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?