This is perhaps an unanswerable question, but I'll ask it anyway: Why did Joe Bonanno, uniquely among mobsters of his generation, have such an urge to tell the world about himself and his life as a "Father"? Not only did he write his autobiography, something completely unprecedented for a Mafia don, but he gave an interview for 60 Minutes and a five hour plus movie for Showtime (Bonanno: A Godfather's Story) was made with his son Bill as executive producer! Not only did no other Mafia leader of his generation do anything comparable, they generally tried to stay as low profile as possible (although there were some exceptions like Sam Giancana). You didn't see Carlo Gambino or Tony Accardo going around telling the public how great they were. Not to mention the fact that omerta, the code of silence, was regarded as one of the key principles the Mafia ran on. And it's not as if he ever turned state's evidence like Sammy Gravano and others and only then started talking. So why did Bonanno do it?
He also felt this thing was over and actually described the mafia as a process. The book was definitely self serving, but I liked it. People seem to forget that Lucky Luciano was close to doing the same exact thing. He was giving interviews left and right and he also wanted to do a movie about his life. Luciano and Bonanno were very different from each other, but in the end, they had a lot in common.
He also felt this thing was over and actually described the mafia as a process. The book was definitely self serving, but I liked it. People seem to forget that Lucky Luciano was close to doing the same exact thing. He was giving interviews left and right and he also wanted to do a movie about his life. Luciano and Bonanno were very different from each other, but in the end, they had a lot in common.
You make a good point about Luciano, I had heard that before he died he was indeed considering making a movie about himself.
He also felt this thing was over and actually described the mafia as a process. The book was definitely self serving, but I liked it. People seem to forget that Lucky Luciano was close to doing the same exact thing. He was giving interviews left and right and he also wanted to do a movie about his life. Luciano and Bonanno were very different from each other, but in the end, they had a lot in common.
You make a good point about Luciano, I had heard that before he died he was indeed considering making a movie about himself.
Another of their contemporaries who was very outspoken was Mickey Cohen. Although he was Jewish and could never be made, he exercised a great deal of power on the west coast, especially in the movie business. Towards the end of his life, he would give an interview to just about anyone who was willing to listen.
He also felt this thing was over and actually described the mafia as a process. The book was definitely self serving, but I liked it. People seem to forget that Lucky Luciano was close to doing the same exact thing. He was giving interviews left and right and he also wanted to do a movie about his life. Luciano and Bonanno were very different from each other, but in the end, they had a lot in common.
You make a good point about Luciano, I had heard that before he died he was indeed considering making a movie about himself.
Another of their contemporaries who was very outspoken was Mickey Cohen. Although he was Jewish and could never be made, he exercised a great deal of power on the west coast, especially in the movie business. Towards the end of his life, he would give an interview to just about anyone who was willing to listen.
Yeah Mickey Cohen was quite a character and most people seemed to like him. Didn't he go on Carson a few times?
when Luciano died of a heart attack at airport of Naples in 1962, he will meet with a producer to make a movie about his life (it said that he was poisoned because this). Junior Gotti will produce the film about his father, the Teflon Don, I think Gotti, if was alive, he would have written the script himself . Times change, growin up Gotti, would have been unthinkable 20 years ago.
. . . growin up Gotti, would have been unthinkable 20 years ago.
"Growing Up Gotti" is unthinkable now. The Gottis are a poor example because they layed the groundwork for ruining the whole thing with publicity. The daughter is as bad as the father was.
He definitely did it because of ego. The majority of the people he dealt with were all dead by the time he wrote that book. It was his chance to get the last word, to portray himself as a hero as a man of honor. The most comical part about the book is how he says he NEVER dealt in drugs or allowed his family to. Notice how he NEVER mentions carmine galante in the book? He doesn't once mention how carmine drove for him, he doesn't mention his as a capo or anything. Carmine Galante was a major player in the bonanno family but if you went on the book alone you would never know who he is.
He definitely did it because of ego. The majority of the people he dealt with were all dead by the time he wrote that book. It was his chance to get the last word, to portray himself as a hero as a man of honor. The most comical part about the book is how he says he NEVER dealt in drugs or allowed his family to. Notice how he NEVER mentions carmine galante in the book? He doesn't once mention how carmine drove for him, he doesn't mention his as a capo or anything. Carmine Galante was a major player in the bonanno family but if you went on the book alone you would never know who he is.
On the A&E biography of Bonanno, they show clips of his (and his son Bill's) interview with Mike Wallace. In one clip, Bonanno says "If Carmine Galante, without my knowledge, is dealing with narcotics, I never know, and this I don't have to swear, but I can swear on anything."
He definitely did it because of ego. The majority of the people he dealt with were all dead by the time he wrote that book. It was his chance to get the last word, to portray himself as a hero as a man of honor. The most comical part about the book is how he says he NEVER dealt in drugs or allowed his family to. Notice how he NEVER mentions carmine galante in the book? He doesn't once mention how carmine drove for him, he doesn't mention his as a capo or anything. Carmine Galante was a major player in the bonanno family but if you went on the book alone you would never know who he is.
On the A&E biography of Bonanno, they show clips of his (and his son Bill's) interview with Mike Wallace. In one clip, Bonanno says "If Carmine Galante, without my knowledge, is dealing with narcotics, I never know, and this I don't have to swear, but I can swear on anything."
Yeah i have seen that, but still no mention of carmine in his book.
The only reason they didn't clip him was because of his lineage.
That is not the only reason. They give the Ok to whack Bonanno it gives precedent for entrenched confirmed family Dons to be killed/taken out....not something you want to condone when you are a boss.
Yes, ego and "respectability" were part of Bonanno's motivation (the book was BS but it was interesting), But, I think another reason was to get back at the Commission:
The Commission deposed him as Don after Joe Colombo ratted out his and Magliocco's plot against Gambino and Lucchese. A long, destructive internal war ensued, and both Bonannos went underground. Joe resurfaced in 1966 but by that time few were left in his family who were loyal to him. So, he stepped down as Don (so he says, but I think the Commission forced him to recognize the obvious). They gave him a pass in return for his retirement.
The book has plenty of nasty stuff against other Dons. But, the most important thing is that Rudy Giuliani, who was then US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, read it and found in Bonanno's description of the Commission the perfect description of a Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization as defined by the RICO Act. It was the basis of his successful prosecution of the Dons in the famous Commission case.
So, Bonanno got the last laugh. Look at what the families have been since the Commission case. And, Joe lived to 2002. Got to witness the dominoes fall.
So, Bonanno got the last laugh. Look at what the families have been since the Commission case. And, Joe lived to 2002. Got to witness the dominoes fall.
Yep, he lived long enough to see his beloved 'tradition' go to shit, in part because of his own revelations.. I wonder if he ever had some conflicting feelings about the book..
Yes. According to his autobio, he never so much as jaywalked after Prohibition, and got to be a "legitimate" businessman on the strength of his "force" and "personality," and his "tradition."
That said, it's a good read. His co-author has a lively and near-elegant style (Bonanno's English was poor, despite his having spent several of his formative years in the US). And, he provides the only extant account of the workings of the Commission (his gift to Giuliani).
Knew it? Joe B. helped organize it. The whole "Canada route" through Montreal was organized by Galante under Joe, there's a direct line from Joe B to the Canadian war we see today. Joe B. and Genovese were the heaviest trafficers of their time on the east cost. Cosa Nostra connections throughout America were the wholesale distribution routes.
Did he die a brokester or did he walk away with his fortune? I read somewhere that he stiffed some guy who would come over and write for him. I think he wrote his biography thinking this thing has strayed so far away from where it all started and he wanted the last word. I just don't get how if he was the epitome of a true Don, why didn't he groom Bildo like himself. He sure didn't have the makings of a varsity football player. But at the end of the day, they both died out of jail and of natural causes.
Have any of you seen the full 60 minutes special on Bonanno? I can’t say that I have. It was an elusive one like the Casso 60 minutes... but even that full version seems to have made it to YouTube recently.
Did he die a brokester or did he walk away with his fortune? I read somewhere that he stiffed some guy who would come over and write for him. I think he wrote his biography thinking this thing has strayed so far away from where it all started and he wanted the last word. I just don't get how if he was the epitome of a true Don, why didn't he groom Bildo like himself. He sure didn't have the makings of a varsity football player. But at the end of the day, they both died out of jail and of natural causes.
Died no where near broke. He had a lot of legitimate businesses/money.
Have any of you seen the full 60 minutes special on Bonanno? I can’t say that I have. It was an elusive one like the Casso 60 minutes... but even that full version seems to have made it to YouTube recently.
He must have had money when he died. He became a bitter man and a sore loser. If he had kept out of the spotlight and not written his book and if his son had not written the first book in ht e1960s they may have lived out their lives with more peace. HIs son Bill seems to have become an informer after 1990.
He must have had money when he died. He became a bitter man and a sore loser. If he had kept out of the spotlight and not written his book and if his son had not written the first book in ht e1960s they may have lived out their lives with more peace. HIs son Bill seems to have become an informer after 1990.
Bill Bonanno was an informant during the war. The FBI had four made members of the Bonanno crime family during the Bananas Split, the only one I have not pinned down on his identity is the New York City member who was against the Bonanno's taking over again.
There is a Rat Trap article on the info provided by Bill during the war. I believe it's the first one Ed wrote.
Thank you. I read it, one thing is he mixed up some of the Arizona's informant with Bill Bonanno, but overall a great article. The Arizona informant is who led the FBI to try to get Bill to talk and succeeded, and was the first informant I found out in the Bonanno crime family. Dara, I found out was in one of Donnie Brasco's files, which only stated the informant was a cousin to Sabella and was a thief, but it took me some time until a file stated that the informant lived and operated in Miami, thus eliminated the other 4 members in Florida during those years.
Haven't posted in a while due to work, but I remember hearing Tony Ducks Corallo, Tom Mix Santoro and Sal Avellino being flabbergasted at Bonanno's self-serving book and interview. I'm wondering if Massino pulls a Bonanno by writing a book and movie about his life before and after becoming a rat. I'm sure Big Paul went bonkers about Bonanno's book, and maybe Chin, Fat Tony, Gotti and Gaspipe had to say something about this.
I am a early Bonanno family supporter (you might say a loyalist haha) but i am unbiased when talking about LCN.... Bonanno did break omerta for ego reasons (mainly imo, to clear up the "misinterpreted" Banana war and subsequent retirement/exile. the book is important because it is source material to verify certain events but many people seem to forget, it was not cool like it is today to admit to being one of the most important people in the drug business. much of the book can be decoded if you have other evidence and can read between the lines.... lastly many people who were associated with Bonanno's NY downfall, were still alive plus why would you want to be associated with Galante, who was publicly murdered just a few years earlier???
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