144-563: Bonanno is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: Bonanno crime family , a Mafia family in New York City Joseph Bonanno (1905–2002), founder Salvatore Bonanno (1932–2008), son of Joseph Alfio Bonanno (born 1976), Australian-Italian tenor, songwriter, musician, and composer Alfredo M. Bonanno (1937–2023), Italian anarchist Anthony Bonanno , Maltese archeologist Benny Bonanno ,
288-474: A boss , an underboss , capos , and soldiers —all only of full-blooded Italian origin—while associates could come from any background. All inducted members of the Mafia are called "made" men . This signifies that they are untouchable in the criminal underworld and any harm brought to them will be met with retaliation. With the exception of associates, all mobsters within the Mafia are "made" official members of
432-630: A capo in the Colombo family, had been recruited by the FBI to help find the bodies of three civil rights workers who had been murdered in Mississippi in 1964 by the Ku Klux Klan. She said that she had been with Scarpa in Mississippi at the time and had witnessed him being given a gun, and later a cash payment, by FBI agents. She testified that Scarpa had threatened a Klansman by placing a gun in
576-434: A code of silence that forbade its members from cooperating with the police ( Omertà ). Failure to follow any of these rules was punishable by death. The rise of power that the Mafia acquired during prohibition would continue long after alcohol was made legal again. Criminal empires which had expanded on bootleg money would find other avenues to continue making large sums of money. When alcohol ceased to be prohibited in 1933,
720-404: A made man in the mob were closed, and were not reopened until 1976. Local and state law enforcement became suspicious when numerous expensive cars bearing license plates from around the country arrived in what was described as "the sleepy hamlet of Apalachin". After setting up roadblocks, the police raided the meeting, causing many of the participants to flee into the woods and area surrounding
864-539: A New York crime family to turn state's evidence, and the second in the history of the American Mafia to do so. ( Philadelphia crime family boss Ralph Natale had flipped in 1999 when facing drug charges, though Natale was mostly a "front" boss while the real boss of the Philadelphia Mafia used Natale as a diversion for authorities.) In the 21st century, the Mafia has continued to be involved in
1008-558: A Sicilian-born capo linked to the Montreal Rizzuto crime family , arranged a meeting at a Brooklyn social club with the three capos for May 5, 1981. They had four gunmen, including Vitale and Bonanno-affiliated Montreal boss Vito Rizzuto , hiding in a closet to ambush them. When Trinchera, Giaccone and Indelicato arrived with Frank "Curly" Lino to meet Massino, they were shot to death, with Massino himself stopping Indelicato from escaping. Lino escaped unscathed by running out
1152-412: A boss retains his title until he retires or dies. He did, however, designate Vitale as his messenger while he was incarcerated, and ordered Vitale to "make me boss" as soon as Rastelli died. Massino was 49 years old at the time he formally became boss, and knew he potentially had a long reign ahead of him if he could avoid the pitfalls that landed other bosses in prison. With this in mind, Massino adopted
1296-458: A broad spectrum of illegal activities. These include murder, extortion, corruption of public officials, gambling, infiltration of legitimate businesses, labor racketeering, loan sharking, tax fraud schemes and stock manipulation schemes. Although the Mafia used to be nationwide, today most of its activities are confined to the Northeast and Chicago. While other criminal organizations such as
1440-435: A crime family. The three highest positions make up the administration. Below the administration, there are factions each headed by a caporegime (captain), who leads a crew of soldiers and associates. They report to the administration and can be seen as equivalent to managers in a business. When a boss makes a decision, he rarely issues orders directly to workers who would carry it out but instead passes instructions down through
1584-753: A former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, and Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts George Bonanno , American clinical psychologist and pioneer of bereavement research Giovanna Bonanno (c. 1713 – 1789), Italian alleged witch and poisoner Giovanni Bonanno (born 1968), Italian racing driver Joseph A. Bonanno , American optometrist Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno (1956–2017), American poet, teacher, and contributing editor to The American Poetry Review Margaret Wander Bonanno (1950–2021), science fiction author Mike Bonanno , multimedia artist, leading member of The Yes Men Nicholas Bonanno (1927–2002), organizer, regional director and Vice-President of
SECTION 10
#17327652561321728-683: A government informant , the first boss of one of the Five Families in New York City to do so. The Bonanno family was seen as the most brutal of the Five Families during the 20th century. 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 , their boss Giuseppe "Peppe" Bonanno, and his older brother and advisor, Stefano. The clan's strongest ally
1872-537: A gross violation of the code of omertà . To that end, he changed the family's name to "the Massino family". At the same time, he 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 being made, Massino required any prospective soldier to be "on record" with
2016-672: A heart attack in 1915. In 1921, Magaddino fled to Buffalo, New York to avoid murder charges and the Castellammarese clan was taken over by Nicolo "Cola" Schirò . In 1930, violence broke out between a faction led by Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria and members of the Castellammareses over the theft of Masseria's bootleg liquor. This soon developed into a full out war known as the Castellammarese War . At
2160-474: 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 had been the only family in the modern history of the New York Mafia (i. e., since the Castellammarese War ) to have never had
2304-495: A made man turn informant or government witness. Massino used this as a point of pride to rally his crime family. Under Massino's leadership, the number of "made" members in the Bonanno family increased from approximately 80 in the early 1990s to around 110 by the end of the decade. Within a few years, the Bonannos had regained their Commission seat with Gotti's help. By 1998, a rash of convictions in other families left Massino as
2448-447: A man in prison who he feared mob boss, and fellow prisoner, Vito Genovese had ordered to kill him. Valachi and Genovese were both serving sentences for heroin trafficking . On June 22, 1962, using a pipe left near some construction work, Valachi bludgeoned an inmate to death who he had mistaken for Joseph DiPalermo, a Mafia member who he believed had been contracted to kill him. After time with FBI handlers, Valachi came forward with
2592-675: A meeting and arrested major figures from around the country in Apalachin, New York . The event (dubbed the " Apalachin Meeting ") forced the FBI to recognize organized crime as a serious problem in the United States and changed the way law enforcement investigated it. In 1963, Joe Valachi became the first Mafia member to turn state's evidence , and provided detailed information of its inner workings and secrets. More importantly, he revealed
2736-479: A more secretive way of doing business than had been the case for mafiosi during much of the 20th century. He shut down the family's social clubs, believing they were too easy to bug. He all but ended joint rackets with other families, believing that there was too much risk in depending on other families. He also streamlined the family's chain of command, assigning a group of capos to oversee a particular enterprise and report to Vitale, whom he named underboss. When Massino
2880-413: A murder is punishable by death. Jewish mobster and Mafia associate Dutch Schultz was reportedly killed by his Italian peers out of fear that he would carry out a plan to kill New York City prosecutor Thomas Dewey and thus bring unprecedented police attention to the Mafia. However, the Mafia has carried out hits on law enforcement, especially in its earlier history. New York police officer Joe Petrosino
3024-629: A pair of forensic accountants who normally worked on financial fraud cases discovered that Barry Weinberg, a businessman who had partnered with capo Richard 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 Cantarella and his crew. In October 2002, armed with this evidence,
SECTION 20
#17327652561323168-636: 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, each of which would choose its own boss . 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 ,
3312-585: A seat on the Commission, but Bonanno and Profaci had been close allies for over 30 years prior to Profaci's death. Bonanno's audacious goal was to take over the Commission and make Magliocco his right-hand man. Magliocco was assigned the task of killing Lucchese and Gambino and gave the contract to one of his top hit men, Joseph Colombo . However, the opportunistic Colombo revealed the plot to its targets. The other bosses quickly realized that Magliocco could not have planned this himself. Knowing how close Bonanno
3456-643: A significant and powerful presence in other Midwestern metropolitan areas such as Kansas City , Detroit , Milwaukee , Cleveland , and St. Louis . Outside of these areas, the Mafia is also very active in Florida , Phoenix , Las Vegas , and Los Angeles . Mafia families have previously existed to a greater extent and continue to exist to a lesser extent in Northeastern Pennsylvania , Dallas , Denver , New Orleans , Rochester , San Francisco , San Jose , Seattle , and Tampa . While some of
3600-434: A story of Genovese giving him a kiss on the cheek, which he took as a " kiss of death ". A $ 100,000 bounty for Valachi's death had been placed by Genovese. Soon after, Valachi decided to cooperate with the U.S. Justice Department . In October 1963, Valachi testified before Arkansas Senator John L. McClellan 's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations , known as
3744-465: A way to escape the poor lifestyle, some Italian immigrants chose to join the American Mafia. The Mafia took advantage of prohibition and began selling illegal alcohol. The profits from bootlegging far exceeded the traditional crimes of protection, extortion, gambling, and prostitution. Prohibition allowed Mafia families to make fortunes. As prohibition continued, victorious factions went on to dominate organized crime in their respective cities, setting up
3888-577: A woman, the feminine-form adjective mafiusa means "beautiful" or "attractive". In North America, the Italian-American Mafia may be colloquially referred to as simply "The Mafia" or "The Mob"; however, without context, these two terms may cause confusion as "The Mafia" may also refer to the Sicilian Mafia specifically or Italian organized crime in general, while "The Mob" can refer to other similar organized crime groups (such as
4032-638: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family (pronounced [boˈnanno] ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families " that dominate organized crime activities in New York City as part of the criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia . The family was known as the Maranzano crime family until its founder Salvatore Maranzano
4176-680: Is that of a " family ", as the various criminal organizations that make up the Mafia are known. Despite the name of "family" to describe the various units, they are not familial groupings. The Mafia is most active in the Northeastern United States , with the heaviest activity in New York , Philadelphia , Baltimore , New Jersey , Pittsburgh , Buffalo , and New England , in areas such as Boston , Providence , and Hartford . It also remains heavily active in Chicago and has
4320-536: The Bushwick area of Brooklyn . Joseph Pistone , alias Donnie Brasco, was an undercover FBI agent tasked with infiltrating the Bonanno family. After months of planning, in September 1976, Pistone started his undercover operation—an operation that was initially intended to last for around six months, but which turned into several years. Pistone first spent six months in the Colombo family before he shifted to
4464-552: The Five Families : the Gambino , Lucchese , Genovese , Bonanno , and Colombo families. The Italian-American Mafia has long dominated organized crime in the United States. Each crime family has its own territory and operates independently, while nationwide coordination is overseen by the Commission , which consists of the bosses of each of the strongest families. Though the majority of the Mafia's activities are contained to
Bonanno - Misplaced Pages Continue
4608-768: The Five Points Gang , founded by Paul Kelly , were very powerful in the Little Italy of the Lower East Side. Kelly recruited some street hoodlums who later became some of the most famous crime bosses of the century - such as Johnny Torrio , Al Capone , Lucky Luciano and Frankie Yale . They were often in conflict with the Jewish Eastmans of the same area. There was also an influential Mafia family in East Harlem. The Neapolitan Camorra
4752-462: The Irish Mob ) or organized crime in general. The first published account of what became the Mafia in the United States dates to the spring of 1869. The New Orleans Times reported that the city's Second District had become overrun by "well-known and notorious Sicilian murderers, counterfeiters and burglars, who, in the last month, have formed a sort of general co-partnership or stock company for
4896-737: The Italian-American Mafia , the Mafia , or the Mob , is a highly organized Italian-American criminal society and organized crime group. The terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply to these US-based organizations, as well as the separate yet related Sicilian Mafia or other organized crime groups in Italy , or ethnic Italian crime groups in other countries. These organizations are often referred to by its members as Cosa Nostra ( Italian pronunciation: [ˈkɔːza ˈnɔstra, ˈkɔːsa -] , "Our Thing" or "This Thing of Ours") and by
5040-466: The Lower East Side , and Brooklyn ; also emerging in other areas of the Northeastern United States and several other major metropolitan areas (such as Chicago and New Orleans ) during the late 19th century and early 20th century, following waves of Italian immigration especially from Sicily and other regions of Southern Italy . Campanian , Calabrian and other Italian criminal groups in
5184-600: The Lucchese crime family participated in a point shaving scandal involving the Boston College basketball team . Rick Kuhn, Henry Hill , and others associated with the Lucchese crime family, manipulated the results of the games during the 1978–1979 basketball season. Through bribing and intimidating several members of the team, they ensured their bets on the point spread of each game would go in their favor. One of
5328-534: The National Crime Syndicate and brought in an era of peace and prosperity for the American Mafia. By mid-century, there were 26 official Commission-sanctioned Mafia crime families, each based in a different city (except for the Five Families which were all based in New York). Each family operated independently from the others and generally had exclusive territory it controlled. As opposed to
5472-490: The North Side Gang , another Irish American outfit. In New York City, by the end of the 1920s, two factions of organized crime had emerged to fight for control of the criminal underworld — one led by Joe Masseria and the other by Salvatore Maranzano . This caused the Castellammarese War , which led to Masseria's murder in 1931. Maranzano then divided New York City into five families . Maranzano,
5616-583: 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. Although Maranzano was more forward-looking than Masseria, at core 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
5760-556: The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act . On July 1, 1985, the original nine men, with the addition of two more New York Mafia leaders, pleaded not guilty to a second set of racketeering charges as part of the trial. Prosecutors aimed to strike at all the crime families at once using their involvement in the Commission. On December 2, 1985, Gambino family underboss Neil Dellacroce died of cancer. Gambino boss and de facto commission head Paul Castellano
5904-637: The Rizzuto crime family and Cotroni crime family , and the Luppino crime family and Papalia crime family , respectively. U.S. Naval Intelligence entered into an agreement with Lucky Luciano to gain his assistance in keeping the New York waterfront free from saboteurs after the destruction of the SS Normandie . This spectacular disaster convinced both sides to talk seriously about protecting
Bonanno - Misplaced Pages Continue
6048-549: The Russian Mafia , Chinese Triads , Mexican drug cartels and others have all grabbed a share of criminal activities, the Mafia continues to be the dominant criminal organization in these regions, partly due to its strict hierarchical structure. Law enforcement is concerned with the possible resurgence of the Mafia as it regroups from the turmoil of the 1990s, although FBI and local law enforcement agencies now focus more on homeland security and less on organized crime since
6192-487: The September 11 attacks . To avoid FBI attention and prosecution, the modern Mafia also outsources much of its work to other criminal groups, such as motorcycle gangs. The American Mafia operates on a strict hierarchical structure. While similar to its Sicilian origins, the American Mafia's modern organizational structure was created by Salvatore Maranzano in 1931. He created the Five Families , each of which would have
6336-540: The Teamsters ' pension fund, a union they effectively controlled, and used legitimate front men to build casinos. When money came into the counting room , hired men skimmed cash before it was recorded, then delivered it to their respective bosses. This money went unrecorded, but the amount is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Operating in the shadows, the Mafia faced little opposition from law enforcement. Local law enforcement agencies did not have
6480-509: The Valachi hearings , stating that the Italian-American Mafia actually existed, the first time a member had acknowledged its existence in public. Valachi's testimony was the first major violation of omertà , breaking his blood oath . He was the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly, and is credited with popularization of the term cosa nostra . Although Valachi's disclosures never led directly to
6624-411: The chain of command . This way, the higher levels of the organization are insulated from law enforcement attention if the lower level members who actually commit the crime should be captured or investigated, providing plausible deniability . There are occasionally other positions in the family leadership. Frequently, ruling panels have been set up when a boss goes to jail to divide the responsibility of
6768-554: The surname Bonanno . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Authority control databases : National [REDACTED] United States Israel Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bonanno&oldid=1190152674 " Categories : Surnames Italian-language surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
6912-503: The "Kefauver Hearings"), televised nationwide, captured the attention of the American people and forced the FBI to recognize the existence of organized crime. In 1953, the FBI initiated the "Top Hoodlum Program". The purpose of the program was to have agents collect information on the mobsters in their territories and report it regularly to Washington to maintain a centralized collection of intelligence on racketeers. The Apalachin meeting
7056-508: 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 . As leader of the Young Turks, Luciano concluded a secret deal with Maranzano and promised to kill Masseria. The war finally came to end when Masseria was killed on April 15, 1931. After Masseria's death, Maranzano outlined
7200-548: The 1980s. In the 1950s more Mafia-financed casinos were constructed, such as the Stardust , Sahara , Tropicana , Desert Inn , and Riviera . Tourism in the city greatly increased through the 1960s and strengthened the local economy. The 1960s were also when the Mafia's influence in the Las Vegas economy began to dwindle, however. The Nevada State government and Federal government had been working to weaken Mafia activity on
7344-505: The 1980s. Through the RICO law, many in the Mafia were convicted and imprisoned. When the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act) became federal law in 1970, it became a highly effective tool in prosecuting mobsters. It provides for extended criminal penalties for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. Violation of the act is punishable by up to 20 years in prison per count, up to $ 25,000 in fines, and
SECTION 50
#17327652561327488-454: The 1990s. On January 9, 2003, Bonanno crime family boss Joseph Massino was arrested and indicted, alongside Salvatore Vitale , Frank Lino and capo Daniel Mongelli, in a comprehensive racketeering indictment. The charges against Massino himself included ordering the 1981 murder of Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano . Massino's trial began on May 24, 2004, with judge Nicholas Garaufis presiding and Greg D. Andres and Robert Henoch heading
7632-471: The American government as La Cosa Nostra ( LCN ). The organization's name is derived from the original Mafia or Cosa Nostra , the Sicilian Mafia, with "American Mafia" originally referring simply to Mafia groups from Sicily operating in the United States. The Mafia in the United States emerged in impoverished Italian immigrant neighborhoods in New York's East Harlem (or " Italian Harlem "),
7776-529: The Barbara estate. More than 60 underworld bosses were detained and indicted following the raid. Twenty of those who attended the meeting were charged with "Conspiring to obstruct justice by lying about the nature of the underworld meeting" and found guilty in January 1959. All were fined, up to $ 10,000 each, and given prison sentences ranging from three to five years. All the convictions were overturned on appeal
7920-597: The Bonanno family by developing a relationship with Anthony Mirra . When Mirra was sent to prison, Pistone was tutored in the ways of the Mafia by Bonanno soldier Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero , whose captain was Mike "Mimi" Sabella . After the murder of Galante, Pistone reported to captain Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano . Following the Galante hit, Massino began jockeying for power with Napolitano. Both men were themselves threatened by another faction seeking to depose
8064-497: The Bonanno family, labeled by the media as the "Banana War". This led to a divide in the family between loyalists to Bill and loyalists to DiGregorio. In early 1966, DiGregorio allegedly contacted Bill about having a peace meeting. Bill agreed and suggested his grand-uncle's house on Troutman Street in Brooklyn as a meeting site. On January 28, 1966, as Bill and his loyalists approached the house, they were met with gunfire. No one
8208-592: The Buccellatos. In 1903, Salvatore Bonanno married Catherine Bonventre and on January 18, 1905, she gave birth to Joseph Bonanno . Three years later Salvatore moved his family to New York City, and began establishing dominance and control in the Castellammarese community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn . While operating in Brooklyn, the Castellammarese leaders were able to secure the criminal organization's future. In 1911, Salvatore returned to Sicily, where he died of
8352-432: The Commission, but failed. Bonanno disappeared from 1964 to 1966, triggering an intra-family war colloquially referred to as the "Banana War" that lasted until 1968, when Bonanno retired to Arizona. Between 1976 and 1981, the family was infiltrated by FBI agent Joseph Pistone , who went undercover using the alias, "Donnie Brasco". This resulted in the Bonannos becoming the first of the New York families to be expelled from
8496-484: The Commission. It took until the 1990s for the family to recover, a process overseen by new boss Joseph Massino . Despite these issues, by the dawn of the new millennium, the Bonanno family had not only regained their seat on the Commission but had also become the second-most powerful family in New York after the Genovese family . However, in the early 2000s, a rash of convictions culminated in Massino himself becoming
8640-590: The DeCavalcante family, was killed when he was suspected of engaging in homosexual activity. The following is a list of Mafia families that have been active in the U.S. Note that some families have members and associates working in other regions as well. The organization is not limited to these regions. The Bonanno crime family and the Buffalo crime family also had influence in several factions in Canada including
8784-582: The Eighteenth Amendment, a half-million dollars in bonded whiskey was stolen from government warehouses. The profits that could be made from selling and distributing alcohol were worth the risk of punishment from the government, which had a difficult time enforcing prohibition. There were over 900,000 cases of liquor shipped to the borders of U.S. cities. Criminal gangs and politicians saw the opportunity to make fortunes and began shipping larger quantities of alcohol to U.S. cities. The majority of
SECTION 60
#17327652561328928-507: The FBI could put mobsters in the United States Federal Witness Protection Program , changing their identities and supporting them financially for life. This led to dozens of mobsters testifying and providing information during the 1990s, which led to the imprisonment of hundreds of other members. As a result, the Mafia has seen a major decline in its power and influence in organized crime since
9072-507: The ILGWU Nicolás Bonanno (born 1991), Argentine handball player Robin Bonanno (born 1962), American race car driver Salvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno (1932–2008), the son of Cosa Nostra boss Joseph Bonanno See also [ edit ] Bonanno Pisano Bonanno: A Godfather's Story , a 1999 biopic based on the memoirs of Joseph and Bill Bonanno [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
9216-591: The Klansman's mouth, forcing the Klansman to reveal the location of the bodies. Similar stories of Mafia involvement in recovering the bodies had been circulating for years, and had been previously published in the New York Daily News , but had never before been introduced in court. In several Mafia families, killing a state authority is forbidden due to the possibility of extreme police retaliation. In some rare strict cases, conspiring to commit such
9360-599: The Mafia diversified its money-making criminal activities to include (both old and new): illegal gambling operations, loan sharking , extortion , protection rackets , drug trafficking, fencing , and labor racketeering through control of labor unions. In the mid-20th century, the Mafia was reputed to have infiltrated many labor unions in the United States, most notably the Teamsters and International Longshoremen's Association . This allowed crime families to make inroads into very profitable legitimate businesses such as construction, demolition, waste management, trucking, and in
9504-588: The Mafia's existence to the law, which enabled the Federal Bureau of Investigation to begin an aggressive assault on the Mafia's National Crime Syndicate. Following Valachi's testimony, the Mafia could no longer operate completely in the shadows. The FBI put a lot more effort and resources into organized crime activities nationwide and created the Organized Crime Strike Force in various cities. While all this created more pressure on
9648-400: The Mafia, it did little, however, to curb its criminal activities. Progress was made by the beginning of the 1980s, when the FBI was able to rid Las Vegas casinos of Mafia control and made a determined effort to loosen the Mafia's stronghold on labor unions. By the late 1970s, the Mafia were involved in many industries, including betting on college sports. Several Mafia members associated with
9792-743: The Northeastern United States and Chicago, they continue to dominate organized crime in the United States, despite the increasing numbers of other crime groups. The word mafia ( Italian: [ˈmaːfja] ) derives from the Sicilian adjective mafiusu , which, roughly translated, means "swagger" but can also be translated as "boldness" or " bravado ". In reference to a man, mafiusu ( mafioso in Italian) in 19th-century Sicily signified "fearless", "enterprising", and "proud" according to scholar Diego Gambetta . In reference to
9936-589: The Strip . In 1969, the Nevada State Legislature passed a law that made it easier for corporations to own casinos. This brought new investors to the local economy to buy casinos from the Mafia. The U.S. Congress passed the RICO Act a year later. This law gave more authority to law enforcement to pursue the Mafia for its illegal activities. There was a sharp decline in mob involvement in Las Vegas in
10080-400: The U.S. imported an estimated $ 1.65 billion worth of heroin through pizzerias , hiding the cargo in various food products. Another one of the areas of the economy that the Mafia was most influential was Las Vegas, Nevada , beginning just after World War II with the opening of the first gambling resort, The Flamingo . Many credit the Mafia with being a big part of the city's development in
10224-551: The U.S. to extort money and resources out of big business, with recent indictments of corruption involving the New Jersey Waterfront Union, the Concrete Workers Union, and the Teamster Union . Restaurants were yet another powerful means by which the Mafia could gain economic power. A large concentration of Mafia-owned restaurants was in New York City. Not only were they the setting of many killings and important meetings, but they were also an effective means of smuggling drugs and other illegal goods. From 1985 to 1987, Sicilian Mafiosi in
10368-460: The United States used the same methods of extortion. Giuseppe Esposito was the first known Mafia member to emigrate to the United States. He and six other Sicilians fled to New York after murdering eleven wealthy landowners, the chancellor and a vice-chancellor of a Sicilian province. He was arrested in New Orleans in 1881 and extradited to Italy. From the 1890s to 1920 in New York City
10512-426: The United States' East Coast on the afternoon of February 9, 1942. While it was in the process of being converted into a troopship, the luxury ocean liner, Normandie , mysteriously burst into flames with 1,500 sailors and civilians on board. All but one escaped, but 128 were injured and by the next day the ship was a smoking hull. In his report, twelve years later, William B. Herlands, Commissioner of Investigation, made
10656-578: The United States, Italy, and Cuba are thought to have attended this meeting. Immediately after the Anastasia murder that October, and after taking control of the Luciano crime family , renamed the Genovese crime family, from Frank Costello , Vito Genovese wanted to legitimize his new power by holding a national Cosa Nostra meeting. As a result of the Apalachin meeting, the membership books to become
10800-533: The United States, as well as independent Italian-American criminals, eventually merged with Sicilian Mafiosi to create the modern pan-Italian Mafia in North America. Today, the Italian-American Mafia cooperates in various criminal activities with Italian organized crime groups, such as the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra of Campania and the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria. The most important unit of the American Mafia
10944-629: The absentee boss led by capos Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato , Dominick "Big Trin" Trincera and Philip Giaccone . The Commission initially tried to maintain neutrality, but in 1981, Massino got word from his informants that the three capos were stocking up on automatic weapons and planning to kill the Rastelli loyalists within the Bonanno family to take complete control. Massino turned to Colombo crime family boss Carmine Persico and Gambino boss Paul Castellano for advice; they told him to act immediately. Massino, Napolitano and Gerlando Sciascia ,
11088-495: The acquittal, the outraged citizens of New Orleans organized a lynch mob and proceeded to kill eleven of the nineteen defendants. Two were hanged, nine were shot, and the remaining eight escaped. On January 16, 1919, prohibition began in the United States with the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution making it illegal to manufacture, transport, or sell alcohol . Despite these bans, there
11232-550: The alcohol was imported from Canada, the Caribbean, and the American Midwest where stills manufactured illegal alcohol. In the early 1920s, fascist Benito Mussolini took control of Italy and waves of Italian immigrants fled to the United States. Sicilian Mafia members also fled to the United States, as Mussolini cracked down on Mafia activities in Italy. Most Italian immigrants resided in tenement buildings. As
11376-508: The caravans that delivered the liquor. In the 1920s, Italian Mafia families began waging wars for absolute control over lucrative bootlegging rackets. As the violence erupted, Italians fought Irish and Jewish ethnic gangs for control of bootlegging in their respective territories. In New York City, Frankie Yale waged war with the Irish American White Hand Gang . In Chicago, Al Capone and his family massacred
11520-518: The case for the U.S. government talking to top criminals, stating "The Intelligence authorities were greatly concerned with the problems of sabotage and espionage…Suspicions were rife with respect to the leaking of information about convoy movements. The Normandie , which was being converted to war use as the Navy auxiliary Lafayette , had burned at the pier in the North River, New York City. Sabotage
11664-414: The country, the most powerful families continued to dominate crime in their territories, even if the new laws put more mobsters in jail and made it harder to operate. A high-profile RICO case sentenced John Gotti and Frank Locascio to life in prison in 1992, with the help of informant Sammy Gravano in exchange for immunity from prosecution for his crimes. Aside from avoiding long prison stretches,
11808-562: The dominant crime boss in America and replaced the "boss of bosses" title with The Commission to regulate the Mafia 's national affairs and mediate disputes between families. He also awarded Joseph Bonanno leadership of the Maranzano family. After Maranzano's death, Joseph Bonanno was awarded most of Maranzano's operations. At 26 years old, Bonanno was the youngest Mafia leader in the nation. Years later, Bonanno claimed not to have known about
11952-404: The door. The hit further improved Massino's prestige, but was marred by both Lino's escape and the discovery of Indelicato's body on May 28. Massino quickly won Lino over to his side, but Indelicato's son, Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato , vowed revenge. Napolitano assigned the associate he knew as Donnie Brasco, whom he hoped to make a made man , to kill Indelicato. However, Brasco's operation
12096-427: The family (these usually consist of three or five members). This also helps divert police attention from any one member. The family messenger and street boss were positions created by former Genovese family leader Vincent Gigante . The Mafia initiation ritual to become a " made man " in the Mafia emerged from various sources, such as Roman Catholic confraternities and Masonic Lodges in mid-19th century Sicily. At
12240-535: The family members had begun to complain that Joseph spent too much time at his second home in Tucson, Arizona . In 1963, Bonanno made plans to assassinate several rivals on the Commission—bosses Tommy Lucchese, Carlo Gambino, and Stefano Magaddino, as well as Frank DeSimone . Bonanno sought and got the support of Profaci's successor, Joseph Magliocco . Not only was Magliocco bitter at being denied
12384-490: The family structure of each city. The bootlegging industry organized members of these gangs before they were distinguished as today's known families. The new industry required members at all different employment levels, such as bosses, lawyers, truckers, and even members to eliminate competitors through threat/force. Gangs hijacked each other's alcohol shipments, forcing rivals to pay them for "protection" to leave their operations alone, and armed guards almost invariably accompanied
12528-436: The family warfare by agreeing to retire as boss and move to Arizona. As part of this peace agreement, Bill also resigned as consigliere and moved out of New York with his father. Sciacca only held the position of boss for a few years, giving way to Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola , a Bonanno loyalist, in 1971. Evola's leadership was also short-lived, and his death in 1973, from natural causes, brought Philip "Rusty" Rastelli to
12672-401: The first leader of the American Mafia, established the code of conduct for the organization, set up the "family" divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. In an unprecedented move, Maranzano set himself up as boss of all bosses and required all families to pay tribute to him. This new role was received negatively, and Maranzano was murdered within six months on
12816-556: The following year. One of the most direct and significant outcomes of the Apalachin Meeting was that it helped to confirm the existence of a nationwide criminal conspiracy, a fact that some, including Federal Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover , had long refused to acknowledge. Genovese crime family soldier Joe Valachi was convicted of narcotics violations in 1959 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Valachi's motivations for becoming an informer had been
12960-477: The gas station before government officials could make him pay what he owed. Franzese was caught in 1985. Labor racketeering helped the Mafia control many industries from a macroeconomic scale. This tactic helped them grow in power and influence in many cities with big labor unions such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit and many others. Many members of the Mafia were enlisted in unions and even became union executives. The Mafia has controlled unions all over
13104-457: The government obtained 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 . Already serving time for fraud, Coppa agreed to turn informer rather than face the prospect of an additional conviction that would effectively send him to prison for life. He
13248-671: The head position. On February 23, 1974, at a meeting at the Americana Hotel in Manhattan , the Commission named Rastelli as boss. On March 6, 1975, Rastelli was indicted on racketeering charges involving extortion . Nine years earlier, Rastelli had established a trade association of lunch wagon operators and taken control of the industry. Any operator who refused to join the Association and pay its stiff fees faced vandalism and physical assault. On April 23, 1976, Rastelli
13392-523: The initiation ceremony, the inductee would have his finger pricked with a needle by the officiating member; a few drops of blood are spilled on a card bearing the likeness of a saint; the card is set on fire; finally, while the card is passed rapidly from hand to hand to avoid burns, the novice takes an oath of loyalty to the Mafia family. The oath of loyalty to the Mafia Family is called the Omerta. This
13536-563: The man who had brought Pistone to the family, was also killed. In 1985, Rastelli was indicted along with other Cosa Nostra leaders in the Mafia Commission Trial , however, when Rastelli was indicted on separate labor racketeering charges, prosecutors decided to remove him from the Commission trial. Having previously lost their seat on the Commission due to the Brasco infiltration, the Bonanno family suffered less exposure than
13680-412: The mid-20th century, as millions of dollars in capital flowing into new casino resorts laid the foundation for further economic growth. This capital did not come from one Mafia family alone, but many throughout the country seeking to gain even more power and wealth. Large profits from casinos, run as legitimate businesses, would help to finance many of the illegal activities of the Mafia from the 1950s into
13824-588: The most lucrative gains for the Mafia was through gas-tax fraud. They created schemes to keep the money that they owed in taxes after the sale of millions of dollars' worth of wholesale petroleum. This allowed them to sell more gasoline at even lower prices. Michael Franzese , also known as the Yuppie Don, ran and organized a gas scandal and stole over $ 290 million in gasoline taxes by evading the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and shutting down
13968-412: The narcotics market. Genovese crime family boss Frank Tieri began contacting Cosa Nostra leaders to build a consensus for Galante's murder, even obtaining approval from the retired Joseph Bonanno. In 1979, they received a boost when Rastelli and Joseph Massino sought Commission approval to kill Galante; the request was granted. On July 12, 1979, Galante was shot dead by three men at a restaurant in
14112-533: The older generation of " Mustache Petes " such as Maranzano and Masseria, who usually worked only with fellow Italians, the "Young Turks" led by Luciano were more open to working with other groups, most notably the Jewish-American criminal syndicates to achieve greater profits. The Mafia thrived by following a strict set of rules that originated in Sicily that called for an organized hierarchical structure and
14256-475: The only full-fledged New York boss who was not in prison. The FBI reckoned him as the most powerful boss in the nation. His stature put him in a position to set general policies for the entire New York Mafia. The Bonanno family overtook the Gambino family to become the second-most powerful Mafia family in New York, behind the Genovese family. The family managed to avoid being ensnared by the FBI until 2000, when
14400-501: The orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano . Luciano was a former Masseria underling who had switched sides to Maranzano and orchestrated the killing of Masseria. As an alternative to the previous despotic Mafia practice of naming a single Mafia boss as capo di tutti capi , or "boss of all bosses", Luciano created The Commission in 1931, where the bosses of the most powerful families would have equal say and vote on important matters and solve disputes between families. This group ruled over
14544-503: The other bosses were taken by surprise when Bonanno disappeared, and other FBI recordings captured angry Bonanno soldiers saying, "That son-of-a-bitch took off and left us here alone." During Bonanno's two-year absence, Gaspar DiGregorio took advantage of family discontent over Bill's role to claim family leadership. The Mafia Commission named DiGregorio as Bonanno family boss and the DiGregorio revolt led to four years of strife in
14688-412: The other families in this case. Rastelli died on June 24, 1991. Soon afterward, Massino's brother-in-law, Salvatore Vitale , convened a meeting of the family's capos where Massino was acclaimed as boss. Vitale and other capos had pressed Massino to become boss since the late 1980s. However, Massino was reluctant to take this step as long as Rastelli was alive, citing long-standing Mafia tradition that
14832-551: The phrase is unknown . Omertà is a key oath or code of silence in the Mafia that places importance on silence in the face of questioning by authorities or outsiders; non-cooperation with authorities, the government, or outsiders. Traditionally, to become a made man, or full member of the Mafia, the inductee was required to be a male of full Sicilian descent, later extended to males of full Italian descent, and later further extended to males of half-Italian descent through their father's lineage. According to Salvatore Vitale , it
14976-743: The plot to eliminate Maranzano, and only learned later that Maranzano had planned to kill Luciano due to a falling-out over influence in the Garment District . By Bonanno's account, he believed a renewed war with Luciano would serve no purpose, since Luciano only wanted to run his own rackets. However, mob expert Anthony Bruno has argued that it was very unlikely that Luciano would have allowed him to live had he still backed Maranzano. Bonanno directed his family into illegal gambling, loansharking , and narcotics . The family also built significant criminal interests in California and Arizona . With
15120-679: The plot. The Commission spared Magliocco's life, but forced him to retire as Profaci family boss and pay a $ 50,000 fine. As a reward for turning on his boss, Colombo was awarded the Profaci family. In October 1964, Bonanno returned to Manhattan , but on October 21, 1964, the day he was scheduled to testify before a grand jury, Bonanno was allegedly kidnapped by Magaddino's men as he entered the apartment house on Park Avenue and East 36th Street where one of his lawyers lived. FBI recordings of New Jersey boss Sam "the Plumber" Decavalcante revealed that
15264-580: The plunder and disturbance of the city." Emigration from southern Italy to the Americas was primarily to Brazil and Argentina , and New Orleans had a heavy volume of port traffic to and from both locales. Mafia groups in the United States first became influential in the New York metropolitan area , gradually progressing from small neighborhood operations in poor Italian ghettos to citywide and eventually national organizations. "The Black Hand"
15408-545: The prosecution of any Mafia leaders, he provided many details of the history of the Mafia , operations and rituals, aided in the solution of several unsolved murders, and named many members and the major crime families. The trial exposed American organized crime to the world through Valachi's televised testimony. As part of the Mafia Commission Trial , on February 25, 1985, nine New York Mafia leaders were indicted for narcotics trafficking, loansharking, gambling, labor racketeering and extortion against construction companies under
15552-487: The prosecution. He now faced 11 RICO counts for seven murders (due to the prospect of prosecutors seeking the death penalty for the Sciascia murder, that case was severed to be tried separately), arson, extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling, and money laundering. After deliberating for five days, the jury found Massino guilty of all 11 counts on July 30, 2004. His sentencing was initially scheduled for October 12, and he
15696-577: The regional crime families in these areas may no longer exist to the same extent as before, descendants have continued to engage in criminal operations, while consolidation has occurred in other areas, with rackets being controlled by more powerful crime families from nearby cities. At the Mafia's peak, there were at least 26 cities around the United States with Cosa Nostra families, with many more offshoots and associates in other cities. There are five main New York City Mafia families, known as
15840-615: The resources or knowledge to effectively combat organized crime committed by a secret society they were unaware existed. Many people within police forces and courts were simply bribed, while witness intimidation was also common. In 1951, a U.S. Senate committee called the Kefauver Hearings determined that a "sinister criminal organization" known as the Mafia operated in the nation. Many suspected mobsters were subpoenaed for questioning, but few testified and none gave any meaningful information. In 1957, New York State Police uncovered
15984-477: The stolen merchandise. Meyer Lansky made inroads into the casino industry in Cuba during the 1930s while the Mafia was already involved in exporting Cuban sugar and rum. When his friend Fulgencio Batista became president of Cuba in 1952, several Mafia bosses were able to make legitimate investments in legalized casinos. One estimate of the number of casinos mobsters owned was no less than 19. However, when Batista
16128-450: The subject of some debate: Valachi claimed to be testifying as a public service and to expose a powerful criminal organization that he had blamed for ruining his life, but it is also possible he was hoping for government protection as part of a plea bargain in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of the death penalty for a murder, which he had committed in 1962 while in prison for his narcotics violation. Valachi murdered
16272-525: The support of Buffalo crime family boss Stefano Magaddino, Bonanno also expanded into Canada. Like Maranzano before him, Joseph Bonanno embraced 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. For instance, he considered himself the "Father" of his family, as Maranzano had before him. The Bonanno family
16416-671: The time, the Castellammareses were led by Nicolo "Cola" Schirò, who tried to work with Masseria. Schirò was replaced by Salvatore Maranzano , who wanted to take control over New York's underworld. Under Maranzano's leadership, the bloodshed continued. The Castellammarese faction was more organized and unified than the Masseria clan . Maranzano's allies were Buffalo family boss Stefano Magaddino , Detroit family boss Gaspar Milazzo and Philadelphia family boss Salvatore Sabella , all Castellammarese. The family included mobsters Joseph Bonanno , Carmine Galante , and Gaspar DiGregorio . Maranzano
16560-469: The two became even stronger when Joseph's son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno married Profaci's niece Rosalie in 1956. The Bonanno-Profaci alliance deterred the other three families from trying to move in on their rackets. The stable power relationship between the families collapsed with the death of Profaci in 1962. Joseph Bonanno was now threatened by an alliance of Tommy Lucchese and new boss Carlo Gambino , and rising discontent within his own family. Many of
16704-602: The violator must forfeit all properties attained while violating the RICO Act. The RICO Act has proven to be a very powerful weapon because it attacks the entire corrupt entity instead of individuals who can easily be replaced with other organized crime members. Between 1981 and 1992, 23 bosses from around the country were convicted under the law while between 1981 and 1988, 13 underbosses and 43 captains were convicted. Over 1,000 crime family figures were convicted by 1990. While this significantly crippled many Mafia families around
16848-476: The waterfront and garment industry. In addition they could raid the unions' health and pension funds, extort businesses with threats of a workers' strike and participate in bid rigging . In New York City, most construction projects could not be performed without the Five Families ' approval. In the port and loading dock industries, the Mafia bribed union members to tip them off to valuable items being brought in. Mobsters would then steal these products and fence
16992-414: Was James Tartaglione; anticipating he would shortly be indicted as well he went to the FBI and agreed to wear a wire while he remained free. The second was Salvatore Vitale. In custody, Massino again put out the word, to a receptive Bonanno family, that he wanted Vitale killed. After learning of Massino's earlier plans to kill his brother-in-law from Coppa and Cantarella, prosecutors informed Vitale. Vitale
17136-482: Was a historic summit of the American Mafia held at the home of mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara , at 625 McFall Road in Apalachin, New York , on November 14, 1957. Allegedly, the meeting was held to discuss various topics including loansharking, narcotics trafficking, and gambling, along with dividing the illegal operations controlled by the recently murdered Albert Anastasia . An estimated 100 Mafiosi from
17280-465: Was a name given to an extortion method used in Italian neighborhoods at the turn of the 20th century. It has been sometimes mistaken for the Mafia itself, which it is not. The Black Hand was a criminal society, but there were many small Black Hand gangs. Black Hand extortion was often (wrongly) viewed as the activity of a single organization, because Black Hand criminals in Italian communities throughout
17424-695: Was already dissatisfied by the lack of support he and his family received from Massino after his arrest. On the day he was arraigned with Massino, Vitale decided to flip as soon as it was safe to do so; he formally reached a deal with prosecutors in February. He was followed in short order by Lino, knowing Vitale could implicate him in murder as well. Also flipping was longtime Bonanno associate Duane Leisenheimer, concerned for his safety after an investigator for Massino's defense team visited to find out whether he intended to flip. American Mafia The American Mafia , commonly referred to in North America as
17568-621: Was also close to Joseph Profaci , future boss of the New York Profaci family . Finally, they established a secret alliance with the 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. By 1931, momentum had shifted to the Castellammarese faction. That spring, a group of younger Mafiosi from both camps, known as
17712-521: Was arrested and indicted, alongside Vitale, Frank Lino and capo Daniel Mongelli, in a comprehensive racketeering indictment. The charges against Massino himself included ordering the 1981 murder of Napolitano. Massino was denied bail, and Vincent Basciano took over as acting boss in his absence. Massino hired David Breitbart, an attorney he had originally wanted to represent him in his 1987 trial, for his defense. Three more Bonanno made men would choose to cooperate before Massino came to trial. The first
17856-405: Was confirmed in 1986 by the pentito Tommaso Buscetta . A hit, or murder, of a made man must be approved by the leadership of his family, or retaliatory hits would be made, possibly inciting a war. In a state of war, families would "go to the mattresses," which means to prepare for a war or be prepared in a war-like stance. It was mainly derived from the film The Godfather , as the origin of
18000-415: Was considered the closest knit of the Five Families because Joseph tried to restrict membership to Castellammarese Sicilians. He strongly believed that blood relations and a strict Sicilian upbringing were the only way to uphold the traditional values of the Mafia. Over the years, Joseph became a powerful member of the Commission, owing to his close relationship with fellow boss Joe Profaci. The bond between
18144-607: Was convicted of extortion in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On August 27, 1976, Rastelli was sentenced to 10 years in prison, to be served consecutively after a four-year state sentence for conspiracy, criminal contempt of court, and usury . In Rastelli's absence, Galante seized control of the Bonannos as unofficial acting boss. The New York crime families were alarmed at Galante's brazen attempt at taking over
18288-471: Was decided during a Commission meeting in 2000 to restore the rule requiring both parents to be of Italian descent. It is also common for a Mafia member to have a mistress . Traditionally, made members were also not allowed to have mustaches—part of the Mustache Pete custom. Homosexuality is reportedly incompatible with the American Mafia code of conduct. In 1992, John D'Amato , acting boss of
18432-472: Was ended on July 26, 1981. Pistone's undercover work led to over 200 indictments and over 100 convictions of Mafia members. On August 17, 1981, Napolitano was shot and killed in a basement by Ronald Filocomo and Lino as punishment for admitting Pistone into his crew. On August 29, 1981, the FBI intercepted and arrested Ruggiero. Ruggiero received 15 years under the RICO act. In February 1982, Anthony Mirra,
18576-475: Was even more hidebound and greedy than Masseria had been. At the same time, Maranzano had grown uncomfortable with Luciano's ambitions and growing power and secretly plotted to have him killed. When Tommy Lucchese alerted Luciano that he and Vito Genovese had been marked for death, Luciano felt he had to strike first. On September 10, 1931, gangsters hired by Luciano, who were not known to Maranzano or his men, murdered Maranzano in his office. Luciano had become
18720-444: Was expected to receive a sentence of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. The jury also approved the prosecutors' recommended $ 10 million forfeiture of the proceeds of his reign as Bonanno boss on the day of the verdict. Immediately after his July 30 conviction, as court was adjourned, Massino requested a meeting with Judge Garaufis, where he made his first offer to cooperate. He did so in hopes of sparing his life; he
18864-409: Was facing the death penalty if found guilty of Sciascia's murder, as one of John Ashcroft 's final acts as Attorney General was to order federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Massino. Massino thus stood to be the first Mafia boss to be executed for his crimes, and the first mob boss to face the death penalty since Lepke Buchalter was executed in 1944. Massino was the first sitting boss of
19008-404: Was granted supervised release in 1992, he retained Vitale as his messenger until 1995 since Massino was not allowed to associate with known mafiosi. However, since Vitale had never been convicted of a mob-related crime, the FBI had no reason to be suspicious of the two brothers-in-law meeting together. Massino was angered by family namesake Bonanno's tell-all book, A Man of Honor , considering it
19152-545: Was later murdered on December 16, 1985. In the early 1980s, the Bonanno family were kicked off the Commission due to the Donnie Brasco infiltration, and although Rastelli was one of the men initially indicted, this removal from the Commission actually allowed Rastelli to be removed from the Commission Trial as he was later indicted on separate labor racketeering charges. Having previously lost their seat on
19296-404: Was murdered execution-style. It is still unclear whether Italian immigrants actually killed him, or whether it was a frame-up by nativists against the reviled underclass immigrants. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested on mostly baseless charges, and nineteen were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal followed, with rumors of bribed and intimidated witnesses. On March 14, 1891 , after
19440-427: Was murdered in 1931. Joseph Bonanno was awarded most of Maranzano's operations when Charles "Lucky" Luciano oversaw the creation of the Commission to divide up criminal enterprises in New York City among the Five Families. Under the leadership of Bonanno between the 1930s and 1960s, the family was one of the most powerful in the country. However, in the early 1960s, Bonanno attempted to overthrow several leaders of
19584-574: Was overthrown following the Cuban Revolution , his successor Fidel Castro banned U.S. investment in the country, putting an end to the Mafia's presence in Cuba. Las Vegas was seen as an "open city" where any family can work. Once Nevada legalized gambling, mobsters were quick to take advantage and the casino industry became very popular in Las Vegas. Since the 1940s, Mafia families from New York, Cleveland, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Chicago had interests in Las Vegas casinos. They got loans from
19728-511: Was shot by Sicilian mobsters while on duty in Sicily. A statue of him was later erected across the street from a Lucchese hangout. In 1951, a U.S. Senate special committee , chaired by Democratic Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver , determined that a "sinister criminal organization" known as the Mafia operated around the United States. The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce (known as
19872-481: Was still a very high demand for it from the public. This created an atmosphere that tolerated crime as a means to provide liquor to the public, even among the police and city politicians. While not explicitly related to Mafia involvement, the murder rate during the Prohibition era rose over 40% — from 6.8 per 100,000 individuals to 9.7 — and within the first three months succeeding
20016-755: Was suspected." In August 1960, Colonel Sheffield Edwards, director of the Office of Security of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), proposed the assassination of Cuban head of state Fidel Castro by Mafia assassins. Between August 1960 and April 1961, the CIA, with the help of the Mafia, pursued a series of plots to poison or shoot Castro. Those allegedly involved included Sam Giancana , Carlos Marcello , Santo Trafficante Jr. , and John Roselli . In 2007, Linda Schiro testified in an unrelated court case that her late boyfriend, Gregory Scarpa ,
20160-651: Was the first made man in the Bonanno family's history to turn informer. He was followed shortly afterward by acting underboss Cantarella, a participant in the Mirra murder, who was facing racketeering and murder charges and whom Coppa had implicated in the Perrino murder along with Vitale. A third, Joseph D'Amico, subsequently turned state's evidence with the knowledge that Cantarella could implicate him in murder as well. All of these defections left Massino, at last, vulnerable to serious charges. On January 9, 2003, Massino
20304-543: Was the leader of the Magaddino clan Stefano Magaddino , the brother of Joseph Bonanno's maternal grandmother. During the 1900s, the two clans feuded with Felice Buccellato, the boss of the Buccellato clan. In 1902, Magaddino arrived in New York and became a powerful member of the Castellammarese clan. After the murders of Stefano and Giuseppe Bonanno, their younger brother, Salvatore, took revenge by killing members of
20448-445: Was very active in Brooklyn. In Chicago, the 19th Ward was an Italian neighborhood that became known as the "Bloody Nineteenth" due to the frequent violence in the ward, mostly as a result of Mafia activity, feuds , and vendettas. New Orleans was possibly the site of the first Mafia incident in the United States that received both national and international attention. On October 15, 1890, New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessy
20592-456: Was with Magliocco (and before him, Profaci), as well as their close ties through marriages, the other bosses concluded Bonanno was the real mastermind. The Commission summoned Bonanno and Magliocco to explain themselves. Fearing for his life, Bonanno went into hiding in Montreal , leaving Magliocco to deal with the Commission. Badly shaken and in failing health, Magliocco confessed his role in
20736-407: Was wounded during this confrontation. Joe Bonanno reappeared on May 17, 1966, at Foley Square . In 1968, DiGregorio was wounded by machine gun fire and later suffered a heart attack. The Commission eventually became dissatisfied with DiGregorio's efforts at quelling the family rebellion, dropped DiGregorio, and swung their support to Paul Sciacca . In 1968, after a heart attack, Joe Bonanno ended
#131868