traditions of "honor", "tradition", "respect" and "dignity" as principles for ruling his family. He was more steeped in these traditions than other mobsters of his generation.[6] The Bonanno family was considered the closest knit of the Five Families because Bonanno tried to restrict membership to Castelammarese Sicilians. 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.[10]

Over the years, Bonanno became a powerful member of the Commission due to his close relationship with fellow boss Joe Profaci. In 1956, the relationship between the two bosses became stronger when Bonanno's son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno married Profaci's niece Rosalie.[11] The Bonanno-Profaci alliance deterred the other three families from trying to steal their rackets.

The "Banana War" (1964–1968)

So called as a play on the phonetic sound of the name, "Bonanno". The stable power relationship between the families collapsed with the death of Joe Profaci in 1962. Bonanno was now threatened by an alliance of Tommy Lucchese and new boss Carlo Gambino.[11] At the same time, Bonanno was facing rising discontent within his own family. In the early 1960s many of the Bonanno family members were complaining that Bonanno spent too much time at his second home in Tucson, Arizona.[11]

In 1963, Bonanno and Joe Magliocco, Profaci's successor as boss of the Profaci family, conspired to wipe out several other mob leaders, Stefano Magaddino, Carlo Gambino, Tommy Lucchese and Frank DeSimone.[9] 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.[9] The other bosses quickly realized that Magliocco could not possibly have planned this by himself. Knowing how close the Bonanno and Profaci families had been over the last three decades, they viewed Bonanno as the real mastermind. The commission summoned Magliocco and Bonanno. In view of their pioneering roles in the New York Mafia, the commission intended 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.

On October 21, 1964, Bonanno disappeared and wasn't heard from again for almost two years. After months of no word from Bonanno the Commission named capo Gaspar DiGregorio the new boss.[6]Gaspar "Gasparino" DiGregorio[12] The family split into two factions, the DiGregorio supporters and the Bonanno loyalists. In the media the event was referred to as the "Banana Split" or "Banana War".[13] The Bonanno loyalists were led by Bonanno's brother-in-law Frank Labruzzo and his son Bill Bonanno. In 1966, DiGregorio arranged for a sit-down in a house on Troutman Street in Brooklyn.[13] 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.[11][13]

In May 1966, Bonanno reappeared and rallied a large part of the family to his side. He claimed that Magaddino, acting on behalf of the commission, sent two of his soldiers to kidnap Bonanno and held him captive for six weeks. However, this account is almost certainly false based on contemporary accounts of the time. Several of Bonanno's button men were overheard expressing their disgust that Bonanno "took off and left us here alone", and New Jersey crime boss Sam DeCavalcante was overheard saying that Bonanno's disappearance took the other bosses by surprise. Bonanno may have had another reason to disappear—he was facing a subpoena from U.S. Attorney Robert Morgenthau, and faced the choice of either breaking his blood oath or going to jail for contempt.[5] 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 in 2002).[11] The commission accepted this offer, with the stipulation that he never involve himself in New York Mafia affairs again under pain of death.[5] Both factions came together under Sciacca's leadership. His replacement was Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola as boss of the Bonanno family.[13] Evola's leadership was short lived - his death (from natural causes) in 1973 brought Philip "Rusty" Rastelli to the throne.[12][14]

Rastelli regime

Mugshot of Carmine Galante in 1943

Due to the infighting of the Bonanno family, it was spurned by the other families 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 - Philip 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.

In August 2006, the alleged boss of the Montreal Cosa Nostra, Vito Rizzuto, was extradited from Canada to the United States to face charges in the 1981 murder in New York of the three Bonanno captains. Vito Rizzuto was released from prison in Colorado and returned to Toronto, Canada, on October 5, 2012.[15][16]

Donnie Brasco

Joseph D. Pistone, alias Donnie Brasco

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.[17][18][19] Anthony Mirra, the man who had brought Pistone to the family, was also killed.

Pistone was on the verge of becoming made when the FBI ordered him to end his operation on July 26, 1981. Pistone wanted to become made, believing that if it got out that a Mafia family had allowed an FBI agent into its ranks, it would destroy its reputation for invincibility. However, Pistone's superiors felt it was too dangerous. 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. They were thus the only family whose leadership wasn't decimated as a result of the trial. The leaders of the other major families were all sent to prison for life, with the Lucchese family losing its entire hierarchy. 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. However, Massino had been the real power in the family since the mid-1980s. One of his first acts was to change the family's name to "the Massino family." Like other mafiosi, Massino had been very displeased at Bonanno's tell-all book, A Man of Honor, and believed he'd broken the code of omertà by writing it. However, the change never stuck, and most people outside the family continued to use the old name.

Remembering the pitfalls that landed other bosses in prison, Massino adopted a more secretive way of doing business. He shut down the family's social clubs, believing they were too easy to bug. He also streamlined the family's chain of command, assigning a group of capos to oversee a particular enterprise and report to underboss Salvatore Vitale. He also barred family members from speaking his name. Instead, they were to point to their ears when referring to him—a nod to how Genovese boss Vincent Gigante told his men to point to their chins rather than use his name. Remembering how close Pistone/Brasco had come to actually becoming made, Massino required any prospective soldier to be "on record" with a made man for at least eight years before becoming made himself. He also strongly encouraged his men to volunteer their sons for membership, believing that they would be less likely to turn informer and be more loyal. However, the family already had a reputation for loyalty; it was the only family that had never seen one of its members turn informer in the seven decades since the Castellammarese War.[5]

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. Over the next 10 years, the family steadily increased its power. By the mid-1990s, the FBI reckoned Massino as the most powerful Mafia boss in New York and the country. He was the only full-fledged New York boss who wasn't in prison.

Massino turns informant

FBI mugshot of Joseph Massino

The family managed to keep its nose clean until 2000, when a pair of forensic accountants who normally worked on financial fraud cases discovered that Barry Weinberg, a businessman who had partnered with capo Richard "Shellackhead" Cantarella in several parking lots, had failed to report millions of dollars worth of income over a decade. Told he faced a long prison term unless he wore a wire and incriminated his Bonanno partners, Weinberg agreed to cooperate. One of Weinberg's other partners, Augustino Scozzari, also agreed to cooperate. Between them, Weinberg and Scozzari captured hundreds of incriminating statements from Cantrella and his crew.[5]

In October 2002, armed with this evidence, the government won a 24-count RICO indictment against 21 Bonanno soldiers and associates. The biggest names on the indictment were Cantarella—who was serving as acting underboss while Vitale was awaiting sentencing for loansharking and money laundering—and capo Frank Coppa. Within a month of his indictment, Coppa agreed to become a government witness, becoming the first made man in the Bonanno family's history to break his blood oath. Soon after agreeing to cooperate, Coppa directly implicated Massino in the Napolitano murder, and also implicated Cantarella and Vitale in the 1992 murder of New York Post delivery superintendent Robert Perrino, who was a Bonanno soldier. Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Cantarella negotiated his own plea bargain in December, and agreed to testify against Massino and Vitale.[5]

Massino and Vitale were charged with the crime in 2003, mostly on testimony from Cantarella and Coppa. Vitale also faced charges for the murder of Perrino. Up to this point he had been utterly loyal to his boss. However, Cantarella and Coppa told FBI agents that Massino suspected Vitale was an informer and wanted him killed. When the FBI notified Vitale of this, Vitale decided to switch sides himself.[5][20] He was followed in rapid succession by four other soldiers and associates. Massino now faced eleven RICO counts, including seven murders. In a separate indictment, Massino was charged with an eighth murder, that of capo Gerlando "George from Canada" Sciascia, which carried the death penalty. With seven of his former henchmen testifying against him, his conviction in July 2004 was a foregone conclusion.[5]

Shortly after Massino's arrest, longtime capo Anthony "Tony Green" Urso became acting boss. Urso's tenure was short-lived as he too was imprisoned on numerous charges, leading to Vincent Basciano taking control as operating head of the family. In November 2004, shortly after taking over, Basciano himself was indicted on RICO charges. In January 2005, he was slapped with additional charges of plotting to kill Greg Andres, the federal prosecutor who had sent Massino to prison. At that arraignment, prosecutors made a shocking announcement—most of the evidence came from conversations taped by Massino. Four months after his conviction, Massino had become the first full-time boss of an American crime family to turn informant, sparing himself the ultimate penalty for the murder of Sciascia. By this time, 90 of the family's 150 made men were under indictment.[5] He was sentenced to time served and released in 2013.

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.

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.

Although Basciano's term as acting boss was hampered with his arrest in late 2004, 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 cell at ADX Florence.

Basciano's leadership

Vincent Basciano

Bonanno family boss Vincent Basciano named Brooklyn business owner Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna, as the new "acting boss" of the Bonanno Family. Sometimes referred to as "Sal the Zip" due to his Sicilian birth, Montagna was closely associated with the Bonanno Sicilian faction, including Baldo Amato and capo Cesare Bonventre. Montagna started as a soldier in capo Patrick "Patty from the Bronx" DeFilippo's crew. In 2003, Montagna became acting capo after DeFilippo's 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."[21] 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."[22]

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."[23]

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.[24] On February 6, 2007 acting underboss Nicholas Santora, acting consigliere Anthony Rabito, captains or former captains Jerome Asaro, Joseph Cammarano, Jr. and Louis Decicco were indicted on racketeering charges.[25]

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.[24] Vincent Basciano is serving a prison sentence for racketeering and Salvatore Montagna has been deported to Canada where he was later killed in 2011. 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 Montagna was the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family. The article also stated that the Bonanno family current consists of approximately around 130 non-imprisoned "made" members.[26] Montagna was later deported to Canada in April 2009 leaving the family to create a ruling panel until a new boss was chosen.[27]

On January 11, 2010 Jerry Capeci quoted sources as saying that Nicholas Santora and Anthony Rabito, were supporting Vincent Asaro to become the new boss of the family.[28] Asaro 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).[28] 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.[28]

In January 2012, prosecutors indicted the hierarchy of the Bonanno family on racketeering and extortion charges. These charges were primarily based on information from government informant Hector Pagan. Those arrested were Nicholas Santora, James LaForte, Vincent Badalamenti, and soldiers Vito Balsamo and Anthony Calabrese.[29] All five defendants pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were given sentences ranging from six to 18 months.[30][31][32][33] Anthony Graziano (Pagan's ex father-inlaw), who was arrested in 2011, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison.

In June 2013, Michael Mancuso, who is currently imprisoned was named the new official boss of the family.[34] Mancuso is the first man to hold this title since boss Massino became a government witness in 2004.[34] Mancuso's underboss Thomas DiFiore took over as acting boss in his absence,[34] but in January 2014 he was arrested as part of the investigation of Vincent Asaro.[35]

Historical leadership

Boss (official and acting)

Street boss

The Street boss is responsible for passing on orders to lower ranking members. In some instances a Ruling panel (of capos) substituted the Street boss role. The family may choose to assemble a ruling panel of capos if the boss dies, goes to prison, or is incapacitated. During the 1960s family war, a ruling panel of capos controlled the decision making of the family.

Underboss (official and acting)

Consigliere (official and acting)

Current family members

Administration

Capos

Brooklyn faction

Staten Island faction

Manhattan faction

Queens faction

New Jersey faction

Soldiers

Imprisoned soldiers

Former members

Family crews

Allied criminal organization

Government informants and witnesses

Hearings

In popular culture

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno By Joseph Bonanno p.25-28
  2. ↑ Organized Crime by Howard Abadinsky pg.104-107
  3. 1 2 Jerry Capeci The Complete Idiot's Guide To The Mafia pg.49-52
  4. ↑ The Last Testament of Bill Bonanno: The Final Secrets of a Life in the Mafia By Bill Bonanno, Gary B. Abromovitz pg.57-58
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families: The Rise, Decline & Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empire. New York: St. Martins Press, 2005.
  6. 1 2 3 Sifakis, Carl (1987). The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York City: Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-1856-1.
  7. ↑ Raab, Selwyn (May 12, 2002). "Joe Bonanno Dies; Mafia Leader, 97, Who Built Empire". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  8. ↑ Bruno, Anthony. "The Bonanno Family: The Man of Honor". TruTV Crime Library. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Bruno, Anthony. "The Bonanno Family: "What's There to Say?"". TruTV Crime Library. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The Last Testament of Bill Bonanno: The Final Secrets of a Life in the Mafia By Bill Bonanno, Gary B. Abromovitz pg.241
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Bonanno, Joe A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno. New York: St Martin's Paperbacks., 1983. ISBN 0-312-97923-1
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The Mafia Made Easy: The Anatomy and Culture of La Cosa Nostra by Peter J. Devico (pg. 173)
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Mafia Encyclopedia By Carl Sifakis pg.28-29
  14. 1 2 3 Pistone, Joseph D. Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia chapter 12 "Sonny Black"
  15. ↑ Bruno, Anthony. "My Thing". TruTv Crime Library. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  16. ↑ "Vito Rizzuto". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  17. ↑ Pistone, Joseph D.; & Woodley, Richard (1999) Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-66637-4.
  18. ↑ Pistone, Joseph D. (2004). The Way of the Wiseguy, Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-1839-7.
  19. ↑ Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-2707-8.
  20. ↑ "Betrayed by a Mafia Underboss" (October 28, 2010) New York Times
  21. ↑ "Mob Family's Undoing, a Turncoat at a Time", by William K. Rashbaum, news article in The New York Times, July 3, 2006, Web page accessed on July 3, 2006
  22. ↑ "Nation in Brief, New York", from News Services, news article in Washington Post, February 12, 2005, Web page accessed on November 21, 2006
  23. ↑ "Gambling Probe Nets mob's Aged "Mr. Fish" and Mature Associates", by Michael Powell, news article in Washington Post, June 19, 2005, Web page accessed on November 21, 2006
  24. 1 2 Bruno, Anthony. "The Bonanno Family: The Last Don". TruTV Crime Library. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 "BONANNO FAMILY ACTING UNDERBOSS, ACTING CONSIGLIERE AND 17 CAPOS, SOLDIERS, AND ASSOCIATES INDICTED FOR RACKETEERING, RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY, AND OTHER CHARGES" Federal Bureau of Investigation New York Division Department of Justice Press Release 2007
  26. ↑ Cohen, Stefanie (March 8, 2009). "It's A Mob Family Circus". New York Post.
  27. 1 2 "Canadian officials aware of imminent return to Montreal of alleged Mafia boss" Mafia Today April 20, 2009
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mob Murder In Montreal Could Trigger Bloodshed In New York" by Jerry Capeci The Huffington Post January 11, 2010
  29. ↑ Maddux, Mitchel (January 27, 2012). "Feds bust high-ranking Bonanno crime family members in sweeping probe". New York Post.
  30. ↑ Sanders, Anna (August 20, 2012). "'Mob Wives' Star Wears FBI Wire, Gets Gangsters Sentenced". Huffington Post.
  31. ↑ "Reputed boss of Bonanno crime family sentenced to 18 months in prison - NY Daily News". Daily News (New York).
  32. ↑ Marzulli, John (April 9, 2012). "Bonanno crime boss Vincent Badalamenti pleads guilty to felony". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  33. ↑ Maddux, Mitchel (April 10, 2012). "‘Mob Wife’ dad guilty". New York Post. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 Marzulli, John (June 24, 2013). "Bonanno crime family sniffs out Michael 'The Nose' Mancuso as new boss: sources". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  35. ↑ Larry McShane; John Marzulli (2014-01-24). "Feds charge mobster in $6 million Lufthansa heist at Kennedy Airport that was portrayed in 'Goodfellas'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  36. ↑ Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia By Joseph D. Pistone read
  37. ↑ Marzulli, John (2012-01-27). "Feds bust 5 mob suspects , including alleged Bonanno boss Vincent (Vinny TV) Badalamenti". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  38. ↑ Capeci, Jerry (June 13, 2013). "New Bonanno Boss Speaks Softly; Hides In The Bushes". Gang Land News. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  39. ↑ Friend of the Family: An Undercover Agent in the Mafia by D. Lea Jacobs, Anthony Daniels pg.136
  40. 1 2 3 Sampson, Peter J. (October 14, 2009). "N. Arlington man jailed on loan-sharking charges". North Jersey.com. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  41. ↑ Marzulli, John (November 23, 2009). "No bail for alleged Bonanno mob extort man who 'found' 10G in Bahamas". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  42. ↑ Bonanno family ruling panel revealed by Phil Leo (April 29, 2013)
  43. ↑ Yaniv, Oren (March 28, 2015). "Bonanno crime family street boss locked up after feds catch him meeting with other mobsters — violating his parole". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  44. 1 2 Marzulli, John (January 18, 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Mob boss rebuilding what's left of Bonanno crime family". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  45. ↑ Cohen, Stefanie (July 4, 2007). "Mob Name Game". New York Post.
  46. ↑ Weber, Bruce (October 4, 2008). "Anthony Spero, 79, Served as Mob Clan's Consigliere, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  47. ↑ Weber, Bruce (October 3, 2008). "Anthony Spero, a Name in the Bonanno Crime Family, Is Dead at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  48. ↑ "Michael Mancuso" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  49. 1 2 "DEA Grinches Spoil Bonanno Family Christmas Party" by Jerry Capeci The Huffington Post December 28, 2009
  50. ↑ "Nicholas Santoro". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  51. ↑ "Anthony Graziano" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  52. ↑ Bonanno Crime Family by Anthony M. DeStefano
  53. ↑ "FBI arrests 19 reputed members of N.Y. crime family" By Anthony M. Destefano Newsday - PoliceOne.com
  54. ↑ "Mafia Family Members, Associates Charged with Racketeering, Extortion and Other Crimes" Mafia News Today - U.S. Attorney General's Office February 26, 2010
  55. ↑ "Superseding Indictment Unsealed Charging Luchese and Bonanno Captains, Soldier, and Associates Variously with Racketeering, Racketeering Conspiracy, Extortion, and Other Crimes" Department of Justice Press Release February 24, 2010
  56. ↑ "Bonanno and Lucchese Family Bust" Mafia News Today February 26, 2010
  57. ↑ "Anthony Mannone". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  58. ↑ http://www.onewal.com/mn200703.pdf
  59. ↑ "Louis DeCicco" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  60. ↑ "Bonannos Creamed As 7 Mobsters Cop Pleas". New York Post. October 23, 2004.
  61. 1 2 United States v. Anthony Urso, et al
  62. ↑ 1996 U.S. Dist. "LEXIS 4651 Scaflani" The Laborers.net
  63. ↑ Marzulli, John (October 22, 2009). "Reputed capo in Bonanno crime family names social club after Staten Island youth league". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  64. ↑ Marzulli, John (October 7, 2009). "Reputed capo Anthony Sclafani avoids big house by staying home". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  65. ↑ "Anthony Sclafani". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  66. ↑ http://www.websupp.org/data/EDNY/1:03-cr-00929-842-EDNY.pdf
  67. ↑ "Frank Porco" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  68. ↑ "Swimming with the Fishes" by Bob Norman Broward Palm Beach New TimesApril 14, 2005
  69. 1 2 Realdealmafia.com
  70. ↑ Gearty, Robert (June 15, 2004). "YONKERS BANKER BUSTED IN 500G SCAM". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  71. ↑ "William Riviello" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  72. ↑ Donohue, Pete (1998-11-20). "ELUSIVE MOBSTER CONVICTED". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  73. ↑ "Feds: A reputed mob "capo" operated out of Bayonne" by Michaelangelo Conte The Jersey Journal Monday, October 12, 2009
  74. ↑ Bonanno capo Joseph (Sammy) Sammartino gets prison time, $50,000 fine for extortion MafiaToday.com
  75. ↑ "Sandro Aiosa". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  76. ↑ Staten Island Advance Print Edition - - Staten Island Advance - SILive.com
  77. ↑ Cornell, Kati; Demarche, Edmund (October 8, 2009). "Feds pick bunch of Bonannos". New York Post.
  78. ↑ "Joseph Loiacono" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  79. ↑ Cornell, Kati (October 7, 2009). "Feds arrest 15 alleged members of Bonanno mob family". New York Post.
  80. ↑ "Anthony Pipitone" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  81. ↑ "Jerome Asaro" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  82. ↑ Capeci, Jerry (February 15, 2007). "A Mobster's Toughest Foe: His Mother". New York Sun. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  83. ↑ "FBI Arrests 19 Reputed Members of a NY Crime Family PoliceOne.com
  84. ↑ Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  85. 1 2 Abadinsky, Howard Organized Crime pg.34-35
  86. ↑ Judge Orders Four In 'Pizza' Case To Contribute To Fund For Addicts by Frank J. Prial (June 23, 1987) New York Times
  87. ↑ Mafia Informers Ridiculed By Defense In 'Pizza' Trial by Arnold H. Lubasch (February 20, 1987) New York Times
  88. ↑ Witness's Testimony: The Versions Differ (September 28, 1987) New York Times
  89. ↑ Federal Witness in 'Pizza' Case Recants Testimony on Mob Boss by Ralph Blumenthal (September 28, 1987) New York Times
  90. ↑ "Salvatore Catalano". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  91. ↑ United States v. Anthony Urso, et al.
  92. ↑ Murder Suspects Having Their Heads Examined by Jerry Capeci (February 24, 2005) New York Sun
  93. ↑ Feuer, Alan (June 30, 2000). "Revisiting a Cafe's Society of Brazen Violence". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  94. ↑ "Fathers and Sons and Lessons of Crime" by JERRY CAPECI New York Sun February 17, 2005
  95. ↑ Peterson, Helen (July 7, 1996). "COPS BUST YOUNG TUFFS ON RISE WANNA-BE MOBSTERS, SAY FEDS". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  96. ↑ "Baldassare Amato". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  97. 1 2 "charged in case of dead man in a drum" The Star Ledger January 22, 2004
  98. 1 2 15-yr. Sentences For 1984 Rubout. Two Whack-o Bonanno Names Are Kod by John Marzulli (September 21, 2006) New York Daily News
  99. ↑ "Louis Attansio" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  100. ↑ "Peter Calabrese". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  101. ↑ "6 Fla. members of Bonanno crime family admit guilt". New York Post. October 14, 2009.
  102. ↑ "Leader of Bonanno Family Florida Crew Sentenced" Mafia News Today March 2, 2010
  103. ↑ "Thomas Fiore". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  104. ↑ Magnuson, Ed (June 24, 2001). "Hitting the Mafia". Time. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  105. ↑ "Anthony Indelicato". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  106. ↑ "Thomas Pitera". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  107. ↑ "Anthony Urso" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  108. ↑ Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia By Joseph D. Pistone, Richard Woodley view
  109. ↑ King of the Godfathers: Big Joey Massino and the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family by Anthony M. DeStefano pg.138
  110. ↑ King of the Godfathers: Big Joey Massino and the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family by Anthony M. DeStefano p. 229
  111. ↑ Friend of the Family: An Undercover Agent in the Mafia by D. Lea Jacobs, Anthony Daniels p.178
  112. ↑ The Gazette (Montreal), "Reputed mobster dies after shooting", Paul Cherry, 25 November 2011
  113. ↑ Worth, Robert F. (June 24, 2005). "Bonanno Crime Boss Is Sentenced to 2 Life Terms". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  114. ↑ "Family ties trip up would-be immigrant" By Estanislao Oziewicz The Globe and Mail
  115. 1 2 3 DeStefano, pp. 122
  116. ↑ "Sex Business Linked to Alleged Mobster; Zaffarano's Listing Name as Owner of Properties Seen as Trend of Open Involvement by Mob Possible 'Trend' Seen" by Selwyn Raab (March 5, 1978) New York Times
  117. ↑ "55 indicted by U.S. as Pornographers and in Film Piracy; Warrants Served on Many by F.B.I. in a Nationwide Campaign-- Six in New York Accused Six New Yorkers Indicted Similar to 2 Inquiries 55 Indicted in F.B.I. Undercover Inquiry Court Decision Cited" by Wendell Rawls, Jr. (February 15, 1980) New York Times
  118. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7-ADrGYoNo
  119. 1 2 3 Lamothe, Lee. Humphreys, Adrian. The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto. pg.27-29
  120. 1 2 3 4 Manning, George A, PH.D Financial Investigation and Forensic Accounting pg.214-215
  121. ↑ "Rizzuto murder causing shakeup in Bonanno Crime Family" Mafia News Today January 12, 2010
  122. ↑ "MONTREAL CRIME FAMILY" Mafia International.com
  123. ↑ http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/23/montreal-mafia-head-vito-rizzuto-dead-of-natural-causes-at-67-reports-say/
  124. ↑ Nicolo Rizzuto assasiné (French)
  125. ↑ Nicolo Rizzuto assasiné (Radio-Canada) (French)
  126. ↑ Montreal boss gunned down
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  128. ↑ Marzulli, John (March 1, 2006). "MASSINO WON'T SING AT MOB TRIAL". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  129. ↑ Marzulli, John (May 11, 2006). "FEDS NOT DONE WITH MOB BOSS. More trials for Basciano". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  130. ↑ Marzulli, John (December 26, 2005). "DAPPER DON'S DON JUAN PAL IS NEW BOSS OF THE FAMILY. EXCLUSIVE: TROUBLED MAFIA CLAN HAS PUT SMOOTH TALKER IN CHARGE, SAYS FORMER G-MAN". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  131. ↑ Marzulli, John (November 9, 2005). "THE LAST DON'S FAST SELLOUT. Massino flipped right after verdict". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  132. ↑ Marzulli, John (June 21, 2007). "They all thought Vinny Gorgeous was pretty nuts: Witness". New York Daily News. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  133. ↑ Marzulli, John (March 2, 2006). "WISEGUYS & PRETTYFELLAS". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  134. ↑ "Betrayed by a Mafia Underboss". New York Times. October 28, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  135. ↑ McIntire, Mike (July 27, 2004). "Man Testifies He Saw Leader of Street Fair Inducted Into Mafia". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  136. ↑ Cohen, Stefanie (July 4, 2007). "Mob Name Game". New York Post.
  137. ↑ Rashbaum, William K. (January 10, 2003). "Reputed Boss Of Mob Family Is Indicted". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  138. ↑ "New York vs. Cantarella" Buffalo.edu
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  140. ↑ "Poisoning Rats - Mob Boss Vowed Death To Turncoats". New York Post. May 28, 2004.
  141. 1 2 "Gang Couldn't Shoot Straight; Bonanno Boneheads Bungled Rub-Out". New York Post. June 30, 2004. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011.
  142. ↑ Smith, Greg B. (November 22, 2004). "MY LIFE AS A REAL MOB RAT! True Mafia story of father betraying son to save himself". New York Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  143. ↑ "Mob Canary's Song - Turncoat Tells Of 'Brasco' Slaying". New York Post. May 27, 2004.
  144. ↑ Rashbaum, William K. (December 10, 2006). "Some Made Men Struggle to Make Ends Meet". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  145. ↑ US 2nd Circuit Cases: Find US 2nd Circuit Opinions at FindLaw
  146. ↑ Willing, Richard (March 10, 2006). "The mafia is on shaky ground". USA Today. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  147. ↑ Glaberson, William (March 4, 2004). "Lawyer Described as a Dupe Or a Messenger for the Mob". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  148. ↑ Guart, Al (January 12, 2003). "Mob Clan Decided To Sing Together". New York Post.
  149. ↑ Buffa, Denise (October 3, 2002). "Bonanno No-No's: Feds Take Down 11 In Rackets Roundup". New York Post.
  150. ↑ "Family Killer - Wiseguy Shot Kin On Mob Orders". New York Post. June 16, 2004.
  151. ↑ Marzulli, John (October 18, 2007). "Killer's lawyers charge witness tried to frame him". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  152. ↑ Golding, Bruce (October 21, 2009). "Junior's mob-exists scheme". New York Post.
  153. ↑ Cohen, Stefanie (August 1, 2007). "Gorgeous Tressed To Kill". New York Post.
  154. ↑ "Mob rat smokes out Vinny". New York Daily News. July 18, 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  155. ↑ McPhee, Michele (February 7, 2009). "Mob hit man Joey Calco ruins witness protection following Florida pizzeria beating". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  156. ↑ Claffey, Mike (March 20, 2001). "'I AIN'T NO RAT,' GANGSTER QUOTED". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  157. ↑ McPhee, Michele (April 14, 2002). "RISE AND FALL OF A PLAYBOY MOBSTER How an S.I. slaying snared Chris Paciello". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  158. 1 2 Marzulli, John (July 18, 2004). "'GOLDIE' FINGERS HIS MAFIA BOSS Testifies in Massino trial". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  159. 1 2 A Mob Story by Michele R. McPhee pg.271, 277
  160. ↑ Donnie Brasco at the Internet Movie Database
  161. ↑ "Bonanno: A Godfather's Story" IMDb.com

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