Mob History Story of the Killing of Bonanno Crime Boss Carmine Galante July 12, 1979, by Bodyguards
Mob Talk Social Club presents the Mob History Story of the Killing of Bonanno Crime Boss Carmine Galante July 12, 1979, by his Bodyguards
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Carmine “Lilo” Galante (1910–1979) was a powerful Bonanno crime family leader, a major heroin trafficker, and one of the most feared figures in New York’s Mafia. He became especially famous for the cigar he habitually smoked—even the photograph taken after his assassination showed it still in his mouth. Born in East Harlem on February 21, 1910, Galante entered crime young and accumulated a lengthy record. He rose through the Bonanno organization, becoming a trusted figure under founder Joseph Bonanno.
His influence rested on his reputation for violence and his involvement in international narcotics trafficking. He served a lengthy federal prison term for narcotics offenses before returning to the streets in the 1970s. Was he the Bonanno boss? He exercised substantial power and was widely described as the family’s boss, but his position was contested. Philip “Rusty” Rastelli also claimed leadership, and the struggle between their factions became central to Galante’s downfall.
Calling Galante the family’s dominant street leader during this period captures that complicated situation. Galante’s ambitions and control over heroin profits alarmed other mob leaders. Investigators described him as unwilling to share those profits. Later court findings established that the Mafia Commission approved his killing to resolve the Galante–Rastelli leadership dispute. On July 12, 1979, masked gunmen attacked him while he was having lunch on the rear patio of Joe & Mary’s Italian-American Restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Galante, associate Leonard Coppola, and restaurant owner Giuseppe Turano were killed. Galante was 69. His Sicilian bodyguards, Cesare Bonventre and Baldassare Amato, survived unharmed; investigators believed they were involved in the betrayal. Anthony “Bruno” Indelicato’s participation in the killings was later established in the Mafia Commission prosecution through evidence that included his palmprint in the getaway car. Carmine Galante rose to power through his reputation for violence, Joseph Bonanno’s trust, and the money and connections he developed in the heroin trade. His rise came in two stages: becoming a senior Bonanno leader before prison, then returning in the 1970s to challenge for control of the family. His early reputation opened doors. Galante developed a reputation as a dangerous enforcer who could carry out sensitive assignments. He was a leading suspect in the 1943 assassination of anti-Fascist newspaper editor Carlo Tresca. That killing is frequently attributed to him, but nobody was charged, so his responsibility should not be presented as a proven fact. Joseph Bonanno gave him opportunities beyond street enforcement. Galante became one of Bonanno’s trusted senior men and is commonly identified as a former underboss. His importance came from his ability to oversee criminal operations and enforce the boss’s authority. Montreal helped turn him into an international operator. During the 1950s, Bonanno sent him to Canada, where he worked with the organization associated with Vincenzo Cotroni. Montreal became an important link in heroin trafficking into the United States. A contemporary Canadian police report described Galante as taking over the Montreal syndicate in 1954 and recorded his connection to Bonanno. These relationships gave him influence beyond his New York crew. Prison interrupted his rise. In 1962, Galante received a 20-year federal sentence for narcotics offenses. While he was imprisoned, the Bonanno family went through a leadership war, and Joseph Bonanno ultimately retired to Arizona. When Galante was paroled in 1974, the organization he returned to had changed considerably. en.wikipedia.org He returned with ambitions to run the family. Philip “Rusty” Rastelli had the Commission’s backing, but Galante challenged his authority and built substantial control on the street. His older connections, fearsome reputation, and narcotics interests gave him a powerful base. By the middle of the 1970s, he was widely regarded as the dominant figure in the family, although the leadership remained contested. That struggle ultimately brought him down. Galante’s position depended on his own faction’s strength while other Mafia leaders supported Rastelli. Later court findings established that the Commission approved Galante’s murder to resolve the leadership dispute. His assassination on July 12, 1979, ended his attempt to consolidate control.
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