A few questions about mobsters being shelved:

1. Is there a comprehensive list of who was put on the shelf or into early retirement?
2. Do mafiosi still retain their rank even if they were shelved? What about their rackets?
3. Are shelved mafiosi allowed to interact with those still in the life and vice versa?

He's a partial list but a shelved member lost all his rackets,can't have interact with the other mobsters,he's a pariah and can be whack without family ok.George Barone was shelved at always 80 years and was broke with the genovese family that ordered his murder so decided to flip.For sure some mobsters was shelved and after turned to their families,but I must search the names.

Bonanno:
Joseph “Joe C” Cammarano Jr
Simone Esposito
Vito “The Baker” Grimaldi
Enzo "The Baker" Stagno
John "Porky" Zancocchio

Gambino:

Alphonse “Ally” Trucchio

Lucchese:

Frank "Big Frank" Lastorino

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When shelved, you lose the following rights and privileges;

You can no longer sit down at a table to represent yourself or others.
You get stripped of all known assets (rackets you run on your own you keep. But you'd better not have a problem with a goodfella, cause you'll lose)
You are "Stripped" of rank. Essentially you are now lower than an associate status
You are a pariah. Other goodfellas no longer are allowed to talk or interact with you in any way, shape, or form. Under penalty and sanction
You still CANNOT be clipped unless permission comes from the top. Otherwise, the guy will get clipped himself.
You still retain any legit biz you have. THOSE are not subject to the mob. Unless its a labor union post, or a position that was "given" to you as a courtesy.

Amedeo Santaniello and his son Ralph was shelved because Amedeo made a photo with a man that ratted against the Genovese' Springfield crew.

Are there any instances where mobsters were put on a shelf, only to be reactivated after a period of time? In other words, they were allowed back into the fold?

understandable

All the time. It is very commonplace. More often than not. In a few months, a few years. Sometimes over many years later it'll happen. It all depends upon who's doing the shelving, for what reason, and who got shelved.

Ok maybe a silly question but how would they be referred to? There would have to be something to let people know they are persona non grata but still untouchable yeah?

All the suckers (or legit citzens as they're known) don't know shit. So they are still in awe of the guy. But nearly everyone in the "life knows" his true status and therefore threads easy around him and acts aloof to the guy as needed. Remember though, for a few years the guy walks in one shoe. To outsiders (and even a few fellow "friends") to them he's still a mafioso and to be revered and respected as such.

But you always have an asshole in the crowd. Thats why a lot of guys get hit in the head down there road for mistakes and insults they made years, or decades, back.

Forgetting the man on the street for a second... how does word get around between families? Say a Bonanno guy runs into a Philly guy and asks about old mate Jimmy. Is he told he’s shelved. Told Jimmy ain’t no friend of ours, told we don’t talk about Jimmy?
Not really interested how it’s passed on with the admin more how the slang on the street would play out among wise guys

I was quite surprised to hear about the Santaniellos.
They seemed street smart enough not to do something like that.
Amedeo was back after having a falling out with Al Bruno. Ralph I believed was in his way to become more relevant in the hierarchy. I guess Calvanese must be happy.

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That is EXACTLY what happens. If a certain guy is called for out of town, they'll send a message back that the guy is "shelved" that the term used. He becomes persona non grata, until (and if) sometime in the future the boss reinstates him to the family. He is a leper until then.

When Frank Costello was "shelved" by Vito back in 1957, my father and older cousin bumped into him at a top Manhattan joint. My cousin was hesitant to approach Frank to say hello and pay respects. But my dad told him "how the fuck could we not?" So they both went over to him and shook hands and kissed him on his cheek Italian style as a show of reverence and respect for who he was and represented. They didn't put it in the newspapers the next day because they woulda be pulled on the carpet, but said hello nonetheless out of respect. They were both nothing compared to Frank, especially back then.

My own cousin got shelved for over 2 years or so. They tortured his ass because he had spoken back and got a bit hot under the collar to his skipper over a beef they were having. Truth be told, the skipper was a half a mutt, while my cousin is a "piece of work and a half." But politics play into this shit like crazy and this asshole had become a captain.

So he complained to the top and next thing ya know my cuz is in limbo. He still ran his own little book and pushed money, etc., but he technically had no backup if a beef took place. But my cuz is a very savvy guy. Feared as well. So most everyone still respected him although they didn't interact during that period.

PS: he did have a few close goodfellas on the side (personal friends) who he used to represent his guys during a few beefs that did come up during that time period. He himself, could not sit down.

That is exactly how this shit works.

In the late 70's, Jerry Chili was shelved by the Bonanno for a year after he made some disrespectful comments about Paul Castellano to Sammy Gravano and Joe Watts.

The Bonannos were willing to kill him out of respect for Big Paul but Castellano said that putting him on the shelf for a year will do.

Philip (Philly Brush) Tartaglia, a Genovese soldier, was shelved, stripped, and "banished" out of NYC to Las Vegas where he had to live for decades not to get clipped. It was a very merciful punishment. His offense? He struck another goodfella while at the sit-down table.

I know the story intimately. He got lucky because he almost ended up in a car trunk.

Costello died a free man, Genovese died in prison. Getting shelved was probably the best thing that could have happened to Frank Costello.

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There supposedly was a time, a year or two later when Vito and Frank met at Atlanta and had a chance to talk, compare notes, and clear the air. Vito thereafter "reinstated" Frank to the family as a "soldier" in good standing. Frank Costello was soooo revered, that even bosses and skippers bowed to him. A fucking gentleman and a half.

He died in his own bed in silk sheets, with his slippers off, in his multimillion-dollar Sands Points, Long Island, mansion. THAT was a boss worth respecting. Not half these other guys who people speak of with such undeserving reverence and don't know shit.

Intelligent, even tempered, "non-violent", a genius for business and the rackets, and stayed away from narcotics, prostitution, and murder. It was a rare instance to get killed during Frank's tenure at the top. You had to be a rat stool pigeon or real backstabber to get clipped.

My father and grandfather loved him!

Thanks NY.
I guess that’s as close as you get to a warning in that life

No, in truth, guys usually get what we call "pulled up on the carpet" and read the riot act by their skipper when a solider steps out of line or commits an infraction before you get shelved. I've even seen skippers broken like shit when they fuck up. (Happened to an uncle of mine). Everybody thinks when you get "made" you got it made. Bullshit. From that day forward (depending upon who you are, and who your skipper is of course, good or bad), you often walk with two feet in one shoe at their pleasure.

Being made (unless your a real fucking man and not a mutt) can be a pain in the ass. You can become an indentured servant to some neurotic skipper who has a Nepoleonic complex and enjoys breaking your balls.

Often times remaining a well respected "associate" actually provides you more flexibility and a wider berth than being locked in. Take Jimmy Nap Napoli. He remained an "well respected" associate until 65 years old. Thats when Jimmy got his zipper. From that point forward he received nothing but headaches in his life. Joe Lane Gentile also. I'm sure Jimmy lamented the day he ever accepted his button. There are MANY others I could mention here but won't out of respect for their privacy. But you get the idea correct?

If you're a money guy (maybe a multimillionaire), operate your own sports and/or shylock book, own a few profitable businesses, live like a king, and are largely an unknown to LE or at least "off their radar," why the fuck would you wanna put yourself on front street nowadays and be "made?" For what? So some dumbbell skipper who can hardly write his own name can order you around and make you his lackey? And so all the rats out there today can immediately advise their FBI handlers you're "made" so the FBI places a target on your back?

A top goodfella, very near and dear to me, once told me (in fact told me a thousand times if he said it once). That "button" don't mean shit if you're a mutt. If you were a man before you get straightened out, then you're be a man after you're straightened out. If you were a piece of shit, you remain a piece of shit. That "button" doesnt make you any more than you ever were. Of course, you can now push your weight around with jerk-offs, but with real men? They're tell you to stick that button up your ass.

The entire idea is to respect the Man, not the badge he's hiding behind. Thats why we got so many blowjobs in the ranks today. They were nobody's before and they're still nobody's. We respect the "position" but NOT the man who carries it. THAT is a very dangerous place to be. A "goodfella" whose viewed as a jerk-off.
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I'm now gonna make a huge statement that many here on the forum won't believe or understand. Today, in New York, there are more savvy and sharp non-inducted "associates" who would normally have ranked as well-respected "goodfellas," than there are actual savvy and sharp "made men." FACT!

Why you ask? Here's why. Only the uneducated and uninitiated hoodlums 'green' to the life accept buttons today for the most part. The "savvier" hoodlums for lack of a better word, remain as they are, "associates" who are well plugged in to the hierarchy, earn well, keep their heads low, and don't hang around mob social clubs or hangouts with lots of other known mafiosi.

They do their own thing and kick up an envelope on occasion to stay in good graces with their skipper or boss. It allows them to NOT have to attend wakes, weddings, and other social events which are mandatory for members. It also allows them to say NO, if asked to perform some stupid shit like batting a guy who owes $12 dollars or otherwise going out on a limb to do something that they know or feel will fuck them up. When you're a member, you have NO such choice.

Everything you do goes "on record" with the family, and they most often eat the lions share of your hard work that you risked life and liberty for. As a soldier, you can't say shit or you're viewed as a troublemaker. A label you don't wanna receive.

But an "associate-member" operates more freely, doesn't have to put everything he's doing "on record," keeps what he likes and kicks up what he deems appropriate to the situation at hand. If called upon to perform a task he feels distasteful, he can decline to be involved and NO ill will befalls him because he never swore that oath to follow blindly.

There are a hundred more reasons I can give, but you get the idea by now, am I correct?
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Another huge fallacy of associates is that if they can get made, they'll start earning big and will soon be "in the chips." Complete unadulterated bullshit!

If you were a brokester before you got straightened out, 99% of the time you'll remain a brokester. The fortunes of wiseguys fall largely on the shoulders of the individual. If he's what's called an "earner" then he's an earner and just has the knack for generating money. He doesn't need a button to make money. If he's a knuckle dragger or a knucklehead, he remains so after they pin that button on him. NOBODY in the mob is "giving" you anything. In fact, its the complete opposite, you are now fully committed to "kick up" money to them, whether or not you have it.

It's basically an underworld pyramid scheme of the first order. Money flows up, not down! And thats another fact of mob life. A star is ALWAYS a star. A JERKOFF is always a jerk off.

Mickey Paradiso got someone back into the fold, not sure who off the top head

Hey Jimmy Brown, I see you like that handle. On that note, you may be interested to read about Jimmy Brown Clemenza's brother "Charlie Brown" Clemenza who I did a bio on. Its a rare piece about a little known guy that I'll probably post up in a few weeks.