Tony Bananas was a strong operator but he did not beat the Genovese at their own game as evidenced by the fact that he ended up dead in the Bronx with money shoved up his anus. Originally he tried to set up in the Boot's territory and he got chased and marked for death. It was Carmine Battaglia, an old time Genovese member who was close to Gerry Catena, who saved him, otherwise he would have been dead long before 1980. He was never richer or more powerful than the Boot, Ray De Carlo or Gerry Catena himself, to say otherwise is nuts. Just because one sit down went in his favor does not mean that he was always winning sit downs against those guys. He survived as long as he did because he gave guys like Catena and the Boot a cut of whatever he had. In the end he got too big for his britches and the Genovese played him like a fiddle. He could never beat the Genovese at their own game, they invented it.
Trust me, all those Genovese guys hated Caponigro for a reason. It wasn't just ONE sitdown that he won, I don't know what book you are reading or if you're just going on George Anastasia's talking points. Bananas was a force to be reckoned with. He was eating into those Genovese guys action for almost 2 decades. Built a strong Newark crew that rivaled any Genovese Jersey crew. That's why they double crossed Bananas.
