Most people have a problem with the book because it "omits" things ( I don't agree with the narrative that Bonanno was a liar.) People seemnto forget that it wasn't acceptable for any criminal of that stature to do a "tell-a-book".
Bonanno had been deposed as boss long before he published that book. But it let him have a last laugh at the Commission's expense:
Rudy Giuliani was US Attorney for the Southern District of NY when the book was published. RICO had been on the books for more than a decade, but Federal prosecutors were reluctant to use it because it was so new to their experience. Giuliani saw, in Bonano's description of the Commission's workings, a prime example of a "Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization." He brought in G. Robert Blakey, the author of RICO legislation, to coach him and his staff on how to use RICO (Giuliani called him "my consigliere"). Result: the Commission case.
