Salvatore Bonanno
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Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno (November 5, 1932 – January 1, 2008) was the son of Mafia boss Joseph Bonanno. Although his father intended for him to take over the Bonanno crime family, his appointment to high positions in the syndicate precipitated a "mob war" which led to the Bonanno family's exile to Arizona. Later in life, he became a writer and produced television films about his family.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Bill Bonanno was the first child of Joseph and Fay (Labruzzo) Bonanno. Bill first attended school in Brooklyn, but in 1938 his father purchased property in Hempstead, Long Island and moved the family there. At age 10, Bill developed a severe mastoid ear infection. To treat this ailment, his parents enrolled him in a Catholic boarding school in the dry climate of Tucson, Arizona, where he completed his high school education.
When he was 15, Bill led a group of students (who were supposed to be visiting a museum) to see the controversial 1947 film Forever Amber. The Catholic Church had banned the movie, so the school expelled Bill from the dormitory as punishment. He was allowed to attend classes, but was forced to live alone in a motel.
Between 1950 and 1952, Bill attended the University of Arizona, but never graduated.[1] On August 18th, 1954, he married Rosalie Profaci, niece of Joseph Profaci of the Profaci (now Colombo) crime family. Writer Gay Talese states that his sister-in-law Josephine Profaci was rebellious. He has speculated that part of Josephine's rebellion was related to her dislike of Salvatore Bonanno and his treatment of her sister Rosalie. Sam DeCalvente once discussed Salvatore Bonanno's oppression of Rosalie: "It's a shame; the girl wanted to commit suicide because of the way he treated her. Josephine Bonanno however was entirely different from her sister, "a product of another time. She was the first daughter (in the Profaci-Bonanno family tree) to finish college and without being a feminist, she undoubtedly identified with the cause of modern women seeking liberation."
[edit] Involvement with the Mafia
Bill's first ambition was to manage the legitimate end of Joseph's farms, factories, and the real estate empire. Some time after 1952, however, he was inducted ("made") into the Bonanno crime family.[1] His father subsequently appointed Bonanno consigliere for the Bonanno crime family. Many in the organization felt Bill Bonanno was too inexperienced and too much of an intellectual to lead effectively. Tensions within the Bonanno crime family worsened when Bill Bonanno advised against getting into the trade in illegal narcotics.[1]
The late 1950s was a period of turmoil for all of New York's Five Families. Joseph Bonanno went into hiding in California to avoid a grand jury subpoena. But with the senior Bonanno unable to attend to the crime family's business, The Commission stripped Bonanno of his leadership of the syndicate and installed Gaspar DiGregorio as the new head of the family.[2]
On January 28, 1966, while on his way to a meeting to try to restore peace in the syndicate, Bill Bonanno survived an attempt on his life in what became known as the "Troutman Street shooting." The hit, ordered by DiGregorio, took place on Troutman Street in Brooklyn, New York. Although 500 shots were fired, no one was injured or killed. The attempt on Bill Bonanno's life started the conflict known as the Banana War. Joseph Bonanno suffered a heart attack in 1968. The Bonannos negotiated a peace agreement which ended the Banana War and led both father and son to retire from organized crime and live in Arizona.[2]
Bill Bonanno moved to Tucson with his wife. He lived on a 3,300-acre cattle and cotton ranch 20 miles north of the city. He continued to be involved in organized crime, however. Bonanno spent a total of 12 years in prison for various crimes committed after 1968. In 1985, he was convicted of conspiracy and theft for defrauding senior citizens in California for home improvements which were never made.[1] He also worked occasionally as a television producer (primarily on mini-series and films related to his family's criminal past), and collaborated with Gay Talese on the book Honor Thy Father, a history of the Bonanno crime family.[1] Both Bill and Rosalie Bonanno published memoirs later in life. Bill Bonanno's autobiography, Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story, was published in 1999.[1] He also worked as a writer on the 1999 made-for-television movie Bonanno: A Godfather's Story.[3]
Bill Bonanno died of a heart attack on the morning of January 1, 2008.[1] He is interred near his father in Holy Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum in Tucson, AZ.
[edit] In popular culture
Bill Bonanno was the main character in the 1971 non-fiction novel Honor Thy Father.
Actor Tony Nardi depicted the adult Bill Bonanno in Bonanno: A Godfather's Story.
[edit] Personal life
Bill Bonanno was married to Rosalie Bonanno on August 18, 1956 and they had four children named Charles, Joseph, Salvatore, and Felippa ("Gigi")
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Devesi, Dennis. "Bill Bonanno, 75, Mob Family Member, Dies." New York Times. January 3, 2008.
- ^ a b Talese, Gay. Honor Thy Father. Tulsa, Okla.: World Publishing Company, 1971. ISBN 0804199809
- ^ Salvatore Bonanno at the Internet Movie Database.
[edit] References
- Bill Bonanno (1999). Bound by Honor. St. Martin's Paperbacks. ISBN 0-312-97147-8.
- Rosalie Bonanno with Beverly Donofrio (1990). Mafia Marriage: My Story. William Morrow & Co. ISBN 0-688-07297-6.
