I tend to believe Massino more then the other rats, becasue he played a very important part in these hits. Didn't Sonny Black have his hand(s)cut off after he was killed? It was believed it was done because those were the hands that shook Brasco's hands and brought him into the family, or it could have just been done for identification reasons. I find the explanation for the Mirra hit more plausible, wasn't he making himself hard to find around the time he was killed? Maybe he knew the news he was working with the DEA leaked out or was paranoid about it leaking out, because he really didn't have much to do with Brasco after the initial introductions. As tt120 said, the Bonanno's were heavily involved in junk during that time. The reason Cesare Bonaventure was murdered is interesting too, he probably thought he could do what he wanted with his Sicilian connections backing him up. Whatever the truth, this news makes me happy, because it puts a dent in Pistone's gigantic ego.

They discussed Massino's financial deal with the government the last day of testimony, he had 7 million in cash hidden in his attic he gave to the government, and 300 to 400 gold bars he had in his basement, that is a huge amount of gold! The price of gold has tripled in the few years since he gave it up, right now it would be worth a huge amount, it would have been a hell of an investment for him. I wonder if his wife kept a few dozen bars for herself?