Maybe he means Gambino, Lucchese, etc. wouldn't have allowed themselves to get caught up in a case like that. Of course, I don't believe it. Had they been bosses later on, those guys would have also been right there at the defense table.



Bonanno had been deposed back in the 1960's, long before the Donnie Brasco case. However, the case (along with other reasons) were supposedly the Bonanno family lost it's seat on the Commission for a time.



There have been a few guys on the forums who have contended that Fat Tony really was the boss, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Personally, I think they just get a kick out of trying to rewrite history. Cafaro told everyone how it really was and he was closer to Salerno than anyone on these forums. And even if people want to throw out what Cafaro said, for whatever reason, there were government recordings that supported Chin being the real boss; including by Fat Tony himself.



Capeci gave a very good run down of the Commission.

You had the original 7 members - the five NY families, Buffalo and Chicago. Most eastern families without a seat were represented by the Genovese family. Most western families were represented by Chicago. From it's establishment in 1931, the Commission would have national influence for about the next 50 years.

In the 1960's, the Chicago Outfit started to miss more Commission meetings, which eventually resulted in a "two-headed Commission" with Chicago resolving disputed west of them.

In 1961, two additional families received a seat on the Commission - Philadelphia and Detroit.

In 1974, Buffalo lost it's seat when Maggadino died.

In 1977, Detroit lost it's seat when Zerilli died.

In 1980, Philadelphia lost it's seat when Bruno was killed.

In the 1980's the New York and Chicago families lost more contact due to prosecutions that brought new leaders who were unacquainted with each other. The Commission essentially became a New York enterprise.