[quote=tt120]The worst thing he did as boss was appoint his son as consigliere, but the irony is it was probably the best thing he ever did for himself. That and pissing off Carlo Gambino. If that hadn't happened, Joe Bonanno would've gone down in the commission case with Fat Tony and the rest. Maybe even sooner. Instead, the man outlived everybody. He died a free man and a wealthy man at the incredible age of ninety seven.
That's mere speculation. Bonanno had a massive heart attack in the late 1960s, so it would be almost fantastic that he would still be boss in the 1980s.
He started fucking things up when he brought his son into his family. But that he was made a "boss" at the age of 26 is 'extraordinary' and can only be due to his capabilities.
I'm 26 myself and I don't see myself running a family.
But then again, in those days people learned to take care of themselves at a much earlier age and became man at a much earlier age.
Btw, I don't consider his autobiography a fuckup. He was out of the life for a long time and had nothing to do anymore with those people in New York. And besides, those people in New York were responsible for bringing him down as boss in the first place.
And I'm convinced the authorities would have hit the mob hard anyway. The wheels were already in motion for years. It was John Gotti who brought the mob down, not some elderly and retired Joe Bonanno.
