NYM, I understand you, I'm no novice on this subject. I don't disagree with anything you said. But two things can be true at the same time. I never said that theose bosses were under his control. You just more eloquently elaborated what I was trying to say. Most people don't understand the more Sicilian side of Cosa Nostra, so Bonanno's influence in that is underestimated. That's all I was say. The Valachi Charts misrepresented them as almost nothing in comparison but its understandable. The Family doesn't bolster a roster of name value or eye catching stories. The Bonannos require more research to gauge its true power. Unlike the Genovese Family (you could just look at the soldiers at that time and see the power). But I'm not mistaken about who was a member. The Bonannos had their own guys, in the places that they were known to be. I don't take every piece of info as gold. (If I did, I'd be saying Bonanno had 500 guys and was all over Europe and South America lol). I know the difference between who was made with him and who was "with him in spirit" (as an associate)

Another thing that is missed. Bonanno himself was the key. He was the Centerpiece to all the connections. The connection to the heritage. His problem was he started so young and his allies died out. He didn't have that 2nd generation (Bill) set up to continue that (or at least fast enough for what ended up happening). And he didn't adjust to make new allies. He became on the outside of the Commission because Luchesse and Gambino decided they could re-center it around them.