Cassandro (Tony the Chief) Bonasera: Brooklyn Public Enemy”

Cassandro (Tony the Chief) Bonasera was an original, an old-line veteran mafioso to his core! He was among the first wave of members of “The Honored Society” to hit the shores of America, and he plied his stock in trade well. This feared, devout hoodlum and “black hand-style" mob terrorist, for the most part, held key sections of Brooklyn under his rule. Well known for his mayhem and terror tactics, few would come to challenge him.

Cassandro (Tony the Chief) Bonasera - aka Anthony Bonasera and Tony Bonasera - was born on June 18, 1897 in Vallelunga, Sicily. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1906 and resided and operated all his life at 1117 83rd Street in the Bensonhurst neighborhood in Brooklyn. He was also known to frequent the Upstate New York/Buffalo area.

FBI # 191363, NYCPD # B-57901

Bonasera was an original, an old-line veteran mafioso to his core! He was among the first wave of members of “The Honored Society” to hit the shores of America, and he plied his stock in trade well. This feared, devout hoodlum and “black hand-style" mob terrorist, for the most part, held key sections of Brooklyn under his rule. Well known for his mayhem and terror tactics, few would come to challenge him.

Cassandro (Tony the Chief) Bonasera

Early on, he and Giovanni (Johnny Bath Beach) Oddo began dominating Bonasera's neighborhood, extracting protection payments from local shopkeepers as was done back in his homeland of Sicily.

Bonasera's criminal activities included extortion and shakedowns, loansharking, policy, dice card games, strong-arm enforcement and murder, garment rackets, dcck/pier thefts, and receiving/fencing stolen goods.

“Tony the Chief” was one of the most notorious public enemies of his day.

For the most part, he operated in Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan but also went back and forth to Buffalo because of family relations/connections to the notorious DiCarlo Family (Mafia leaders of that city.) Tony had married into their family.

Bonasera became best friends with lifelong partner Giovanni (Johnny Bath Beach) Oddo, another notorious mafioso of the first order in the Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, and Bath Beach sections of Brooklyn (hence his nickname).

This duo would become known as among the most feared of Joe Profaci’s earliest “enforcers” and section leaders. Over the years, the two would be suspects in numerous gangland killings.

In 1939, both were picked up in a highly publicized arrest for operating a wide-ranging loanshark and extortion racket in that section of Kings County.

They were named as leaders of a five-man shylock ring that terrorized and shook down loan victims, squeezing every penny from them as you would squeeze an orange of all its juice!

The duo charged from 3% to a whopping 10% interest weekly and regularly dished out threats to include beatings and worse if timely payment was not made.

In one of the most invasive police investigations of the era, this “loanshark” operation was broken with their indictment.

Bonasera and Oddo were named as the underworld kingpins, who along with their henchmen Frank (Bo Peep) Tumillo, Freddy Amerosa, and Joseph (Joe Beck) Bienkowski, were named in a secret indictment handed down that triggered an eight-state alarm for them after they eluded capture.

Authorities laid out the details of the charges which included ten counts of extortion and attempted extortion, felonious assaults, and coercion in regard to a long-term usury operation that beat, intimidated, and actually forced loans victims to flee and hide out while their friends and family tried to negotiate agreeable payoff schedules with the mobsters.

After several weeks missing, Oddo returned from a Florida vacation only to be arrested by detectives and placed under a whopping $100,000 bail, which was a huge amount in 1939.

Oddo was immediately sent to The Tombs to await bond.

Bonasera, the undisputed kingpin, stayed “on the lam”.

At the time, Oddo had 15 arrests (2 for murder,) but no convictions. Bonasera had 26 arrests (3 for murder) and convictions for misdemeanors.

Ultimately, the charges would all be reduced and all defendants would plead out to various misdemeanors. None served prison time.

This was way before the RICO conspiracy laws. So, guys like Bonasera had a party!

Bonasera was originally considered a henchman of former mob boss Francesco (Frankie Yale) Ioele before his death by a gunman of Al Capone's.

Over the years, both would be questioned about his murder as well as that of Giuseppe (Joe the Boss) Masseria, Giovanni Bazzano, Antonio Colombo, and a slew of others.

In 1938, The Chief was also among the prime suspects for a double homicide of a man and woman found strangled and left in an automobile on a Brooklyn street.

The male corpse turned out to be Antonio (Nino) Colombo, who was a well-known Profaci soldier, and the father of a little boy who would one day rise to lead that Family - Joseph Colombo.

Other suspects in the murder included Sally (The Sheik) Mussachio and Oddo.

The reasoning behind the hits was infidelity. As an inducted soldier, Antonio Colombo was forbidden from “fooling around” with another street guy's wife. He broke that steadfast rule. The young, very attractive woman sitting next to him was alleged to be the wife of another “friend.” So that was that; she went too!

Bonasera boasted an immense criminal history with approximately 30 arrests since 1916:

Robbery (three times)

Armed robbery (twice)

Attempted extortion and assault (twice)

Conspiracy

Disorderly conduct (four times)

Homicide (three times)

Petty larceny (three times with one indefinite term)

Assault (twice for 60 days)

Burglary (four times)

Felonious assault

Impersonating a policeman (nine months at a workhouse)

Possessing a gun

Attempted extortion and conspiracy

Vagrancy (twice)

As you can see, Bonasera paid little penalty during his “career,” which only added to his bravado!

Bonasera also had legitimate interests which included Sarah-Lee Dress Co., of Brooklyn (a sub-contracting firm which he co-owned for many years) and J.L.A. Textile Printing Co. (another garment-related firm in the Bronx).

He had a long list of associates, many of whom were the top racketeers of their time.

These included Giuseppe (Joe) Profaci, Giuseppe (Joe Malyoke) Magliocco, Salvatore (The Sheik) Mussachio, Giuseppe (The Clutch Hand) Peraino, Michael (The Sweetheart) Abbatemarco, Giovanni (Johnny Bath Beach) Oddo and Frank (Bo Peep) Tummello

Other close associates included Alfredo (Freddy) Amorosa, Joseph (Joe Beck) Beckowski, Giuseppe (Joe the Wolf) DiCarlo, Paolo Palmieri, Francesco (Frankie Yale) Ioele, Angelo Ioele, Salvatore (Lucky) Lucanio, Giuseppe (Joe Adonis) Doto, Giuseppe (Joe Shep) Schipani, and Anthony (Tony Gobels) Ricci.

Bonasera liked to frequent a Genovese hangout: the Casa Bianca Restaurant which was owned by Doto and Schipani as well as the Knock Knock Inn. Both were in Brooklyn, and Bonasera seemed to be close to the Genovese.

By the early to mid-1960s, The Chief was slowing down.

Many of the old-timers had passed away or were beginning to become inactive. He chose to do the same, slowly fading from the mob scene.

Cassandro “Tony the Chief” Bonasera died on September 9, 1972, at 75 years old.

Until next time..."The Other Guy"

Cassandro (Tony the Chief) Bonasera: Brooklyn Public Enemy”

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Cassandro (Tony the Chief) Bonasera: Brooklyn Public Enemy”

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