Nicholas Santora

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Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora (b. June 21, 1942), is a high-ranking member, and as of 2006, the reputed Underboss of the Bonanno crime family, reporting to current imprisoned Boss, Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano.

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[edit] Early life and Bonanno member

Nicholas Santora was born on June 21, 1942, and became known in his teens as a tough mobster from New York City. He was the son of Modesto Santora, a recognized sidewalk soldier for the Colombo crime family who operated during the short tenure of Joseph Magliocco as boss. Originally a member of a youth gang, Santora became a Made Man along with legendary mobsters Dominic "Sonny Black" Napolitano, Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero and later boss, Joseph "Big Joe" Massino, in the mid 1970s. When first becoming involved with the Bonanno crime family, its current boss was the imprisoned Philip "Rusty" Rastelli, but his reign as the head of the family would be threatened by his up-coming Underboss, Carmine "Lilo" Galante, who winded up betraying Rastelli in the mid 1970s.

Santora started out in a crew lead by Galante-supporter Michael "Mikey" Sabella, and became heavily involved with extortion, loansharking, labor racketeering, illegal gambling, truck hijacking and murder for hire in his early years as a Bonanno member.

[edit] Family rivalry

By 1978, Rastelli had heard rumors of Carmine Galante being the new Boss of the Bonannos, but wouldn't tolerate it at all. Another caporegime (or capo), Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, would be approached by Rastelli to organize the murder of Carmine Galante. Indelicato approached Santora, whoms job was to deliver the message to mobsters Dominic "Sonny Black" Napolitano and Cesare "CJ" Bonventre, and report back to Indelicato. Since the caporegime Michael "Mikey" Sabella was loyal to Galante, it had to happen without Sabella knowing it.

[edit] Execution of Lilo Galante

On July 12, 1979, Carmine "Lilo" Galante was murdered just as he finished eating lunch at Joe and Mary's Italian-American Restaurant at 205 Knickerbocker Ave. in Bushwick, Brooklyn along with his bodyguard Leonard Coppola, 40, and restaurant owner/cousin Giuseppe Turano. He was murdered by Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera, Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, Cesare "CJ" Bonventre and Louis "Louie Gaeta" Giongetti, who were all hired by Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, the father of Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato. After the Galante execution, several Galante supporters, including Michael Sabella, were demoted, as Trinchera, Napolitano and Bonventre were all promoted to capo, or captains of the Bonanno crime family, as payment for their work.

It is suspected his death was arranged by the heads of the other major Five Families in New York, who had decided Galante's greed and ambition over the control of the multimillion-dollar heroin business were a threat to all their interests, however, it is more likely that Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli was involved, as he was still the Boss of the Bonannos once Galante was out of the way.

[edit] Working for Sonny Black

[edit] The Motion Lounge

With Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano as caporegime, The Motion Lounge crew would receive massive income as one of the most profitable crews in the Bonanno crime family. With soldiers Nicholas Santora, John Cersani, John Zancocchio, Edward Barberra, Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, Michael Sabella, Joseph Puma, Steven Maruca, Salvatore Farrugia, Antonio Tomasulo, Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito, Frank DiStefano, Salvatore D'Ottavio, James Episcopa, and including the newly associate Joseph D. Pistone, also known as Donnie Brasco, as he was an undercover for the FBI.

[edit] Florida and rival factions

In 1981, after three years of work in Brooklyn, Napolitano moved operations to Florida, where sat up loansharking, illegal gambling, extortion and racketeering operations, with the permission of lomgtime Florida Boss, Santo Trafficante. It was around this time, that Santora would be put in charge of the entire Florida operation, along with asscociate and Napolitano underling, Joseph D. Pistone.

At the same time, back in New York, the leadership of Philip "Rusty" Rastelli wasn't so popular anymore, as Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato was seen as a more prominent figure as Boss of the Bonanno crime family, which is why Napolitano moved operations into Florida, in hope of squeezing the rival faction out financially.

[edit] Bustout and the capo slayings

Some of the clubs in Florida would eventually be shut down, due to local police and more preassure on organized crime, and Santora, Napolitano, Ruggiero, Anthony "Tony" Mirra and Joseph D. Pistone were all put under arrest. Eventually, they got back to New York, where the rival Indelicato faction had grown larger and more powerful than ever. By convincing capos Phillip "Phil Lucky" Giaccone and Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera to join the Indelicato alliance, capos Cesare "CJ" Bonventre and Joseph Massino would become pushed on the streets. But on May 5, 1981, just when it was about to break out a new war in the Bonanno crime family, Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato and two other Capo's, Phillip "Philly Lucky" Giaccone aire to the Bonanno Throne and Dominick Trinchera, were shot to death in an ambush at the old 20/20 Club that was a night club once run by Gambino crime family Underboss, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano. Indelicato's body turned up three weeks later in the Ruby street lot (mafia graveyard) in Ozone Park, Queens, but the remains of the other two were not unearthed until 2004 [1]

According later to FBI agent Joe Pistone, the murderers involved in the assassination of Indelicato were Nicholas Santora, Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, John Cersani, Joseph Massino, Salvatore Vitale, Joseph DeSimone, Vito Rizzuto, career felon Louis Giongetti, Santo Giordano, Gerlando Sciasca, and mobster who would later turn informant, Frank Lino. Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero and John Cersani were lookouts, and sent in after to clean up the massacre and dispose of the bodies along with Santora, Dominick Napolitano, James Episcopia and Robert Capazzio.

[edit] Donnie Brasco and Sonny Black's murder

After the three capo slayings, Indelicato's son, Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, went into hiding, and the Rastelli supporters had basically won. Santora had taken over The Motion Lounge crew, and Napolitano had been promoted to street boss for Philip "Rusty" Rastelli, who was still incarcerated at the time. But as Napolitano finally organized the murder of Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, and gave it to Donnie Brasco in return of becoming a Made Man for the Bonanno crime family, Brasco suddenly disappeared. Days later, it became clear that Donnie Brasco was really Joseph D. Pistone, and had been an undercover agent for the FBI since 1978, fooling the entire Bonanno family.

Shortly thereafter, the order came down to kill Napolitano for having allowed such a breach in Mafia security. On August 17, 1981, Napolitano was asked to come to the basement of Bonanno associate Ron Filocomo in Flatlands, Brooklyn, where he was ambushed by Filocomo and caporegime Frank Lino, both of whom shot him to death. This contract came from both Santora and Joseph "Big Joe" Massino, on behalf of Philip "Rusty" Rastelli.

[edit] Caporegime and imprisonment

Santora became caporegime of Napolitano's old crew, but was soon put under indicment followed by the testimony provided by Joseph D. Pistone. With Rastelli out of prison when they finally needed him, a total of 100 Bonanno crime family mobsters would be put on trial and convicted, including Rastelli and Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato, who were both found guilty of racketeering and the murder Carmine Galante along with nine other Mafia associates in the infamous Mafia Commission Trial in 1986.

Santora, along with Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, Antonio Tomasulo, and Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito, would be convicted in a six-week jury trial for illegal gambling racketeering, distribution of narcotics and conspiracy to distribute narcotics, in the mid 1980s, receiving an 8-10 year prison sentence.

[edit] Massino's leadership

[edit] Death of Rusty Rastelli

After the Mafia Commission Trial in 1986, Bonanno crime family Boss, Philip "Rusty" Rastelli, would be sentenced to 12 years in prison, but released due to heart troubles on July 21, 1991, but died three days later on a Queens hospital on July 24. This made a strong and loyal Bonanno caporegime to be promoted, as Joseph "Big Joe" Massino took the reigns of the Bonanno crime family August, 1991.

[edit] Release

Upon Santora's releasement in 1992, he created a partnership with newly promoted Bonanno acting consigliere, Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito, in extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling, drug trafficking and money laundering operations in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, throughout the mid 1990s. Santora, Rabito and Massino's own brother-in-law, Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale, would become Massino's closest and expand their operations to become the top earners in the Bonanno crime family toward the late 1990s.

This caused the welcome wagon for the other Bosses of the Five Families, as Joseph "Big Joe" Massino and the Bonanno crime family was brought back into the Commission again, after being expelled during the regime of Carmine Galante and Philip "Rusty" Rastelli.

[edit] Crackdowns

But toward the year of 2000, the longtime Bonanno crime family consigliere, Anthony "Tony" Spero, was indicted on loansharking, racketeering and murder in November of that year, and in 2001 he was sentenced to life imprisonment. That gave Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito a promotion as the official consigliere of the Bonannos.

Toward 2003, indictments were again handed out, this time against their own Boss and Underboss, as Joseph "Big Joe" Massino and Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale were held against bail for racketeering, arson, extortion, loansharking, money laundering, illegal gambling, conspiracy and seven murders, including Dominic "Sonny Black" Napolitano. Because of this, Nichoals Santora was promoted to acting underboss in 2003.

The indictments were also against capos, Anthony "Tony Green" Urso and James "Big Lou" Tartaglione, who both secretly agreed to wear wires, and turn government wittnesses.

As Santora kept flying under the radar with Anthony Rabito, Bonanno Underboss, Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale turned informant as the two capos handed him out in murder and racketeering charges, and with Joseph "Big Joe" Massino on trial in March, 2004, the government put capos Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso and Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano on trial for racketeering charges, which included murder and conspiracy.

[edit] Massino as Mafia turncoat

In October of 2004, the FBI began to dig up bodies at an infamous mob graveyard in Queens, known as "The Hole". They were looking for the bodies of three capos killed in the Bonanno crime family war in 1981. They found the bodies of the Gambino crime family's Boss, John Gotti's victims, including John Favara, who killed John Gotti's son in a terrible accident, as well as Tommy DeSimone, who was murdered in 1979 for killing of Gambino crime family caporegime, William Devino, as well as for the murder of Ronald Jerothe, another close friend of John Gotti, and the three Bonanno crime family capos, Alphonse Indelicato, Phillip Giaccone and Dominick Trinchera, who were all murdered by Dominic Napolitano and his crew, including Nicholas Santora.

On February 4, 2005, the name of an informant was released to the press: none other than the Boss himself, Joseph "Big Joe" Massino, who hoped to save his life and his assets, as he began to cooperate sometime in late September, 2004, recording conversations with his own hand-picked acting boss, Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano, who was also convicted and jailed in July, 2007.

[edit] Indictments on Santora

Despite the testimony of Joseph "Big Joe" Massino in 2005, Santora managed to go under the government's radar. At least until he was indicted along with Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito, and 17 other members of the Bonanno crime family, in a loansharking and illegal gambling operation that was stretching from Brooklyn to Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island, which earned $210,000 a week from January 2003 to July of 2004. This was mostly because of the death of Bonanno crime family caporegime Louis Mele, who died of natural causes in a room where it was based an illegal gambling operation.

[edit] Present Underboss

Since February 13, 2007, Santora, at age 65, has been named in several racketeering indictments, which includes illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, money laundering, robbery and even drug trafficking, although, despite several Mob turncoats and the testimony provided by Joseph D. Pistone, Santora is, as of 2006, the reputed Underboss of the Bonanno crime family, as he has been involved with organized crime since the mid 1970s, and survived both Mob wars, and indictments throughout his 30 years as a member of the Bonanno crime family. Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano remains the reputed Boss of the Bonannos, with Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito as the reputed Bonanno Consigliere, with Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna as acting boss, reporting to Basciano in prison.

As of 2007, Nicholas Santora is still on trial, but is out on bail due to heart trouble. If convicted, he will be sentenced to 25 years in prison.

[edit] Popular culture

  • Santora is portrayed by Bruno Kirby in the 1997 drama-thriller Donnie Brasco (film), as "Nicky", which follows the life of undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone, from 1978 to 1981, however, the character "Nicky" was shot and killed in the movie, where Santora is still alive today.

[edit] Further reading

  • Diehl, Christine S. "WP Has a Sit-Down With Joe Pistone/Donnie Brasco", WP, The Magazine of William Paterson University, Vol. 7, No. 1, Winter 2006.
  • Pistone, Joseph D.; & Woodley, Richard (1999) Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, p. 402, Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-66637-4.
  • Pistone, Joseph D. (2004). The Way of the Wiseguy, Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-1839-7.
  • Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-2707-8.
  • Testimony before Senate Sub Committe on Organized Crime http://www.americanmafia.com/pistone_testimony.html

[edit] External links