Wither's Italian-American War Veterans Club
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The Withers Italian-American War Veterans Club was a Bonanno crime family mob hangout and headquarters. It is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was located at 415 Graham Avenue, located diagonally across from The Motion Lounge.
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[edit] The Club
Dominick did not own The Withers Social Club, but leased it from a company. The club had a large front room with a small bar counter and a few card tables, with a back room that was used as an office with a desk, several telephones, a sink and a men's washroom. The Withers Italian-American War Veterans Club was located diagonally located across the intersection from Dominick Napolitano's nightclub The Motion Lounge located at 420 Graham Street. The building did not have air conditioning.
[edit] The Clientele
The regular clientele at The Withers Social Club was Nicholas Santora, Louis Attanasio, John Cersani, John Zancocchio, Benjamin Ruggiero, Bobby Badheart, Bobby Smash and his previous capo Michael Sabella, Steven Maruca, Salvatore Farrugia, Antonio Tomasulo, Anthony Rabito, Frank DiStefano, Salvatore D'Ottavio, James Episcopa including Joseph D. Pistone.
[edit] New Ownership
When the lease ended in 1977 Napolitano moved his crew and his operation's permanently to The Motion Lounge until 1982. The Wither's War Veterans Club was later leased by the powerful Bonanno crime family capo Salvatore Catalano and used as a heroin storage room and meeting place for members involved in the Pizza Connection until the heroin drug trafficking ring was exposed and shut down in 1985.
[edit] References
- Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia by Joseph D. Pistone and Richard Woodley
- Sicily Octopus: The Long Reach of the International Sicilian Mafia by Claire Sterling
