Joe Bonanno – Boss of the Bonanno Crime Family
Joe Bonanno was one of the original mafia bosses in the U.S. and one of the most infamous, wealthiest, and...
According to mob historians, the Bonnano Family began under the leadership of Sebastiano DiGaetano. Later, Nicola (Cola) Schiro would lead for a time as a weak sister until the threat of death to all the Castellammarese by Giuseppe (Joe the Boss) Masseria would ultimately catapult Salvatore Maranzano to leadership during the tumultuous “Castellammarese War” years and the violence that would follow in the late 1920s to early 1930s.
After the Castellammarese and their allies had defeated Masseria and subsequently with Maranzano’s own killing, the leadership of the borgata fell to Giuseppe (Joe) Bonanno who would go on to lead one of the most tight-knit, secretive, and cohesive Family memberships for the next 35 years. With little fanfare or public exposure, it allowed Joseph Bonanno to accumulate one of the greatest wealth of any mob boss of his era.
The Bonanno Family boasted a membership of approximately 200 strong with over 750 associates. Some of these members included such iconic mafiosi as feared underboss Carmine (Lilo) Galante, consiglieri Giovanni (John) Bonventre, Francesco (Frankie Carroll) Garofalo, Stefano Cannone, and Philip (Rusty) Rastelli.
With power bases in gambling, shylocking, legitimate business holdings, and international heroin smuggling through its satellite regimes in Montreal, Canada, and Sicily. the Bonannos were a very influential Family across the entire United States, with members as far away as Arizona, California, Canada, and the Trapani Province of Sicily.
But by the mid-1960s, Joe Bonanno’s heavy-handed leadership style, greed, and ambitions would be not only his personal undoing but also the undoing of the Family at large. It led to the so-called “Banana War” which tore at the very fabric of its membership – a strife-torn Family that, to this day, has never fully recovered to the prestige and power it once enjoyed!
Below is a listing of bios and snapshots on Bonanno Family members and associates. They are generally listed in alphabetical order.
Joe Bonanno was one of the original mafia bosses in the U.S. and one of the most infamous, wealthiest, and...
Frank Bonomo was a low-key Bonanno soldier who was primarily active in loansharking, thefts, and fencing stolen goods. He was...
Although bouncing around the underworld for decades, with a serious criminal record to prove it, Steve Cannone was generally not...
Long affiliated with the Joseph Bonanno Family, Smitty D'Angelo was considered a solid guy all his life and was very...
Jimmy Genna was a Bonanno Family soldier who was active in a variety of rackets including sports bookmaking, fencing of...
Steve Menna was a reputed soldier in the old Bonanno Family. He was involved in truck hijackings, shylocking, and strong-arm...
Murad Nersissian was a mob associate affiliated with the Bonanno Family who was involved in narcotics, counterfeiting, extortion, and even...
John Petrone was a shadowy Bonanno Family soldier who seems to have mostly operated under the radar. But authorities once...
Early on in his underworld career, Dominick Trinchera seems to have been affiliated with members of the Colombo Family, including...
Joseph Zummo was a member of the Bonanno Family's "rebel camp" aligned with Frank Mari during the Banana War of...
From city to city and state to state, Button Guys of The New York Mafia breaks down the history of organized crime in America. Through deep-dive biographies and snapshots of mobsters to in-depth stories about mafia regimes and crews, you’ll uncover an underworld you might never have known existed – maybe even in your own hometown!
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Copyright © 2019-2024. Button Guys of The New York Mafia. All Rights Reserved.