Back in the 60's when Vito was still making his bones, it seemed as though the family was firmly under control of Massino and indeed just a Bonano borgata up in Montreal facilitating family interest there.
Massino came to power in the early 90s. In the 1960s he was still an associate just as Vito Rizzuto.
So, has separation from the Bonano family always been in the books? Vito has always been the "boss" of Montreal in all but name, he even refused to accept a promotion to Capo from Massino. To me this says that Vito is not at all interested in legitimizing his claim in the eyes of NYC's boss.
If he would've accepted to become capo he would've renounced his claim to be recognised as an independent boss.
It almost seems to me like Montreal has always seen itself as a separate entity, paying only lip service to the Bonano Boss.
During the Cotroni era they were undisputedly a Bonanno crew, but due to their location they were operating more autonomously. Vic Cotroni always remained very loyal to the Bonanno family as did his younger brother Frank.
