Mobster - Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano

New Video

A brief history of one-time Bonanno Capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano. Napolitano was the capo who allowed FBI Special Agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone to infiltrate the mob and almost become a made man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TP_2DjTwVQ

Nice background story and video EXCEPT for Sonny Black being killed because of Donnie Brasco. Joey Massino testified in Federal court and it was reported by Jerry Capeci on Ganglandnews.com that that was not true. He was killed because Saonny Black was making moves to control the family. Nothing to do with Pistone.

Nice video- Thanks for sharing. Massino seemed to think everyone was trying to take over. so maybe that is a better theory.

Blatent Falsehood. If SB was in a powerstruggle for control of the family why would he remove his personals and go by himself to a 'meeting' (certain death). Its non-sensical.

Massino has stated the hit on Mirra had nothing to do with JP but because he was an informant. JM appears to be distancing himself from the hits caused by JP's infiltration into the family.

There is no evidence (and Mirra spent most of his adult life in Prision, so HIGHLY unlikely) that Mirra was an informant and its a nonsense that SB was hit in a powerplay.

Keep in mind Lefty was marked for death as well. What, was he an informant as well??? Please. Its either a MASSIVE coincidence that Mirra, Lefty and SB were hit (or marked) for completely irrelevant reasons than they were all responsible for bringing in an FBI agent to the family.

Logically, which one do you think it is.

Here is the Capeci's article in Gangland about Massino's testimony on Pistone....is Week In Gang Land April 14, 2011
By Jerry Capeci
Massino: As Mafia Boss I Had The Power Of Life & Death

Siskel and Ebert gave Donnie Brasco “two thumbs up.” But when a prosecutor asked Joseph Massino for his take on the classic gangster movie, he grimaced and held his hand in front of his face. Then he wiggled his fingers back and forth in that shaky motion that most closely translates as “Mezza-mezza.” Or perhaps, “Eh.”
“Objection!” thundered the defense attorney. “Sustained,” said the judge, ending Joe Massino’s career as movie reviewer.
Jurors were instructed to ignore this part of Massino’s historic appearance as the first official New York Mafia boss to testify for the government – in this case, against a fellow former Bonanno crime family big, onetime acting boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous)Basciano.
Thankfully, Gang Land is not required to adhere to the trial judge’s admonitions. For that matter, it’s hard to fathom how jurors will get it out of their heads since Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis was forced to repeat the shaky hand motion when he ruled it off-limits. At any rate, let it be officially recorded here that the first movie review by an ex-mob chieftain delivered from the witness stand was “No Stars!”
Not that the 68-year-old Massino lacked for insight about the inner-workings of the Bonanno family of that era. In fact, he is presumably better-equipped than anyone to pass judgment on the accuracy of the big-screen portrayal of FBI agent Joe Pistone’s undercover work against the crime family from 1976-to-1981.
In any event, once his movie review was over, the burly ex-Mafia boss proceeded to deliver several new revelations, each of which partially explained why he might think the movie version of the Brasco affair was no great shakes.
First, he debunked a long-held theory that a pair of mob murders of that era stemmed from anger at mobsters who were hoodwinked by the FBI agent. Under questioning by assistant U.S. attorney Taryn Merkl, Massino said that he was “made” on June 14, 1977 – a year after Pistone began his undercover role – and learned about the agent’s work soon after the FBI disclosed it in the summer of 1981 to Dominick (Sonny Black) Napolitano, the wiseguy who wanted to sponsor Pistone for induction.
Contrary to what prosecutors alleged at Massino’s 2004 trial – and what was implied in the 1997 movie – Sonny Black’s murder in August of 1981, a month after the feds pulled the plug on Pistone’s sting operation, was not payback for Napolitano’s role in vouching for Donnie Brasco, the jewel thief that Pistone pretended to be for five years.
Massino said that Sonny Black had told him that three FBI agents had alerted Napolitano that the “knock-around guy” he had known for several years as “Donnie Brasco” was really an FBI agent. Napolitano said the agents warned him that “if anything happens to [Brasco], we’re going to have a lot of trouble,” said Massino, adding that Napolitano’s sudden problems were unrelated to the Brasco fiasco.
“Sonny Black threatened to make a move on the family,” said Massino, recalling that he took part in the slaying and was part of a three-capo panel that was running the crime family for then-imprisoned boss Philip (Rusty) Rastelli that authorized the rubout. (Sonny Black looks into the camera as he and "Donnie Brasco" catch some rays at a Florida pool in 1980.)
Massino also dismissed reports that the demise of Bonanno wiseguy Anthony Mirra, whose February 1982 murder was long linked to his own Donnie Brasco dealings, was related to Pistone’s undercover work. Instead, Massino testified, that slaying stemmed from a belief that Mirra, a longtime drug dealer had become a secret “cooperator for the DEA.”
Massino, who is expected to face stiff cross-examination today about his assertion that Basciano ordered the 2004 murder of mob associate Randolph Pizzolo, stressed during his direct testimony that he was an all-powerful crime boss who had the power of life and death over wiseguys years before he took over the crime family in 1991.
He also explained the rationale behind another mob rubout: Disrespect. While he was on the lam in 1984 – ducking trial for the murders of three capos in 1981 – Massino said he learned from Rastelli’s brother and his own brother-in-law Salvatore Vitale, who was then a capo, that Rastelli was planning to whack Cesare Bonventre, a member of the family’s Sicilian faction who had extorted about $600,000 from a drug dealer who was close to Rastelli.
When Bonventre was called on the carpet about it by Rastelli, (right) not only did he deny the allegation, “he got insulted” by the inquiry and “got up and walked away,’ without so much as a polite good bye to his already steaming Mafia boss.
“You can’t do that with bosses,” said Massino. “That’s why he died.”
Rastelli also wanted to whack Bonventre’s long time buddy and partner in the crime and the insult, Baldo Amato – the duo played key roles in the 1979 rubout of wannabe Bonanno boss Carmine (Lilo) Galante – but Massino thought that was a bad idea, he testified.
“I saved him,” he said. “I sent word to the old man. I said, ‘Listen, he’s listening to his captain. We can’t just keep going on killing and killing and killing. He’s following orders just like I follow orders.’ He said, ‘You’re right,’ and he gave him a pass.”
Yesterday, prosecutors played tape recordings of jailhouse talks that Massino had with Vinny Gorgeous in January of 2005 – which Gang Land first disclosed thatSeptember – in which Basciano admits ordering a close associate to whack Pizzolo.
In his opening remarks to the jury, defense lawyer George Goltzer conceded that Basciano admitted ordering Pizzolo’s slaying while he was behind bars but insisted that his client was lying to his all powerful boss in order to save the life of Dominick Cicale, a close associate who had whacked Pizzolo on his own.
Goltzer conceded that Basciano was a powerful mobster who had committed numerous crimes, but insisted that he had nothing to do with ordering the December 1, 2004 murder of Pizzolo. His purpose in telling his mob boss he ordered the slaying was solely to protect Cicale from retaliation from Massino for having acted without prior approval.
The defense lawyer implored jurors to listen to the tapes “as many times as you want” during deliberations, assuring them that when all the evidence is in, “the only fair inference is that Vincent Basciano is saying what he has to say to save DominickCicale.”
It’s hard to determine what the jury will ultimately decide, but one irony of the defense lawyer’s words is that if Vinny Gorgeous was indeed trying to save Cicale from Masssino, his old pal hasn’t expressed much gratitude. He has already testified against him twice, and is slated to follow Massino to the stand.
A second irony is that no matter what the outcome of the trial, Vinny Gorgeous, who is serving life without parole for one mob murder, will leave prison in a body bag some time in the future.

Keep in mind that Massino had a motivation to provide alternate reasoning for the hits on Mirra and SB.

Admission that the hits were carried out in response to Federal incursion would hardly enamor him to his handlers, or the sentencing judge. Providing alternate justification 'powerplay, rat etc' is much more in his interest.

So Massino had motivation to lie. Coupled with it nonsense reasoning.

And oh, Lefty. JM give a bullshit reason why he was marked as well?

Its a poor case why SB, Mirra were hit and 'somewhat' of a coincidence Lefty was marked as well.

All in all, its bullshit self-serving. Coming from a rat. Which, in reminder, is the definition of self-interest. This, is simply further crap from a guy who at this stage was doing everything to get his fat diabetic ass a light at the end of the tunnel.

Keep in mind Capeci isnt agreeing with JM. He's just reporting what the bloated turncoat testified.

Is he related to Janet "I'm so diesel, and stone-butch I wear comfortable shoes" Napolitano?

I doubt it. Napolitano is a VERY common Italian name in America.

Massino testified for the FBI. His testimony contradicted everything that Pistone has claimed in the past regarding the demise of Sonny Black and Mirra. Why would the FBI use him against Basciano if they thought he was lying or making those stories up. Pistone is loved in the FBI. This wasn't a witness for the defense he was the Governments star witness. The Feds had to know this and agreed that Massino was telling the truth. They reward him with an amazing sentence. He is out as a free man!

As for Sonny Black's jewelry and personal items, maybe he knew that Massino had found out about his power play and that his days were numbered. And as for Lefty, he served his time in prison and no one beat him up, shanked him or nothing while he did his time. He did his time as a man. and when he got out nobody wacked him He died of cancer a few years later as a free but sick man. Sonny and Lefty made money for themselves and for the bosses with Donnie Brasco. If he infiltrated them so what. What is the difference of the guy who first introduced Velachi, Sammy the Bull, Phill Leonetti, Tommy Delgiorno, Petey Crumbs Caprio, Nicky Caramandi, Mikey Scars, Al D'arco, Greg Scarpa, Ralph Natale, Joey D'angelo, Ron Previte, John Veasey and on and on to any made man? It is what it is. Associates comprise of all walks of life, some make it, some don't.Pistone made money for them and if he was an Agent or was "bad" so be it!

Does it mean the person is from Naples originally?

Usually, but not always. I have Calabrese cousins with that last name.

The difference between the guys you mentioned and Pistone is that Pistone was an FBI agent from the start. He didn't "go bad".
All of the other guys were mob guys from the get go. You might get some flack for sponsoring a guy who turns rat years later,but if you bring a cop into the Mob, you are dead.

Then why didn't they kill Lefty? After all he was the one who introduced Pistone around after Pistone got to know him.

Capeci needs to convince Massino to collaborate on a book with him.

Beanshooter,
I do enjoy your posts mate, my thanks for your contributions. I do have to disagree though.



Firstly, Massino was rewarded for the convictions made and the incentive of having a boss roll. Not on any 'truth' he testified. To put it another way, if the FBI believed Massino wasnt telling the truth on why Mirra or SB was hit, do you think they wouldve prevented him testifying against VB?
I dont think so.

And MOST importantly, who would you belive? An FBI agent, or a rat looking to save himself? Or should I say an FBI agent, or a rat with a vested interest?



Again, what is more likely. That SB willingly went to his death amidst a family powerplay? Or for his infraction of proposing an FBI agent into the family?



It is an uncontested fact that lefty was advised by the FBI that he was a marked man.
Should we put this into the coincidence box with Mirra and SB as all unrelated hits? Or should we view these as hits made by all three allowing (a first at the time) an FBI AGENT into the family?
I think the answer is clear.




There is a CLEAR difference and a PRECEDENT between an OC made guy or associate rolling VS allowing (in the late 70's early 80') an FBI agent into the family. You are comparing apples with oranges.

If you think that there would be no repercussions from doing so in that age, you are very mistaken.

Because Lefty had the big casino and was on his way out anyway.

Mobsters needs to start doing new episodes again miss that series

Lefty lucked out.
He had been summoned to a meeting at which,(according to Pistone),he was to have been executed. The FBI picked him up,thereby saving his life.
He had 2 things in his favor:

1) He did 12 years without opening his mouth.Supposedly,this helped save his life.
2) By the time he got out,he was eaten up with cancer. I don't think he even lived a year.

When the Brasco movie was being made,the producers approached Lefty with an offer of a million bucks to do some promo clips.Reportedly he threatened to spit in their faces.
Between the embarrassment of the Pistone debacle,and his total adherence to the old school traditions,Lefty remained a true stand up guy to his last breath,never betraying Omerta.

I honestly believe,that up to the day he died,if he had the chance,he would have killed Pistone.Nothing was more important to Lefty than his reputation,and he would have sacrificed everything to avenge the loss of respect that he suffered because of "Donnie Brasco".

I have to LOL at that theory. One month after it comes out that Sonny Black wanted to make an FBI agent into the mafia and he's making a power play to overthrow the boss? I'm sure he would have had lots of support from the other capos and commission. LMAO

Yea I agree that I think Massino is lying about "why" Sonny Black and Mirra were killed and why Left would have been as well had the FBI (supposedly) not picked him up.

For me I think Massino claims otherwise to try and show up the government up, to make the others think Pistone DIDN'T infiltrate the family. This was the only way he could testify and try to still show up the feds. That way he can try to spit in the face of the feds and show them up in court while still getting off.

Where is CARMINE GALANTE'S episode they got an episode on DEMEO , he was no comparison to GALANTE c,mon

yaeh I think massino held back but sal vitale would have told the truth before massino flipped why cut off sonnys hands.thats a diifint message but maybe to keep the cops from idying him. was his head cut off to? i read the judge in lefty case held him without bail and lefty kept fighting to get bail and probably would have died. Howie winter says in a book lefy was a real gangster thought people were beneth him, it almost got him hurt in Leavenworth but bufalino smoothed it out.

I still don't get it why didn't the reconstruction of the Sonny Black hit match the body recovered: wrong weapon caliber, wrong number of shots. Does it mean the body wasn't Sonny's or did the informants lie about having participated in the murder? Was Massino ever questioned about what exactly was his role? Does he admit or deny that he organized it?

I just saw this YouTube for the first time. Sounds about right but the moderator of the video should get whacked for having such an annoying voice.

Was Pistone in the movie Donnie Brasco when they opened the club in Florida he was running one of the gambling tables right?

Pistone was the guy on the boat (The Left Hand) wearing the safari hat.

Oh god know I have to watch the movie again

Then why didn't de palmas guys kill whoever introduced that fed jack garcia to them? Don't tell me these are different times. You said so yourself, bring a cop around and you're dead

The guy who introduced Jack Garcia to Greg DePalma is living out in the open in Connecticut. What does he have to fear? Greg's dead. Craig's dead. No one gives a fuck. Times have changed.

Besides, the Gambino administration had no one to blame for that fiasco but Greg himself.

The biggest reason that the Mafia doesn't go after rats or infiltrators is that the Mafia,as we knew it,no longer exists.

Gone are the days when Omerta was taken seriously,when secrecy and low profiles were more than just words.When Valachi and Reles were so extraordinary because it was so rare for a guy to turn rat. When the Family's honor,both to itself and to the other Families demanded that vengeance be taken on those who betrayed their blood oaths.
The degeneration of the Mafia from old school traditions and values to a selfish,greedy street gang is reflected in all aspects of Cosa Nostra,just as it is in society at large.

There's not much to fear from a bunch of 30 something,drug dealing,phone card scamming,pump and dump stock swindling,sports bookmaking mooks who would rather do a few lines,grab their flashily dressed girlfriends,jump in their Mercedes,and drop a couple grand in a nightclub rather than sit in an alley somewhere waiting to hit yet another guy who snitched,so they could save the "Family's Honor".

You don't think things changed between the 1970's to early 2000's? The mob is a shell of its former self. They were a national power running casinos, every major union, all the east coast ports from Boston to Mobile.

Cool collection of vid you got

Very good points! Besides, I'm not incline to really believe much of what Joe Massino says.

Thanks! I keep working on them.

There is a YouTube somewhere of the real cop who was in goodfellas and other movies. Singing out side of Rao's with Frankie the owner and two other guys. That cop tried to put away one of the others singers father away for years.

What does the son do? He sings with cop.

Crazy.

On Gravano when he was still in the witness protection he turns up in Brooklyn at the Santa Rosalia feast on 18 ave. people saw him there he left he was still alive

foot are you talking about that douche bag bo dietl?

Hold your horses fella. If you read my post again then you'll notice i meant that they didn't do nothing to the guy who brought gracia around because they don't like to take that kind of heat that a murder brings nowadays. LouPerra said if you bring a cop in you're dead as if it was like that to this day. Thats not the case nowadays. Just my 2 cents

I didn't take it wrong at all. That's what I thought you meant, and that's why I mentioned that the original rat in the case (the fat kid who owned the club on Conner Street and Boston Road) is living under his own name and very openly in Connecticut. No one wanted to clean up Greg's mess while he and Craig were still alive, let alone now that they're dead.

And welcome to the boards, buddy .

That post was for mulberry but thanks for the anwser. The funny thing is he was introduced as a jewel thief, just like brasco. The shame greg must have felt. Specially after the trial when he taught that if he went to trial and stod face to face with garcia then he would take back his testimony. I guess he just lived in the wrong decade to think that they still had that power that a fed would think twice about testify.

Thanks pal, glad to be here

Greg was shameless. You'll have to trust me on that .

I bet he was haha. His crew caught a break when he went in. It couldn't have been easy working under a guy like that with that fuck*d up head of his

My post was a response to beanshooters question as to the difference between sponsoring a made guy who becomes a rat,and bringing a cop into the Family. If you read the entire exchange,you will see that I was responding to the allegation that Sonny and Mirra were not killed over the Brasco fiasco.They absolutely were. As to my saying it as if it applied even to this day,that is incorrect. Maybe I didn't make it clearer,or maybe you misunderstood. The point I was making was that in the Pistone situation,and only the Pistone situation,the guys that brought in an undercover cop were dead men.Granted,I used the present tense,as opposed to past tense when I made my point.(Bring in a cop and you're dead).Chalk it up to literary license.
My apologies if I was unclear,I don't want to misstate my position.

Since we are back on this topic Lou, why would they kill Sonny and Mirra over less than 20 guys that were arrested because of the Pistone case? Keeping in mind that a few, including Massino walked in the Pistone investigation. Massino was trying to win points with the Government so why would he NOT say that Sonny and Mirra were killed because they took Pistone around? He said something different and went against what Pistone, who is revered in the FBI, has been claiming all along. At the end Massino was rewarded with such a low sentence. It doesn't make sense to me. Does it to you?

A few small errors in your Vid:
1. You state Vitale was Sonny red's brother in law.
2. You state when SB was brought to Filoncomo's house he asked to pray. This didnt happen, he was hit walking down a flight of stairs and replied "Hit me one more time and make it good".

And those are both relatively well known little tidbits.

I mean, even if you've even casually read about these guys you should know that Vitale was Massino's brother-in-law.

The number of convictions wasn't an issue.The Cardinal Sin that Sonny,Lefty,and Mirra committed was bringing in a cop.For this offense,the death penalty was passed down.
I have a hard time believing that Sonny was going to make a move on the Family after the Brasco revelation. Make a move with who?
What Bonanno guy is going to give his loyalty to a Capo that almost made an FBI agent?
Also,the fact that Mirra got hit,and Lefty was on his way to getting hit prove to me that Massino was not telling the truth about the reason for the killings.
My personal opinion is that Massino was going to be convicted of the murders anyway,so he decided to minimize the damage that Pistone caused.It was like "Yea they fooled us,but they really didn't hurt us,so why would I kill a guy over something that wasn't a big deal".
By claiming the "plot against the Family" story,Massino could still be the big shot tough Mafia Boss who crushed all opposition.
I don't believe that Mirra was a snitch,either.
Massino had to save face.The Bonannos were a laughing stock in the Mob,and Massino did his best to get them back on the right track.
Quick side point:Pistone's investigation resulted in over 100 convictions,helped lay the groundwork for the "Pizza Connection" heroin trafficking case,caused a major disruption in the Bonannos and got the Bonannos thrown off of the Commission.(Again).

No biggie, i just misunderstood it all. To Bloodlettersandbadmen, i think it was the ant who asked if he could pray when they wacked out him and his brother

I stand corrected on Sal Vitale. I had never heard he was Sonny Red's brother in law. And yet one sources whose grammar was so bad made the sentence hard to decipher. My bad! I have learned a valuable lesson.

Is English your first language?

Yes, however, it does not appear to be the first language of most Americans.

No need for sarcasm. I was asking you a legitimate question.

One of the reason I do not subscribe to BB is due to the fact that everyone tends to interpret a written statement differently. I guess what I am saying is there was no sarcasm intended. Humor yes, but sarcasm no!

If JM did not make "things" right.. That being that the hits had nothing to do with JP and the feds then he would not have got the deal he got. Plain and simple. The feds do not want to be the reason that people lost their lives whether it be civilians or mobsters. End of story.

Edit: The feds probably could care less that people died but they want to look good in the public eye.

And at the end of the day Joe could go one way or the other. State the hits were either related or unrelated (to Pistone). One served his interest, the other didnt.

To me, the guy rolled (flipping, which by definition is looking after your own interest, first)THEN 'explained', which leads me to look at reason vs his explanations.

And one has vested interest (and is a huge 'coincidence' and irrational) and the other, well, isnt.

But who knows!

I agree Sonny.

Did anyone see this from CosaNostra news?

Thursday, October 2, 2014
How Sonny Black Scammed the Bonanno Family

Sonny Black in front of Santo Trafficante.

In 1986, at the age of 71, Santo Trafficante faced the most formidable indictment of his life.

The reason, briefly, was former Bonanno capo Anthony "Sonny Black" Napolitano.

Operation Coldwater, which ran from 1979 to 1981, was the FBI's attempt to infiltrate the Mafia then infesting Florida's Gulf Coast, though from its inception, the real goal of the secret op was much more targeted in nature.

The Feds wanted Santo Trafficante on a platter, period.



At the time he was considered The Godfather of most of Florida, and that he'd deemed it open territory for the Northern Mafia families, as long as he gave his approval. He'd also get a percentage of their ill-gotten gains from the territory.

After all attempts to flip his men failed and infiltration had proved impossible, the FBI hit upon the idea of creating a juicy asset--an illegal gambling den, right in Trafficante's backyard--that was designed from the start to attract one of the major Mafia families.

Sonny Black wanted to move to Holiday, Florida.
King's Court, it was christened, and it was located on the much-trafficked U.S. Route 19 in the town of Holiday, Florida, which was 40 miles northwest of Tampa and part of Pasco County, which was then in the process of transitioning into a bustling resort/retirement community.

King's Court was set up to run as a private club unopen to the general public. (This allowed the agents to avoid the need for a liquor license). Someone could join as a member for $25, and bring in his own liquor and pay for ice and soft-drink setups.

A staff was actually hired to work there. Bartenders, waitresses, even a piano player worked at the club, never knowing they had unwittingly joined an FBI secret operation.

Five undercover agents pretended to be mob wannabes from the North. They hung out in the club, acting like they worked there while also keeping an eye open for any opportunities that might arise. "Tony Rossi" was the owner of the fake illegal gambling den (his real name was Special Agent Edgar S. Robb).

To further create a criminal mystique about the place, the agents ran illegal card games in a back room, with "the house" getting a cut. Small-time hoods mostly from New York and Chicago began drifting into the club.

Soon enough low-level ties were established with the Gambino and Luchese families in New York and the Outfit in Chicago. (A captain in the local sheriff's office even showed up for payoffs.)

Fast forward a year. Despite all the bullshit talk from these Northern and Midwest tough guys to get Trafficante involved to ramp up the club's action, nothing significant had happened. Trafficante didn't know the club existed, as far as the Feds knew.

In an attempt to stir the pot, the FBI decided to utilize an "asset" it had developed in New York. His name was Donnie Brasco and yes, much of this is told in Special Agent Joseph Pistone's book. But there is a key piece of the story that is missing. Rather it's not missing; it's mistold.

Toward the end of 1980 it looked like the FBI was going to snag a Bonanno capo: Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano took an interest in King's Court.

Sonny Black, whose standing in the Mafia was substantial, made several trips down to Holiday in 1980 and 1981, as he prepared to take personal charge of the club and whatever additional rackets could be spun off it. The untapped opportunities proved to be so tempting to the crafty Mafioso that he even said on a wiretap he was considering departing his place in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to live down in Florida.

And as the story goes, he needed the nod from Trafficante.

So he went and thoughtfully purchased a greeting card that conveyed a double message about "good friends" and slipped $1,000 cash into it. He even inscribed a touching expression of sentiment: "From my family to your family."

Sonny Black was staying at the Best Western Tahitian Motor Lodge in Holiday, room number 161. On Jan. 17, 1981, Trafficante himself walked into the motel room (which had been bugged well in advance by the FBI).

We are told that in that room at that meeting, Sonny Black handed over the card and cash and a grateful Trafficante accepted it, then departed, having given the capo the okay to proceed with his plans.

Napolitano was later overheard reporting that the "Old Man" had agreed to a one-third cut from the club's "Las Vegas Nights," and that Trafficante also had agreed to supply the dealers and pitmen. Sonny Black also noted that a second payoff of $2,000 was handed over to Trafficante.

Trafficante, by accepting payment from Sonny Black for approval to launch a mobbed up gambling operation, opened himself up to major RICO statutes, for which he was later indicted, as noted previously in the story.

Frank Ragano made a career defending Trafficante in court.

Enter Frank Ragano, the defense attorney and angel on Trafficante's shoulder who'd saved the mob boss's ass from the frier more than once (and spent the last years of his life haunted by the work he'd done for the powerful Cosa Nostra bosses).

Ragano had some 25,000 pages of discovery material to wade through when he swooped in to take over the case following Trafficante's personal appeal to him.

Only four days before the jury was slated to be chosen, Ragano decided to focus on only the most important evidence against Trafficante, the exact touchpoints tying Santo to criminal activity that enabled the prosecutors to indict him.

"From a fast-scanning I noticed a remarkable fact: there was a vital omission from the prosecution's case," he told Selwyn Raab in Mob Lawyer: Including the Inside Account of Who Killed Jimmy Hoffa and JFK.

The FBI's only evidence of any payoffs came solely from Sonny Black. None of the agents had ever seen a payoff, none of the agents had ever caught Santo mentioning a payoff. Something stank, and Ragano knew it immediately.

He said he next visited Trafficante and confronted the mob boss with some blunt questions: Had he accepted a $1,000 payoff from Sonny Black? Had he accepted a single red cent from Sonny Black?

"No, no," Santo replied. "Sonny Black tried to give it to me but I wouldn't take it. I didn't trust him or like him. He was stupid."

Santo claimed he'd only met with Sonny Black because his "good friends"--top Mafiosi in New York--had vouched for him. Santo distrusted the New York mobster, calling him "impetuous and avaricious." He didn't like the way Sonny Black had bragged about having the Pasco County Sheriff's Office in his pocket.

Santo further told Ragano that he had advised Sonny Black to go into legitimate business--bingo, in fact, was so profitable that there was no reason to even get involved with anything illegal, Santo said he advised Sonny.

Sounds like deep bullshit, I know, and it sounded like bullshit to Ragano too. Yet Ragano also knew Trafficante intimately. "How often had I heard him warn people about being greedy and accepting money too readily from people whose trustworthiness was not firmly established?"

Trafficante was so concerned about bugs as well that he rarely ever said a single incriminating word, even to close associates in hotel rooms or restaurants.

I know, still sounds like bullshit. But I wouldn't have crafted that headline at the top if I wasn't convinced.

Ragano found the transcript from the bug in Sonny Black's motel room. The bugged motel room. He found the pages on which were transcribed every word spoken in that room during Trafficante's visit with the New York Mafioso. He read it and smiled.

Ragano next faced a tactical issue. He couldn't have the indictment thrown out. He couldn't stop the trial. So how could he squash the agents' testimony regarding the payoff, of which there was no evidence. Aside from that one meeting, Santo was never caught in a single photo or frame of film nor was his voice caught on any additional tape, aside from the wiretap in Sonny Black's room during the single meeting he claimed he had.

He waited three weeks into trial, until "Tony Rossi" was testifying. He waited until the proceedings reached the point at which mention of the payoff was imminent. Fearing the jury would believe any testimony from an FBI agent out of inherent faith in the government, he knew he had to shut Rossi down before he could mention anything about a payoff.

Ragano promptly stood up and requested a sidebar with the judge. The prosecutor joined him at the side of the judge's bench, the one farthest from the jury.

"Your honor, the prosecutor is about to perpetuate a fraud on the jury and the court. Let me show your honor the transcript of what actually occurred when the defendant, Santo Trafficante, was offered $1,000," Ragano said, and handed over the pages.

They read:


NAPOLITANO: Santo, this is from the club over here, from us and the club and--

TRAFFICANTE: Ah, forget about it.

NAPOLITANO: I didn't sign it or nothin'. So-

TRAFFICANTE: Forget about it.

NAPOLITANO: Please, do me a favor. Now, see, uh--

TRAFFICANTE: Forget about it.

NAPOLITANO: Awright, well then, then just read the card, I mean it's a beautiful card.

TRAFFICANTE: Huh! Nah, I'll tell ya [unintelligible].

NAPOLITANO: Come on.

TRAFFICANTE: Take care of yourself.


After reading the transcript, the judge "fixed his gaze on" the prosecutor and ordered him to change his line of questioning.

Several days later, the prosecutor acknowledged at a hearing the nonexistence of any evidence whatsoever to prove that Santo had done anything to advance a Mafia enterprise. The judge granted a motion for acquittal.

Sonny Black pocketed the $1,000 and lied to his cohorts, including Joe Pistone/Donnie Brasco, who repeats this in his book to this very day, about Trafficante accepting it.

http://www.cosanostranews.com/2014/10/how-sonny-black-scammed-bonanno-family.html#more