Anthony Graziano

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Anthony "T.G." Graziano (b. November 12, 1940) is a New York mobster and former Consigliere of the Bonanno crime family. [1]

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[edit] Bonanno Captain

There aren't any exact dates when Graziano was inducted into the Bonanno crime family, however, US law enforcement considered him a high-ranking captain sometime in the late 1980s, after the imprisonment of longtime family Boss Philip "Rusty" Rastelli and Joseph "Big Joe" Massino began to run the show. At the time, Graziano was believed to be operating out of the Staten Island faction of the Bonanno crime family, as well as profiting from labor racketeering, extortion, loansharking, narcotics and even murder.

[edit] New Management and Prison

After Rastelli died in 1991, as well as Joseph "Big Joey" Massino was considered the new 'head' of the Bonanno crime family as he was released from prison that same year. Graziano, then a higher power with Massino, reportedly became one of his top aides during his early heydays, however, Graziano was soon put on the US government radar, and later in 1991, he was convicted of tax evasion and fraud, as well as evading about $100,000 in his wife, daughter and the son-in-law's names, for which he was sentenced to 5 years in prison and fined $250,000. [2] [3] Accordingly, one of his son-in-laws is Bonanno family soldier John "Porky" Zancocchio, father-in-law to Hector Pagan and Vincent Corrao, and the father of Rene, Lana Jennifer Graziano.

[edit] Hunting Colombos

After releasing in 1994, Graziano reportedly operated in the Queens and Brooklyn factions of the Bonanno crime family, however, his main base was still Staten Island. Considered a powerful member with Joseph "Big Joe" Massino and Anthony "Tony" Spero, the longtime Consigliere, Graziano managed a topless bar called "Hipps", which was at some point in 1994 shot up by John Pappa and Calvin Hennigar, both members of the rival Colombo crime family. According to Mob expert Jerry Capeci, this set Graziano's head on fire, as he ordered his Brooklyn soldiers to find both Pappa and Hennigar, and have them murdered. However, due to the fact that they both participated in the Colombo Wars within the Colombo crime family, they were put away and are currently serving life behind bars. Graziano reputedly met with represantives of the Colombos at a sitdown and called off his shooters afterwards. [4]

[edit] Consigliere

After longtime reputed Consigliere of the Bonanno family, Anthony "Tony" Spero was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 for murder and federal racketeering charges, US law enforcement reportedly picked up an FBI informant, saying Graziano had taken over Spero's role as Consigliere to Joseph Massino. At the time, the two of them found a way to make sure no FBI videotape or surveillance team could tape them or even track them down, as they both travelled to Mexico, Italy and other places where the US authorities were unlikely to be watching or listening. At the time, Massino stood as the Boss of the Bonanno crime family, his brother-in-law Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale as the Underboss, and Graziano identified at the third top position in the family as its Consigliere. [5]

[edit] Prison Time

In 2002, Graziano, as well as dozens of other Bonanno crime family mosbters began their downfall. He and his crew, which also included his aforementioned son-in-law, were levied charges ranging from illegal gambling to investment fraud in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. His move into investment scams, carefully disguised by the once successful "Bulls and Bears Fund", defrauded customers to the tune of $11.7 million. Many of whom were elderly. At the same time, US authorities deicded to launch a pile of federal racketeering charges towards half of the Bonanno crime family, charging Graziano with everything from bookmaking and extortion, to drug trafficking and murder, as well as conspiracy. Held against bail, Graziano pleaded guilty in 2002, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. [6]

As of April 2008, Graziano is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Loretto in Pennsylvania. His projected release-date is January 6, 2012. [7]

[edit] External links