Gaspar DiGregorio
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Gaspar or Gaspare DiGregorio (c. 1905-June 11, 1970) was a New York mobster and a high ranking member of the Bonanno crime family who was a key figure in the so-called "Banana War".
A caporegime in the Bonanno family, DiGregorio had aspirations of becoming consigliere. However, family boss Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno made his son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno consigliere, leaving hard feelings with DiGregorio. In 1964, fearful for his life, Joe Bonanno disappeared from New York. After a while, the New York Mafia Commission appointed DiGregorio as the new family boss. That decision was opposed by Joe's appointed successor Salvatore Bonanno and a war soon erupted within the Bonanno family. At one point, DiGregorio arranged a nighttime peace meeting with the Bonnanos in a house in Brookyn. DiGregorio and his men arrived first; when the Bonnanos arrived, DiGregorio's men started shooting. Miraculously, no one was hurt.
The so-called Bonanno War continued even with the brief return of Joe Bonanno in 1966. Although DiGregorio was supported by Mafia Commission members such as Carlo Gambino, Tommy Lucchese, Joe Colombo and Stefano Magaddino, they eventually became dissatisfied with DiGregorio's efforts at quelling the family rebellion. They eventually dropped DiGregorio and swung their support to Paul Sciacca. The war effectively ended in 1968 when Joe Bonanno suffered a heart attack and Sciacca became boss. DiGregorio was out in the cold.
DiGregorio spent his final year living with his family in Long Island. On June 11, 1970 Gaspar DiGregorio died of lung cancer at St. John's Hospital in Smithtown, New York.
[edit] Further reading
- Bernstein, Lee. The Greatest Menace: Organized Crime in Cold War America. Boston: UMass Press, 2002. ISBN 1-55849-345-X
- Bonanno, Bill. Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. ISBN 0-312-97147-8
- Bonanno, Joseph. A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003. ISBN 0312979231
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
