Don Joseph Bonanno and how his Book A Man of Honor Opened the Door to Take Down the Mafia Commission
Mob Talk Social Club Presents the Mob History of Bonanno Mob Don Joseph Bonanno and how his Book A Man of Honor Opened the Door to Take Down the Mafia Commission.
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Joseph “Joe” Bonanno was one of the founding bosses of New York’s Five Families and an original member of the Mafia Commission. He led the organization that still bears his name from 1931 until 1968. Newspapers called him “Joe Bananas,” a nickname he disliked. He was a different man from Joseph “Big Joey” Massino, who headed the family decades later. His rise from Sicily to New York Born January 18, 1905, in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Bonanno came from a family with Mafia connections. He settled in the United States in 1924 and became associated with Salvatore Maranzano, a leading figure in New York’s Sicilian underworld. During the Castellammarese War, Bonanno belonged to Maranzano’s faction against rival boss Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria. Both Masseria and Maranzano were murdered in 1931. After the reorganization that followed, Bonanno became boss of Maranzano’s former organization at just 26. He also took a seat on the newly established Commission, which brought major bosses together to settle disputes and address matters affecting multiple families. How he held power Bonanno relied heavily on Sicilian relationships, relatives, and trusted associates. His organization profited from gambling, loansharking, extortion, and other rackets, alongside legitimate business interests. His close alliance with Joseph Profaci, another original New York boss, helped strengthen his position. Their families became connected through the marriage of Bonanno’s son, Salvatore “Bill” Bonanno, to Profaci’s niece Rosalie. Bonanno later portrayed himself as a traditional patriarch guided by loyalty and honor. That description needs caution: his autobiography presents his own defense of a criminal organization whose power depended on intimidation and violence. The power struggle that brought him down By the early 1960s, Bonanno’s relationships with other bosses had deteriorated. In the commonly accepted account, he and Joseph Magliocco, Profaci’s successor, were implicated in a plot against rival Commission leaders, including Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese. Magliocco assigned those killings to Joseph Colombo, who exposed the plan instead. Bonanno disputed accounts of his involvement. In October 1964, Bonanno disappeared. He later said he had been kidnapped by men connected to his cousin, Buffalo boss Stefano Magaddino; the circumstances remain disputed. During his absence, the Commission recognized Gaspar DiGregorio as his replacement, splitting the family between opposing factions. The resulting “Banana War” involved shootings, murders, and challenges to Bill Bonanno’s authority. Joseph returned in 1966 but could not restore lasting control. In 1968, he withdrew from leadership and retired to Tucson, Arizona. Paul Sciacca emerged as the family’s next boss. His book and the Mafia Commission case In 1983, Bonanno published A Man of Honor. Its most consequential material described the Commission’s membership, procedures, and role in settling disputes. An original boss had publicly acknowledged the governing body that prosecutors were investigating. The book helped expose and explain the Commission, but it did not single-handedly bring down the Mafia. The federal case depended on extensive independent evidence. Bonanno’s willingness to discuss the organization publicly also led prosecutors to demand his testimony. When he refused to obey a court order, he was jailed for contempt in 1985. He did not become a cooperating government witness like Massino later did.
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