Bonanno crime family

Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano has been boss since 2004.
In	New York City
Founded by	Salvatore "Caesar" Maranzano and named after Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno
Years active	1920s-present
Territory	Various neighborhoods over New York City
Ethnicity	Made men are Italian, Italian-American. Criminals of various ethnicities are employed as "associates"
Membership	115 made members approx,[1] 2500+ associates
Criminal activities	Racketeering, conspiracy, loan sharking, money laundering, murder, drug trafficking, pornography, and gambling
Allies	Gambino, Colombo, Lucchese, and Genovese crime families
Rivals	Various gangs over NYC including their allies

The Mafia (Cosa Nostra)
Sicilian Mafia
Commission · Sicilian Mafia clans · Sicilian Mafiosi Second Mafia War · History of the Sicilian Mafia
Antimafia
Italian Antimafia Commission · Maxi Trial
American Mafia (Commission)
Mafia crime families · Italian-American crime families Commission member families: Bonanno · Colombo · Gambino · Genovese · Lucchese · Chicago Outfit · Scarfo · DeCavalcante · Detroit Partnership Castellammarese War
Chain of Command
Commission Family (Cosca) Don (Boss of family) Underboss Consigliere (Advisor) Caporegime or capodecina (Captain) Soldato (Soldier) Associate
Codes
Made man · Omertà · Vendetta
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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).

Contents 1 History 1.1 The formation of the family 1.2 The Bonanno War 1.3 Spurned by the Commission 1.4 Donnie Brasco 1.5 The family regroups 1.6 Indictments and informants 1.7 Current position of the family 2 Historical leadership of the Bonanno family 2.1 Bosses (official and acting) 2.2 Underboss 2.3 Consiglieri 3 Current family leaders 4 Current family Capos 5 Allied criminal organization 5.1 Canadian faction 5.2 Other alliances 6 Bonanno family crews 7 Family soldiers 8 In popular culture 9 Further reading 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History

[edit] 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.^[2] 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.

[edit] 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 mothers side, the new boss. If they had expected Bonanno to take this lying down, they were wrong.

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 (first name?) 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

[edit] 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]

[edit] 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 latter 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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."

[edit] 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."^[3] 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."^[4]

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."^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[6][7]

A March 2009 article in the New York Post stated that Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna is the current acting boss of the Bonanno Crime Family. The article also stated that the Bonanno family current consists of approximately 115 "made" members.^[1]

[edit] Historical leadership of the Bonanno family

[edit] 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.

• 1890s–1901 — Giuseppe "Don Peppino" Bonanno (the older brother to Salvatore and Stefano Bonanno and uncle to Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno. He came to New York City and started to create a Castellammarese clan. In Sicily the Bonanno family and Magaddino family were at war with the Buccellato family but died in 1901.)
• 1908–1911 — Salvatore "Sal" Bonanno (he came to New York City with his wife Caterina Bonventre and son Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno. Went back to Italy in 1911 and died in 1915.)
• 1911–1920 — Nicola Schiro (disappears in 1930)
• 1930– Vito Bonventre (murdered on July 15, 1930 by Masseria hit men)
• 1930–1931 — Salvatore "Caesar" Maranzano (murdered September 1931)
• 1931–1965 — Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno
• Acting — 1956–1957 - John "Johnny Burns" Morales
• Acting— 1962–1964 - John "Johnny Burns" Morales
• Acting — 1964–1965 - Frank LaBruzzo
• 1965 – 1968 — Gaspar "Gasparino" DiGregorio (installed by commission)
• Acting 1966-1968 — Paul Sciacca
• 1968–1971 — Paul Sciacca (installed by commission, arrested May 12, 1971 for conspiracy to sell heroin in "Operation Flanker", but charges were eventually dismissed)
• 1971–1973 — Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola (died 1973)
• 1973–1991 — Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli (jailed in 1975-1984 and 1986-1991)
• Acting— 1975–1979 — Carmine "Lilo" Galante (murdered 1979)
• Acting — 1979–1983 Salvatore "Sally Fruits" Farrugia
• Acting — 1987–1991 Anthony "Old Man" Spero
• 1991–2004 - Joseph "Big Joe" Massino (a.k.a. "The Ear") (Jailed in January 2003, became FBI informant in October 2004)
• Acting — 1991–1993 - Anthony "Old Man" Spero
• Acting — 2003–2004 - Anthony "Tony Green" Urso
• 2004–present — Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano (convicted July 2007)
• Acting — 2005–2006 - Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso (jailed February 2006)
• Acting — 2006–2009 - Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna (was deported back to Canada in April 2009) ^[8]
• Acting — 2009–present -Ruling Committee/Panel - Joseph Sammartino Sr. (capo in New Jersey)^{[9] [10]} , and other members

[edit] Underboss

Underboss- is the number two position in the family (after Don, Godfather, Boss). Also known as the "capo bastone" in some criminal organizations, this individual is responsible for ensuring that profits from criminal enterprises flow up to the boss and generally oversees the selection of the caporegime and soldier(s) to carry out murders and other criminal activities. The underboss takes control of the crime family after the bosses death. He keeps this power until there is a new boss chosen to run the crime family which in some cases was the underboss.

• 1908-1930 - Vito Bonventre (promoted to Boss in 1930)
• 1931-1950 - Giovanni Bonventre
• 1950-1956 - Francesco Garafolo
• 1956-1962 - Carmine "Lilo" Galante
• 1962-1964 – 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" Evola (Promoted to boss in 1971)
• 1971-1973 - Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli (Promoted to acting boss in 1973)
• 1974-1979 - Nicholas "Nicky Glasses" Marangello
• 1979-1981 - Salvatore "Sal" Catalano
• 1981-1988 - Joseph "Big Joe" Massino
• Acting 1984-1988 - Louis "Louie Ha Ha" Attanasio
• 1991-2004 - Salvatore "Handsome Sal" Vitale (became FBI informant in October 2004)
• Acting 2001-2003 - Richard "Shellackhead" Cantarella (became an FBI informant on December 2002, and in June 2004 testified aganist Bonanno boss Joseph Massino.)^[11]
• Acting 2003-2004 - Joseph "Joe Saunders" Cammarano
• 2005-present - Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora

[edit] 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."

• 1931-1964 -John Tartamella
• 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" Rastelli (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^[12][13])
• Acting 1987-1992 - Joseph Buccellato
• Acting 1999-2001 - Anthony "T.G." Graziano
• 2001-present - Anthony "T.G." Graziano
• Acting 2001-2003 - Anthony "Tony Green" Urso
• Acting 2003-present - Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito

[edit] Current family leaders

• Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna - Acting Boss and captain of the Bonanno family since the conviction of Vincent Basciano in 2006. Reportedly the Sicilian faction leader in the Bronx of the Bonanno crime family, Montagna is currently residing in a modest home in Elmont, Long Island. Montagna is a Canadian citizen. He was born in Montreal, Canada, but his family are natives of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, where Bonanno crime family patriarch Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno was born. Montagna was recently arrested by the FBI and deported back to Canada, landing in Quebec April 21, 2009 under the watchful eye of Canadian Customs officials, who allowed the Canadian citizen to enter the country without incident, but he is being closely watched by Royal Canadian Mounted Police agents. Even if Sal the Ironworker does not maintain his official status as Bonanno acting boss, he may very well continue to hold a leadership or high level position within the crime family due to the fact that the Montreal mafia's Sicilian faction led by the Rizzuto crime family have long maintained close ties with the Bonanno crime family and other New York mafia factions.

• Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora - Underboss of the Bonanno crime family since 2005 with the conviction and federal cooperation of Joseph Massino and Salvatore Vitale. A Brooklyn faction leader, Santora took over the legendary crew which was formerly headed by Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano. Currently on trial for racketeering and extortion charges.^[7]

• Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito - Consigliere to Vincent Basciano prior to his incarceration. A longtime member of the Bonanno family, Rabito operated with an illegal gambling and loansharking ring stretching from Brooklyn to Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island, earning $210,000 a week from January 2003 to July 2004. Currently on trial for RICO charges.^[7]

[edit] Current family Capos

Capo- Caporegime (Crew boss/Captain/Lieutenant) A Caporegime is appointed by the Don, and is in charge of his own borgata (regime, or crew). This is made up of a 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.

• The Bonanno family has long been centered in Brooklyn communities like East Williamsburg were caporegime Dominick Napolitano ran a nightclub The Motion Lounge. Now this crew is controlled by Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora who is also the current underboss of the family.

Brooklyn

• Joseph Cammarano Sr.– capo and the father of Joseph Cammarano Jr. both operate there crew in Brooklyn.^[14]
• Joseph "Joe Saunders" Cammarano - Capo in the Bonanno crime family since the 1990s under Joseph Massino. Cammarano was indicted in 2007 along with 17 others for racketeering, conspiracy, illegal gambling, extortion, loansharking and drug trafficking.^{[15] [16]}
• Sandro Aiosa - longtime Brooklyn capo since 1970s. ^[17]
• (In prison) Louis "Louie Electric" DeCicco -Capo for the Bonanno family. In March 2007 he was arrested along with other Bonanno family capos and the underboss. He runs a Brooklyn based crew also operating in Queens and Long Island.^[18]

Bronx

• Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna - Capo and Acting Boss of the Bonanno crime family since the conviction of Vincent Basciano in 2006. Reportedly the Sicilian faction leader in the Bronx of the Bonanno crime family. Born in Montreal, Canada.
• (In prison) Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso - Capo and former Underboss/Acting boss of the Bonanno crime family. Reportedly a Bronx faction leader under Vincent Basciano, Mancuso is currently incarcerated on federal racketeering charges.^[19]
• (In prison) Louis "Louie Ha Ha" Attanasio - Capo with the Bronx section and longtime loyalist of Joseph Massino and Salvatore Vitale before they turned state's evidence. A longtime member of the Bonanno crime family, Attanasio is currently incarcerated and under indictment.
• Peter "Rabbit" Calabrese - Capo and longtime associate of Louis Attanasio and Joseph Massino.
• (In prison) Patrick "Patty From the Bronx" DeFilippo - Capo in the Bronx wing and leader of the family's Sicilian faction until he was incarcerated on racketeering charges. Acting boss Salvatore Montagna took over upon his imprisonment.

Queens

• Joseph "Joe Desi" DeSimone - Capo in the Queens faction of the Bonanno family. A former "sidewalk soldier" under Phillip Giaccone, DeSimone is reportedly involved in loansharking and extortion activities. Mob expert Jerry Capeci recognizes DeSimone as being involved with the slayings of Giaccone, Dominick Trinchera and Alphonse Indelicato.^[20]
• (In prison) Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato - Capo in the Queens section of the family. A 'made member' since the late 1970s, suspected hitman in the murder of Carmine Galante and son of Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, he inharited his father's crew and is accordingly a higher power with Vincent Basciano and Salvatore Montagna.^[21]
• Vincent "Vinny" Asaro - Capo under Joseph Massino since the 1980s. According to Henry Hill, Asaro operated and supervised a multi-million-dollar ring of stolen cars being sold as parts during the 1990s, and oversaw the hijacking export at John F. Kennedy International Airport. In 1995, Asaro was convicted of racketeering and enterprise corruption and was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison.
• (In prison) Jerome "Jerry" Asaro - Capo with large illegal gambling and loansharking rings in the Queens section of New York City. Pleaded guilty to at least 25 years of association with the Bonanno crime family since his indictment in February 2007. Awaiting sentence.^{[7] [22]}

Staten Island & Florida

• (In prison) Anthony "T.G." Graziano - Capo and the former Bonanno family Consigliere]. A recognized captain of the Staten Island wing since the 1980s, Graziano would organize pension funds which eventually reaped more than $11.7 million from the elderly customers, as well as supervising large narcotics trafficking operations in Florida. Jailed in 2002 for federal racketeering and murder charges.

Long Island

• (In prison) Anthony "Tony Green" Urso - Capo under Joseph Massino since the 1990s. Accordingly, Urso stepped up as Massino's Acting boss while he was on trial, but was imprisoned in 2004 for extortion and loansharking charges. Currently imprisoned.

New Jersey

• Joseph "Sammy" Sammartino Sr. – capo in the New Jersey faction of the family since 2003. Sammartino is 55 year old capo lives in North Arlington New Jersey and is part of the current ruling panel/committee running the family today. His crew is base is in Bayonne New Jersey. He was arrested on October 14, 2009 on loan sharing charges along with another New Jersey capo Anthony Sclafani.^[9][23]
• Anthony "Scal" Sclafani – capo in the New Jersey faction of the family was arrested on October 14, 2009 on loansharking charges along with Joseph Sammartino Sr.^[9][24]
• Joseph "Joe Lefty" Loiacono - acting capo in the Bonanno family New Jersey Faction was arrested along with New Jersey faction leading capo Joseph Sammartino Sr. and capo Anthony Sclafani on October 14, 2009. Loiacono was running a loansharking operation is New Jersey with his top solider Frank "Big Frank" Pastore and associate Peter DeFilippo as enforcers collecting on the debts.^[25]
• Anthony "Little Anthony" Pipitone - acting capo in New Jersey. Piptone was involved in the Bonanno family bust getting arrested on October 14, 2009.^[26]

Florida

• (In prison) Gerard "Jerry" Chilli -capo operating in Broward County Florida. It’s suspected to run a crew in Hollywood Florida along with his nephew Tom Fiore.^[27]
• Thomas Fiore - is the acting capo running South Florida crew. 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 south Florida crew is based in Fort Lauderdale and led by capo Thomas Fiore who is 46 years old. The members that plead guilty include 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.^[28]

[edit] Allied criminal organization

[edit] Canadian faction

The Canadian Rizzuto family in Montreal Canada has been a faction of the Bonanno family from it creation. It was seen as a crew instead of its own separate crime family. This changed in the 1990’s when the Bonanno family allowed them to become its own crime family. Today the two crime families have remained allies.^[29]

• 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.^[30]

[edit] Other alliances

• Vito Lucarelli The crew boss of the Detroit faction. Along with nephew Francesco "Frank Adonis" Lucarelli. They are involved in protection rackets, drug dealing, 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.

[edit] Bonanno family crews

• Bath Beach crew - headed by Bonanno family consigliere Anthony Spero

[edit] Family soldiers

• (In prison) Thomas Pitera

[edit] In popular culture

• The film Donnie Brasco in (1997) was about how an FBI agent worked 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 there 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 there lost seat.
• In The Godfather: The Game Bonanno crime family could be based on the Tattaglia 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.

[edit] 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

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (June 2009)

[edit] External links

• 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

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v • d • e American Mafia crime families Active Bonanno (New York City)  · Bufalino (Pennsylvania)  · Buffalo  · Chicago  · Cleveland  · Colombo (New York City)  · DeCavalcante (New Jersey)  · Detroit  · Gambino (New York City)  · Genovese (New York City)  · Kansas City  · Los Angeles  · Lucchese (New York City)  · New Orleans  · Patriarca (New England)  · Philadelphia  · Pittsburgh  · St. Louis  · Trafficante (Florida) Defunct Genna (Chicago)  · Licavoli (Midwest)  · Milwaukee  · Porrello (Cleveland)  · Rochester  · Smaldone (Denver)  · San Francisco  · Sciortino (San Jose)