Sciacca was overheard on wiretap in the 1960s saying that the Bonannos had 180 members. He was in a position to know the exact numbers. Also, it seems that many forget to include the Montreal crew. Bonanno was apparantly criticed for making new members when the books were closed. I don't see how Bonanno would allow his family, which was one of the three original families in New York, to be smaller than the Colombos or Luchesses. Especially because Bonanno was seeking to become the most powerful boss and was accused of 'planting his flags all over the world'.
If one goes with the higher estimates at its peak, 180 members or more would be believable.
Sciacca has to be wrong about the size of his own family, because D'Arco said the maximum size for the Bonannos was 125-140. It's common knowledge that the Bonnano cap was that size. Maybe the common knowledge wasn't known by the Bonanno boss.
Absolutely. D'Arco's word is final. As boss of bosses from the early 1900s up until he turned rat, he was in the thick of everything. He knows more about your grandmother than you do. He probably has a picture of D'Aquila and Maranzano having luch together, and he knows where Hoffa's body can be found.
All kidding aside, no one besides D'Arco has ever mentioned such a specific number cap for the families. And a family boss always has more knowledge about his own borgata than an outsider.
