Bonanno Boss Who Made Pitera?

Was just wondering, who was the boss who made Tommy "Karate" Pitera?

Tony Spero? I'm not sure but he was associated with him

That could be correct. We don´t know exactly when Pitera was made, but it looks like he was made in 1986. Tony Spero was the acting boss at the time. Rusty Rastelli, the official boss, was in jail.

It's too bad only that god awful book by Carlo was written about Tommy. So much bad info out there.

For instance, the Karate master he says Tommy had is just someone he made up. He also says Tommy hated teaching when in reality Tommy operated a Karate school over in Japan.

Countless things Carlo got wrong in that book...

i agree the book by phillip carlo about tommy is bad even the book about anthony casso he wrote is bad so much misinformation in both books

Does anyone happen to know what style of Karate Pitera studied?

Also, if anyone knows of any more glaring factual discrepancies about Pitera from the book would they mind sharing them here?

Iceman999...here are some of the things Carlo got wrong in Butcher...


-Most notably Tommy does NOT have a high pitched, falsetto voice. Carlo lied about this and other things to get back at Tommy for calling him a fraud and refusing to help him.

-Tommy and Celeste were married, not just common law married.

-Tommy was actually fairly popular in high school, played sports.

-The name Carlo gives for Tommy's first wife is actually his aunt (Christ...come on Phil...)

-Basically any insights Carlo offers into Tommy's early years, and family are lies. Neither Tommy or anyone in his family helped Phil so he has no way to know.

-Tommy was born in Bensonhurst, not Gravesend.

-Tommy does have a son, but his name is not Charles.

-There is no evidence at all Phyllis and Celeste were lovers.

-Tommy never dressed up as a woman, or Hasidic Jew...all Carlo making stuff up.

-The part where Tommy tells the agents Willie Boy killed Favara is BS...Willie Boy Johnson was locked up when that happened.

-Carlo says Tommy's dad was a weak willed guy, when he was actually a tough guy in his own right.

And a bunch more. Really there are too many lies to cover..."Butcher" was slapped together real quick as Carlo was getting sicker, and sicker.

Oh, Carlo also repeats Agent Hunt's story of how he broke Tommy's nose. In reality Tommy was cuffed, face down on the ground when Hunt kicked/stomped him in the back of the head and broke his nose.

If you do some googling you will see that Hunt is known as a violent, corrupt character. Am I saying Tommy is a saint? No...but that doesn't make Agent Hunt...and especially Phil Carlo one either.

A write up on Tommy done by a prison friend of his named Rob Rosso. He was a shot caller in the Dirty White Boys.

Tommy Karate

Tomorrow, September 29 2009, a book will be released by Harper Collins entitled "The Butcher: Anatomy Of A Mafia Psycopath". The book, written by author Philip Carola is about a friend of mine named Tommy Pitera, a reputed member of the Bonanno Crime family who is more commonly known among his friends as "Tommy Karate". Convicted of murdering six people and supervising a massive drug dealing operation in Brooklyn, there are some in law enforcement that believe Tommy may have killed as many as 60 people, some mob-related, some not. But I am sure the books main focuss won't be on the number of people that Tommy allegedly killed, but rather the manner in which they supposedly met their end - tortured, dissected, and scattered about in a mafia graveyard. Oh, and more than likely the author will probably mention something about one of Tommy's little souvenir's - a laminated ear. They say he liked to carry it around with him and use it when he interrogated his victims.

I say, lets not get all excited about a few minor details.

Well, whatever Mr Carlo has to say about Tommy I'm sure that it won't be very good. That's why I've decided to share a few words with you about the Tommy Pitera that I know, a well-mannered, soft-spoken, seemingly harmless, kind-hearted gentleman who helped me take care of our dying friend.

In January of 2007 I arrived at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) here an Butner, North Carolina to undergo treatment for my Bladder cancer. The people that I mainly associated were all New York Italians - Greg DePalma, a 76 year-old Gambino capo, Salvatore "Fat Sal" Scala, 64, also a capo of the Gambinos as well as one of four gunman suspected of gunning down crime boss Big Paul Castellano, Metteo "Matty The Horse" Ianneillo, an 89 year-old capo of the Genovese family, Philip "Philly Black" Baonandonno, 71, a Bonanno associate, Jack Meninno, a brooklyn born bank robber who was my age, 37, and Tommy Pitera, 54.

On July 12 2007 a guy that I knew from USP Lewisburg named Joseph "JoJo" Russo arrived at thr FMC in bad shape - he had inoperatable Renal cancer. JoJo, 54, was a reputed member of the Colombo family who had known Tommy since they were kids.

For seventeen days Tommy and I helped the doctors and nurses take care of JoJo. When I say helped, that's actually an understatement. JoJo was unable to bathe himself or control his bodily functions and he was extremely uncomfertable and agitated around strangers, including doctors and nurses. Therefor in order for him to feel more comfertable, Tommy and I took it upon ourselves to bathe him, dress him, change his undergarments throughout the day, and change his bed linen every morning. In fact, as long as we were able, during the day one if not both of us were always by his side and at night we would go to JoJo's room and help him read his mail, watch the news with him, or just sit around talking. This is when Tommy and I became good friends.

I don't want to mislead anyone into believing that Tommy spoke to me about crimes, because he did not. We hung out together for a few months, we took a few photos together, we ate spaghetti with the rest of the Italians twice a week, and that's about it. But I will say that if in fact murders were committed by him they were all criminally related - drug robbery/murders, mob hits, etc. I also know that despite the fact that he was convicted of supervising a drug operation, Tommy hated drugs and those who used them. He believes that drugs destroy families and ruin lives and I can only assume that anyone who sold drugs in his neighborhood or sold drugs to someone that he loved had serious problems. Afterall, Tommy is a martial arts expert who spent three years in Japan training.

Personally, I support the Death Penalty and I'm sure there are some people out there who feel Tommy deserved just that. Well, the prosecutor tried but the jury recognized the truth for what it was - that those he was convicted of killing were all criminals themselves. So instead of death, he recieved life - six life sentences that is.

I agree with the Jury's decision to spare his life.

JoJo lost his battle with cancer on the morning of July 29 2009, but I can assure you one thing. His final days on Earth were a lot easier on him thanks to Tommy Karate. So regardless of what anyone says or writes about him, I'll always remember the Tommy who was very warm, compassionate, and eager to help out his dying friend.

A Psychopath Killer? I think not. I believe a lot of government witnesses may have over exagerated to better deals and now Mr. Carola intends to capitolize off those lies by writing a book based on Tommys trial.

Don't believe everything that you read.

The part where Tommy tells the agents Willie Boy killed Favara is BS...Willie Boy Johnson was locked up when that happened

wouldnt that make tommy a rat?

I knew Carlo's Book would be a clusterfuck when he claimed Gravesend was named after Gravesend cemetery. Not only is that wrong, it's fucking stupid. It's like saying Brooklyn was named after the Brooklyn bridge.

It would but it's not true...Carlo made up a bunch of stuff to spite Tommy.

I have a feeling some proof of what I am saying will be appearing on the internet in the not too distant future...

Thanks for the share Brother.

As you state, do not believe everything you read.

The book was a good read and entertaining as it should be for a writting of someone who ends up in the spotlight for a good story, for sale.

The real stories come from the real people. People who are on target and in position, witnessing the life and times of their own lives, as well as the subject of interest.

JerseyShine,

Thank you for sharing that info.

I wasn't aware that Carlo's book was written to spite Pitera. Thank you again for clearing up a lot of what seem to be some pretty malicious sounding lies about the man.

It didn't start off as something to spite Tommy, but when Carlo asked for Tommy's help he was denied, and basically told he was a fraud because of the Iceman book, and to a lesser extent his Casso book.

So Carlo added various lies into the book to make Tommy look bad , which he wrote in a rather quick fashion.

Do you think Mr. Pitera would make himself available for a more accurate version to be produced?

dp

One thing that drives me nuts about Carlo's writing is that 90% of it is just repeating shit with different words. "The day was hot, sweltering, heat was in the air, and people were sweating." "He was a killer, a monster, a murderer, and he lusted for blood, to kill, to destroy!" Just get to the point!

Pitera might be a stone killer, but he knows a shitty writer when he sees one.

I doubt Tommy would, given that he is still trying to get his case overturned. He would probably be interested in publicizing the govt. corruption in his case, that is about it.

Wow, it was that bad? Seems like Carlo needed the $$$ to pay for his hospital bills..still, he should have been accurate or not even reference things he couldn't confirm.

Does anyone know then to what extent Carlo may have influenced Gangi's testimony?

Carlo only met Gangi over a decade after Tommy's trial.

The real question is how much contact the feds had with Gangi before his DUI and "flipping."

Does anyone know which jail Tommy is in ?

Tommy is in USP Allenwood. Where he has done most of his time, though he spent a bit of time at the Medical Center in Butner.

Is he still practicing his karate?

He works out a lot that is for sure. I don't know how much he can "practice karate" per se. I have seen pictures of him doing full splits on benches, and between chair in his mid to late 50s...Van Damme style...

Which reminds me of another Carlo lie...he says one of Tommys favorite things to read is books on martial arts and killing, but that is banned by the BOP.

I meant was he still practicing the kata.

Sounds like he's keeping himself is really good shape if he can still do those splits in his mid-late 50s.

I have it on good authority that a bunch of documents related to Tommy Pitera were just scanned and should be on the internet in the not so distant future. Hopefully people here find them interesting.

The funny thing about Carlo is he wrote this book about Tommy Pitera being a complete monster (he is a murder for sure) but his book about Anthony Casso made him out to be almost a saint. Literally it seemed like he gave Casso an out for every murder he committed (the guy was a junkie, or a rat, or a bad guy anyways). I think everyone knows that Gaspipe, in his paranoia, killed far more people than Tommy Karate could ever dream of.

I believe that was due to the fact that Carlo's family were friends with the Cassos.

If you find them first please post them here.

Carlo probably would have done the same white wash for Tommy if Tommy had helped him out and had not called him a fraud.

The most Tommy offered him was to show those split pics to him if he helped him expose DEA corruption in his case. Carlo was very interested in learning about Tommy's time in Japan but Tommy kept blowing the questions off.

Oh, and informants started reporting to the FBI that Tommy was made in late 1986 I believe.

Really looking forward to these documents any idea how long it will be Jersey ?

A few weeks ago I was reading the FBI files on what Greg Scarpa was giving them. He mentioned there was gossip going around about the Bonannos or some others regretting the making of Pitera because he was basically a psycho.

The documents were scanned yesterday, and the person in question is working on putting together a site (probably tumblr) for them now.

Frank Lino described Tommy as "eccentric" in his testimony. And said that only 3 of Pitera's killings came from his orders.

I don't say Tommy's a saint, but a couple people on the internet (including a poster here) who did time with him have said he is a really nice guy. In those documents that should be posted in the not too distant future you will see that his first trial attorney (Mari) thought very highly of him as well.

The short version of all this is Tommy is a VERY interesting character, and it is a shame there is not that much good information out there about him.

Remember how in "Butcher" Gangi tells his story (which Carlo does not challenge) that Tommy basically caught Phyllis with him? And killed her right on the spot and basically forced him to participate?

Well in the trial transcripts you can see govt. witness Judy Haimowitz testifying under oath that Gangi came to pick up some body disposal type items shall we say...and comes back six hours later covered in dirt. Not mentioning Tommy being around. Sure seems like a pretty willing participant to say the least. Long story short, Gangi was a lot more dirty than the govt. and Phil Carlo wanted people to know. And when that story broke about Tommy wanting those guns tested for DNA...let's just say the media left out the most interesting part of it all...

Trust me...there is juicy stuff out there...and it should be up shortly...