Bonanno crime family

Bonanno crime family
In New York City, United States
Founded by Salvatore Maranzano and named after Joseph Bonanno
Years active c. 1890s-present
Territory Various neighborhoods over New York City
Ethnicity Made men are Italian, Italian-American, Sicilian or Sicilian-American. Criminals of various ethnicities are employed as "associates"
Membership 115-130 made members, 500-1500 associates
Criminal activities Racketeering, conspiracy, loan sharking, money laundering, murder, drug trafficking, pornography, and gambling
Allies Gambino, Colombo, Lucchese, Genovese and Rizzuto crime families
Rivals Various gangs over NYC including their allies

The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra).

Founded and named after Joseph Bonanno, the Bonanno family was the first of the New York families to be kicked off the Commission (a council of the bosses that helps to maintain order in the Mafia), due to allegations that the family was actively dealing heroin and the inner family fighting for control of the leadership. Later, the family faced shaky leadership, with acting boss Carmine Galante being murdered in 1979 on the order of imprisoned boss Philip Rastelli, as well as two major setbacks: in 1981, they learned that an FBI agent calling himself Donnie Brasco had infiltrated their ranks; in 2004, boss Joseph Massino, who previously brought the family back to respectable stature among the families and back on the Commission, became a government informant.

Contents

History

Sicilian origins

The origins of the Bonanno crime family can be traced back to the early 1880s in the town of Castellammare del Golfo located in the Province of Trapani, Sicily.[1] During the 1900s, top members of the Bonanno, Bonventre, and Magaddino Mafia families relocated to New York, forming the Castellammarese clan due to their rivalry with Felice Buccellato, the boss of the Buccellato Mafia clan.[1][2] The newly arriving Bonanno, Bonventre and Magaddino Mafia members began establishing dominance and control in the Castellammarese community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. While operating in Brooklyn, the Castellammarese leaders were able to preserve the criminal organization's future.[2]

Castellammarese War

Main article: Castellammarese War

In 1927 violence broke out between the two rival New York Mafia factions and soon developed into a full out war known as the Castellammarese War.[3] It all started when members of the Castellammarese Clan began hijacking truckloads of illegal liquor that belonged to Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. The Castellammarese clan was based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and led by Nicola "Cola" Schiro who tried to work with Masseria. But one of the group's leaders Salvatore Maranzano wanted to take control over New York's underworld. Maranzano took control of the Castellammarese Clan continuing a bloody Mafia War.[3] The Castellammarese faction was organized and more unified than Masseria family members were. Maranzano's powerful allies that supported him were fellow Castellammarese's, Buffalo family Boss Stefano Magaddino, Detroit family Boss Gaspar Milazzo and Philadelphia family Boss Salvatore Sabella.[3] Maranzano's faction included his underboss, Joseph Bonanno, Carmine Galante, Gaspar DiGregorio, and others. He also kept a close relationship with Joseph Profaci Boss of the New York Profaci family and a secret alliance with Bronx Reina family Boss Gaetano Reina. After Reina’s murder on February 26, 1930 more members of Masseria faction began to defect.[3] By 1931, momentum had shifted in favor of Maranzano and his Castellammarese faction. Maranzano would receive help from Masseria faction defectors Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Vito Genovese, Frank Costello, Reina family Boss Tommy Gagliano and Tommy Lucchese. Luciano, the leader of a group referred to as the "Young Turks," wanted to end the war. He concluded a secret deal with Maranzano to have Masseria killed. On April 15, 1931 Masseria was murdered ending the long Castellammarese War.[3]

The Commission

Main article: The Commission (mafia)

After Masseria's murder, Maranzano became the new capo di tutti capi ("Boss of Bosses") and outlined a peace plan to all the Sicilian and Italian Mafia leaders in the United States. There would be 24 organizations (to be known as "families") throughout the United States who would elect their own boss.[3] In New York City, the five Mafia families were established and headed by Salvatore Maranzano, Lucky Luciano, Vincent Mangano, Tommy Gagliano and Joseph Profaci. Maranzano soon began planning to have Luciano killed, but before he had a chance he was murdered on September 10, 1931 by Jewish gangsters.[3] Luciano instead of becoming the new "Boss of Bosses" removed the position and established The Commission to regulate the families' affairs.[3]

The Bonanno era

Bonanno was awarded most of Maranzano's crime family. He was one of the charter members of the Commission, along with Luciano family Boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano who served as head of the Commission, Mangano family Boss Vincent Mangano, Gagliano family Boss Tommy Gagliano, Profaci family Boss Joseph Profaci and Chicago Outfit Boss Al "Scarface" Capone.[3] At only 26 years old, he was the youngest boss of a crime family.[4] He directed the family into popular organized crime dealings, involving gambling, loansharking, and narcotics. The family also had significant interests in California and Arizona. With the support of his cousin, Buffalo crime family boss Stefano Magaddino, he also expanded into Canada.[5]

Bonanno was more steeped in the Old World Mafia traditions of "honor," "tradition," "respect," and "dignity" than other mafiosi of his generation, and was widely reckoned as the most traditional boss in New York.[6] His family was considered the closest knit of the Five Families due to the fact that it was made up mostly of Castelammarese. He strongly believed that blood relations and a strict Sicilian upbringing would be the only way to hold the traditional values of the Mafia together. Bonanno's power was due to his close relationship with fellow boss Joe Profaci. The relationship between the two bosses became stronger when Bonanno's son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno married Profaci's niece Rosalie in 1956.[7] If any members of the other three families exercised thoughts of muscling in on Bonanno enterprises, the close ties to the Profaci family made them think twice. With the death of Joe Profaci in 1962 an alliance of Tommy Lucchese and Carlo Gambino threatened to undermine Bonanno's position.[7]

The Bonanno War

In the early 1960s many of the Bonanno family members were complaining that boss Joe Bonanno spent too much time at his second home in Tucson, Arizona.[7] This led to a civil war in the family, widely referred to in the media as the "Banana Split" or "Banana War".[5] The war was triggered in 1963 when Bonanno conspired with Joe Magliocco, Profaci's successor as boss of the Profaci family, to wipe out several other mob leaders, including Magaddino, Carlo Gambino, Tommy Lucchese and Frank DeSimone.[5] Magliocco was given the task of wiping out Gambino and Lucchese, and gave the contract to one of his top hit men, Joe Colombo. However, Colombo instead alerted Gambino and Lucchese.[5] The other bosses quickly realized that Magliocco could not possibly have planned this by himself. Remembering how close Magliocco was to Bonanno (and before him, Profaci), they realized that Bonanno was the real mastermind. The commission summoned Magliocco and Bonanno, intending to go easy on them, with nothing more than a fine and loss of their family. However, only Magliocco showed up. He admitted his role in the plot and was forced to give up his family to Colombo. After months of no word from Bonanno, the commission named Bonanno capo Gaspar DiGregorio as the new boss.[5][6]

Bonanno still claimed to be the rightful boss.[5] Magaddino, acting on behalf of the commission, sent two of his soldiers to kidnap Bonanno and take him to a rural area in Upstate New York. He was finally released after a month, with the commission hoping he'd fade quietly into the background. Instead, he rallied a large part of the family to his side. The family split into two factions, the DiGregorio supporters and the Bonanno loyalists. The Bonanno loyalists were led by Bonanno, his brother-in-law Frank Labruzzo and Bonanno's son Bill.[7]

There had been no violence from either side until a 1966 Brooklyn sit-down. DiGregorio's men arrived at the meeting, and when Bill Bonanno arrived a large gun battle ensued. The DiGregorio loyalists had planned to wipe out the opposition, but they failed, and no one was killed.[7] Further peace offers from both sides were spurned with the ongoing violence and murders. The Commission grew tired of the affair and replaced DiGregorio with Paul Sciacca, but the fighting carried on regardless.

The war was finally brought to a close with Joe Bonanno, still in hiding, suffering a heart attack and announcing his permanent retirement in 1968 (he went on to live to the age of 97, dying in Tucson, Arizona in 2002).[5][7] Both factions came together under Sciacca's leadership. His replacement was Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola as boss of the Bonanno family.[5] Evola's leadership was short lived - his death (from natural causes) in 1973 brought Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli to the throne.[5]

Rastelli regime

Due to the infighting of the Bonanno family, it was spurned by the other families and stripped of its Commission seat. Rastelli took charge of a seemingly hapless, doomed organization. Rastelli's former friend Carmine Galante became a powerful and dangerous renegade.

Having previously acted as a focal point for the importation of heroin to the USA via Montreal, Galante set about refining the family's drug trafficking operations. The incredibly lucrative deals he was able to make made the family a fortune, but with the other four families being kept out of the arrangements, Galante was making a rod for his own back.

When eight members of the Genovese family were murdered on Galante's orders for trying to muscle in on his drug operation, the other families decided he had outlived his usefulness at the head of the Bonanno family. On July 12, 1979, Galante was shot dead by three men, at a restaurant in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn.

Rastelli took over once again, but the family's internal strife was far from over. Three renegade capos - Phillip Giaccone, Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato and Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera - began to openly question Rastelli's leadership and apparently to plot to overthrow him. With the blessing of the other families, Rastelli had the three men wiped out in a hit arranged by then-street boss Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, as well as the future Boss Joseph "Big Joe" Massino.

The alleged boss of the Mafia in Montreal Vito Rizzuto was extradited from Canada to the USA in August 2006 and will face charges in connection with the murder of three captains of the Bonanno family in 1981. Vito Rizzuto is now in prison and will be out in 2 years.[8]

Donnie Brasco

Two of the men involved in the murder of the three rogue capos were Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero and his capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano. Ruggiero had an associate, Donnie Brasco, whom he proposed for full family membership. In reality, Brasco was undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone, conducting what would become a six-year infiltration of the family.

Pistone's undercover work led to numerous charges against the Bonanno family. Both Ruggiero and Rastelli received lengthy sentences. On August 17, 1981, Napolitano was shot and killed in a basement by Ronald Filocomo and Frank "Curly" Lino as punishment for admitting Pistone to his crew.[9][10][11] Anthony Mirra, the man who had brought Pistone to the family, was also killed.

After the Donnie Brasco affair, the Mafia Commission removed the Bonanno family from the panel. However, when the federal government pressed charges against the New York Cosa Nostra leadership in the Mafia Commission Trial, the Bonannos avoided indictment. As a result, the Bonanno family was able to keep its leadership intact and build up its power again.

Under Massino's command

Rastelli's death in 1991, following a period in which he ruled the family from inside prison, saw the promotion of Massino to the top spot. Finally, the family had found a man who could reverse its fortunes. By promoting a far more secretive way of doing business, Massino not only concentrated on the narcotics trade as had become mandatory for a mob boss, but also in other areas less likely to draw the attention of the authorities than drugs, such as the Mafia's stock trades of racketeering, money laundering and loan sharking. A close friend of Massino's, and boss of the Gambino crime family, John Gotti, also helped to get the Bonannos a seat on "The Commission" again. Over the next 10 years the family regrouped while the other families bosses were in prison. The FBI considered Massino the most powerful mob boss in the country.

Massino turns informant

Massino managed to keep his nose clean until the killing of Napolitano came back to haunt him. He and his underboss, Salvatore Vitale, were charged with the crime in 2003 after two of their capos turned themselves over as witnesses for the government. Vitale, who had until that point been utterly loyal to his boss, also faced a further murder charge and decided to switch sides himself,[12] condemning Massino to life imprisonment. Capital punishment had been a possibility for Massino, but in 2004 he became the first serving New York City Mafia boss to turn informant, sparing himself the ultimate penalty.

Massino is believed to be the man who pointed the FBI towards a spot in Ozone Park, Queens, called "The Hole", where the body of Alphonse Indelicato had been found in 1981. Told to dig a little deeper, authorities duly uncovered the remains of Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone, as well as a body suspected to be that of John Favara, a neighbor of Gambino family boss John Gotti who had killed the mobster's son in a car/bicycle accident, and paid with his life.

Former Boss Joseph Massino is also believed to have provided the police with information on a number of high ranking Bonanno Family members and former acting boss Vincent Basciano, whose conversations with Massino were taped in late 2004 and early 2005 by the turncoat himself. Before Massino became an informant himself, his acting boss on the outside was Anthony "Tony Green" Urso, but his tenure was short-lived as he too was imprisoned on numerous charges, leading to Basciano taking control. Vincent Basciano's term as acting boss was hampered with his arrest in late 2004, but with Massino's eventual betrayal, authorities claim that Basciano assumed the top position in 2005, is allegedly the current Boss and leading the broken Bonanno family from his prison cell.

The authorities continue to plague the family, with the February 16, 2006 arrest of acting boss Michael Mancuso on murder charges, while alleged Boss Vincent Basciano was convicted on charges of conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, and illegal gambling and was sentenced to life imprisonment in late 2007. The main charge against him was that he conspired to murder both the judge and prosecutor in the case, as well as Patrick DeFilippo, a fellow Bonanno crime family captain.

Basciano's leadership

Bonanno family Boss Vincent Basciano named Brooklyn business owner Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna, as the new "acting boss" of the Bonanno Family. He is sometimes referred to as "Sal the Zip" being that he is from Joseph Bonanno's hometown of Castellammare del Golfo, is closely associated with the Family's Sicilian faction and fellow Castellammarese, Baldo Amato who is currently in prison and former Bonanno Capo Cesare Bonventre who was murdered in 1984." Sal Montagna was an unknown soldier in the Bronx crew of capo Patrick "Patty from the Bronx" DeFilippo and became acting capo of the crew upon DeFilippo's 2003 arrest on murder and racketeering charges. Law enforcement sources have stated that Salvatore Montagna was tabbed as "acting boss" with Vincent Basciano's consent to maintain the Bonanno Family's base of power within the Bronx faction of the Bonanno crime family. The Bonanno family's base of power was traditionally held by the Brooklyn faction from the time of Family patriarch Joseph Bonanno until the eventual rise of Queens faction leader Philip "Rusty" Rastelli in the early 1970s. The ascension of the Bronx faction began with Basciano's promotion to acting boss, eventual ascension to the top position of Boss, continued through Michael Mancuso's short tenure and now remains with Sal Montagna acting on behalf of Basciano.

In July 2004, The New York Times reported that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn "say that overall, in the last four years, they have won convictions against roughly 75 mobsters or associates in a crime clan with fewer than 150 made members."[13] In February 2005, Bonanno family Capo Anthony "Tony Green" Urso pleaded guilty to racketeering, murder, gambling, loan sharking and extortion charges, while Capo Joseph "Joe Saunders" Cammarano, along with soldier Louis Restivo pleaded guilty to murder and racketeering charges."[14]

Twelve Bonanno family member and associates, seven over the age 70, including acting consigliere Anthony "Mr. Fish" Rabito and respected soldier Salvatore Scudiero were indicted and arrested on June 14, 2005 on charges of operating a $10 million a year gambling ring."[15]

The defection of former Bonanno family Bosses Joseph Massino and Salvatore Vitale, along with four high ranking former Capos, has caused the Bonanno family to lose power, influence and respect within the New York underworld to a degree not seen since the Donnie Brasco incident. With Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora as "acting underboss" for the imprisoned Michael Mancuso, and Anthony Rabito as the alleged consigliere, Montagna was capable of running the day-to-day operations on behalf of Vincent Basciano.[16][17]

Current position of the family

Under the rule of former Boss Joseph Massino, the Bonanno family climbed back to the top of New York's crime family hierarchy and once again became a top power in America's underworld, but high level defections and convictions have left the family a shell of its former self once more during its long criminal history.[16] Vincent Basciano is serving a prison sentence for racketeering and Salvatore Montagna has been deported to Canada. Both were appointed acting bosses during Massino's imprisonment and after Massino's defection to the FBI.

A March 2009 article in the New York Post stated that Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna is the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family. The article also stated that the Bonanno family current consists of approximately 115 "made" members.[18] Montagna was later deported to Canada in April 2009 leaving the family to create a ruling panel until a new boss was chosen.[19]

On January 11, 2010 Jerry Capeci quoted sources as saying that Nicholas Santora and Anthony Rabito, who were both released from prison in 2009 and are still unable to meet freely with their fellow wiseguys, are supporting capo Vincent Asaro to become the new boss of the family.[20] Asaro also has close ties to Queens-based mobsters from the Lucchese, Gambino and Genovese families who have voiced their support for him, sources say. A key player in the recent talks is Vito Grimaldi, who is viewed as an adviser to the Zips (Sicilian mobsters in the United States).

Capeci's sources say Asaro, who for many years has had dealings as both a mob supervisor and cohort of Sicilian wiseguys, may win Grimaldi's support.[20] Another candidate with key Sicilian backing is Vincent Badalamenti. Due to Joseph Massino deciding to cooperate with the FBI, both sides agree that the family will no longer take orders from the man he previously appointed acting boss, Vincent Basciano. "[Joseph Massino's] word don't count any more," said one source, adding that even if his words still had clout, it made no sense.[20]

Historical leadership

Bosses (official and acting)

Boss (sometimes called Godfather or Don) is the head of the crime family, no one can override his decisions. Only the boss and underboss can initiate an associate into the family, allowing them to become a made man. The boss gives the family oath to new members and make them sgarrista (soldiers). The boss also has the authority to give people their positions and ranks. The boss usually reigns as a dictator (until somebody deposes him).[5][21][22]

Street Boss and Ruling panel(s)

Street Boss

Ruling panel(s)
During the 1960s, members of the Boanno family went to war with their boss Joseph Bonanno. The Commission assembled a ruling panel (or committee) of capos was to control the decision making of the crime family. A ruling panel of capos may be assemble if the official boss dies, goes to prison, or is incapacitated.

Underboss

Underboss is the number two position in the family (after the Boss). Also known as the "capo bastone" in some criminal organizations, the underboss is responsible for sending a share of the family's profits to the boss. The underboss also oversees the selection of caporegimes and soldier(s). After the boss dies, the underboss normally takes control of the crime family until a new boss is chosen, in some cases the underboss.[22]

Consigliere

Consigliere is the number three position in the organization. Together, the boss, underboss and consigliere are referred to as "the administration." In Italian, consigliere means "advisor."[22]

Current family members

Administration

Capos

Capo - Caporegime (Crew boss/Captain/Lieutenant/Skipper) The boss appoints a capo to operate a borgata (regime, or crew) of sgarrista (soldiers). Each capo reports directly to the underboss and must get permission from the underboss to perform any actions. If the family wants to kill someone, the leadership usually asks the capo to carry out the order. The capo runs the day-to-day operations of his own crew. The soldiers in his crew give the capo part of their earnings, and the capo sends a part of these earnings to the underboss. A capo can recommend to the boss or underboss that a new recruit be sworn into his crew. A soldier becomes acting capo while the capo is in imprisoned, sick or on trial.

Brooklyn faction

Staten Island faction

Manhattan faction

Queens faction

Bronx faction

New Jersey faction

Soldiers

Imprisoned soldiers

Former members

Family crews

Allied criminal organization

Government Informants and Witnesses

Bonanno family Mafia trials

Hearings

In popular culture

References

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  66. ^ Judge Orders Four In 'Pizza' Case To Contribute To Fund For Addicts by Frank J. Prial (June 23, 1987) New York Times
  67. ^ Mafia Informers Ridiculed By Defense In 'Pizza' Trial by Arnold H. Lubasch (February 20, 1987) New York Times
  68. ^ Witness's Testimony: The Versions Differ (September 28, 1987) New York Times
  69. ^ Federal Witness in 'Pizza' Case Recants Testimony on Mob Boss by Ralph Blumenthal (September 28, 1987) New York Times
  70. ^ United States v. Anthony Urso, et al.
  71. ^ Murder Suspects Having Their Heads Examined by Jerry Capeci (February 24, 2005) New York Sun
  72. ^ a b "charged in case of dead man in a drum" The Star Ledger January 22, 2004
  73. ^ a b 15-yr. Sentences For 1984 Rubout. Two Whack-o Bonanno Names Are Kod by John Marzulli (September 21, 2006) New York Daily News
  74. ^ "Louis Attansio" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  75. ^ "6 Fla. members of Bonanno crime family admit guilt". New York Post. October 14, 2009. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/fla_members_of_bonanno_crime_family_f5tafSAzUAHOixVbOltbFI. 
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  80. ^ "Joseph Loiacono" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  81. ^ marzulli, "The Baby Godfather", N.Y. Daily News Article. November 15, 2006, _baby_godfather_young_don_signals_des:html
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  84. ^ "Anthony Pipitone" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  85. ^ "Anthony Urso" Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
  86. ^ Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia By Joseph D. Pistone, Richard Woodley view
  87. ^ King of the Godfathers: Big Joey Massino and the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family by Anthony M. DeStefano pg.138
  88. ^ King of the Godfathers: Big Joey Massino and the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family By Anthony M. DeStefano p. 229
  89. ^ Friend of the Family: An Undercover Agent in the Mafia By D. Lea Jacobs, Anthony Daniels p.178
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  91. ^ "Family ties trip up would-be immigrant" By Estanislao Oziewicz The Globe and Mail
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  93. ^ a b c d Manning, George A, PH.D Financial Investigation and Forensic Accounting pg.214-215
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  95. ^ "MONTREAL CRIME FAMILY" Mafia International.com
  96. ^ "Rizzuto pleads guilty to racketeering charge" CanWest News Service National Post
  97. ^ (French) Nicolo Rizzuto assasiné
  98. ^ (French) Nicolo Rizzuto assasiné (Radio-Canada)
  99. ^ Montreal boss gunned down
  100. ^ "FUHGEDDABOUD THE OLD MOB After Gotti, Mafia ordered to clean house". Daily News (New York). July 7, 2002. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2002/07/07/2002-07-07_fuhgeddaboud_the_old_mob_aft.html. 
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  103. ^ "Dapper Don's Don Juan Pal Is New Boss Of The Family. Exclusive: Troubled Mafia Clan Has Put Smooth Talker In Charge, Says Former G-Man". Daily News (New York). December 26, 2005. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2005/12/26/2005-12-26_dapper_don_s_don_juan_pal_is.html. 
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  105. ^ "They all thought Vinny Gorgeous was pretty nuts: Witness". Daily News (New York). June 21, 2007. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2007/06/21/2007-06-21_they_all_thought_vinny_gorgeous_was_pret.html. 
  106. ^ "Wiseguys & Prettyfellas". Daily News (New York). February 3, 2006. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2006/03/02/2006-03-02_wiseguys___prettyfellas.html. 
  107. ^ McIntire, Mike (July 27, 2004). "Man Testifies He Saw Leader of Street Fair Inducted Into Mafia". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/27/nyregion/man-testifies-he-saw-leader-of-street-fair-inducted-into-mafia.html?scp=1&sq=Richard%20Cantarella&st=cse. Retrieved April 26, 2010. 
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  110. ^ "New York vs. Cantarella" Buffalo.edu
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  112. ^ "Poisoning Rats - Mob Boss Vowed Death To Turncoats". New York Post. May 28, 2004. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/poisoning_rats_mob_boss_vowed_death_ax7X8VmP1TzPQXc4afYzoO. 
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  114. ^ "MY LIFE AS A REAL MOB RAT! True Mafia story of father betraying son to save himself". Daily News (New York). November 22, 2004. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2004/11/22/2004-11-22_my_life_as_a_real_mob_rat__t.html. 
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  133. ^ "Bonanno: A Godfather's Story" IMDb.com

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