LET'S PLAY PICK THE WISEGUY!

Here we go fellas....Back by popular demand is The New York Mafia's.... "Pick the Wiseguy" Game. LOL
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I have an in-depth biography already completed for this particular Cosa Nostra member, and most of the photographs and news articles gathered up as well. So I thought it was time to put him out there a bit. So here are the clues:
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He was a Bonanno Family member. One of their earlier members. A guy who operated key rackets for many years no less. Never a "wilting flower" during his time in the streets, he was a rough and tumble hood who had a solid criminal record and did his fair share of years behind bars, yet he was still able to keep what I'd consider to be a low profile until his later years when federal law enforcement accelerated its assault on all Italian organized crime across the board. Only then did he have the spotlight truly cast upon him.

During his years in the mob, he dabbled in many varied rackets, but a few of his mainstays were the garment rackets and narcotics, with "babania" being a bread and butter activity for him. He also fucked around with gambling and shylock.

Strangely, although he was in the thick of things for the better part of fifty years, as a kid I personally had never even heard of the guy.

One more thing, and I cannot stress this enough. He knew everybody, and it seems that everybody knew him! He was VERY well respected by all! Which makes what I'm gonna tell you next all the stranger.

Although I'm not his accountant or banker, It really doesn't seem like he was ever a big earner. For whatever reason.

Last clue?...... it does seem he was a "serious" guy!

Frank Bonomo?

Good guess. The only two who comes close for me who were still alive after the Appalachian meeting are Natale Evola, and Michele Sabella.

Natale "Joe Diamond" Evola

When I think of Evola, he was another good choice for my clues. But alas it isn't him. Or Mike Sabella, who many guys don't realize really didn't do any jail bids to speak of in his career. Sabella was also relatively wealthy. I cannot speak to Evola's wealth but I'd think if not real wealthy, he wasn't hurting either. But who really knows right ?

Haha you know I'm all over this one! I find it intriguing (knowing alittle of you background knowledge of this group) that you never heard of him yourself. Which isn't hard to believe considering the Family in question. Also interesting, that he was widely known but not a big earner.

I'm gonna go with:
Guiseppe Buccelato
Joe Di Maria
Antonio "short pants" Caciopo

I don't wanna play

Lol.... don't be such a spoil sport Mike. Why don't you come play in the mob sandbox with the rest of us.

Frank Garafola or John Tartamella

Fiore means flower

Two more good picks Colonel. But before I reveal who it is, I'm curious to see if any other posters care to take stab at a name.

This IMO is a tough one I tell ya now.

Rosario morale

Garofalo, Tartamella, and Morale are all decent guesses. But I still gotta tell ya that you haven't hit it yet. Lol..... But kudos for those choices.

I DID say its a tough one.

God damn you NY Mafia

Frank Fucking Mari

Pete Crociata

Johnny Burns Morale

Joseph Spadaro

Me 2...I'll throw sand like a big baby...I fu...ing give up!!!,,,,like Donald Trump said," I'll stomp my feet after losing a game of" Operation"..Donald Trump circa 1958..

My last quess is Vincenzo Morsellino, as Pietro Morsellino was killed in the 1940s.

You gonna chime in NY Mafia? We're waiting like patience on a monument over here

LOL.... "patience on a monument?" Lol.... that friggin funny. Ya know Colonel, you're one funny guy! I'm talking ha-ha funny.

Ok, so before I tell you guys this fellas name, I just gotta say that you all made really good choices this time around. Sometimes the picks IMO are not all that close. But for sure a lot of the names you picked could have fit very well with my clues.

Garofalo, Sabella, Morale, Spadaro.... but especially Natale Evola. He was both a narcotics guy and garment racketeer for years. a top guy yet low key until Apalachin. He did his fair share of time, etc. So Evola fit the bill nicely as well.
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Well like the man said, "here goes nothing!" Lol

My mystery mafioso for this week is Stefano (Stevie) Cannone. I know. I know. He was indeed a tough name to pull from the hat. Because although this guy was all over the notorious Carmine Galante murder, previous to that, I for one had never heard of him. And remember that I bounced around down in Little Italy for years, and knew a lot of those guys. He was an enigma for sure.

Lisa and I will be finishing up his bio soon. In fact I'm actually all finished with the biography per see, and have gathered most of what we need in the way of photos and news articles in support of the piece. Lisa just has to lay out the design and insert everything. Then we will post up for your enjoyment ok?

It'll be worth the wait. I promise that you're gonna really like this one. I learned a lot about Cannone while researching him out and he had a solid career in OC.

Cannone was known as Stevie Beefs on the street.

@NYMafia how did he get involved in the Galante hit? Was Stevie Beefs secretly not a big fan of Lilo?

He rose into the Bonanno hierarchy so he became a decision maker, a shot caller so to speak.

You can see Stevie Beef shaking Bruno Indelicato's hand at the Ravenite on surveillance tapes moments after the Galante hit.

Looking forward to this one. I knew you'd get around to him eventually but I am surprised you never heard of him (in the streets). I know it isn't alot available publicly on him but I do know he was a street guy and active. It does go in line with the trajectory of this group. I always find the 1963 FBI charts to be funny. I know Valachi was a Genovese, so of course it would be easy to identify members but the Bonannos looked like a non-entity compared to what they actually were.

Yes, you see the Valachi knew very few members of the Bonanno's

LE also

NY mafia was Stevie Beef the guy that brought Sonny Red under the Bonanno umbrella? I've always assumed it was due to Cannone being a Little Italy guy.

From what I've gathered, it was probably Joe Yak. He and Sonny were the best of friends. So I'd imagine that's where the connection came from. But in that neighborhood anything is possible. There were so many guys back in the day

Joe Yak was a Colombo guy. How could he bring Sonny Red into the Bonanno Family. I know Joe Yak went on the lam after the Gallo hit and Luparelli flipped. I always assumed in his absence Sonny Red would have latched on to another guy. Since he was made into the Bonanno Family I figured it would have to be a Little Italy Bonanno guy. Of course it could have been a LES Bonanno guy. But some Bonanno had to have proposed Sonny Red into that family. Joe Yak couldn't propose him into that family.

You're 1000% correct. I actually misunderstood what you were asking.

May have been Cannone. But Sonny Red was friendly with Sally Morale also. Plus there were so many Bonanno guys he grew up with on Elizabeth Street it really could have been anyone.

I thought you asked how he was close to the Colombo's

For anybody that hasn't read the Luparelli Tapes it's got some interesting stuff on Sonny Red being with Pinto on the Mikey Evans hit and with Joe Yak on the Wagon Wheels hit.

It was actually an old Genovese soldier in Greco's crew that brought Sonny Red around after WW2. Weather he was on record or not during that time is unknown. He had been friends with neighborhood guys that eventually were made into the Bonanno, Profaci, Gambino, and Genovese crime families. In the 1950s he was more around Colombo guys, and NYMafia, is right to say Joe Yacovelli took a liking to Sonny Red. Sonny goes to prison, gets out during the Bonanno war, and is now with Nick Marangello crew in the Bonannos. A lot of tension between both Sonnys as they were associates in the same crew. If it was Cannone that brought Sonny Red into the Bonannos, why be placed in a different crew, and why did Cannone agree to the triple murder instead of protecting his protege?

I said I just assumed it was Cannone who brought him under the Bonanno Family. Could have been Nicky Glasses just as well although I have never come across who actually brought him into their fold or who put him on record first. I know Pinto was more aligned with the Genovese family. The part you said about why would Cannone agree to their hits if he brought them in is irrelevant. Joey Massino was under Phil Lucky at one point. That's like asking why Massino would sign off on the 3 hits. Nicky Glasses was UB before the shakeup. Nicky could have brought him into the Bonanno a but I doubt Red was with him direct.

Nicky Glasses, Angelo Presanzano and Mimi Sabella were pretty close to Galante. They were spared because they were old-timers who got along with other wiseguys within the banana bunch.