Alfa, you are confusing some things, it's partly do to how the book is written, it's kinda non-linear....
First off Alfa, the Bonnanos were definitely NOT ON THE COMMISION in the 80s. NOW Bruno got convicted in the Commision case for doing the Galante hit, at the BEHEST of the Commision. So if the Commision got the connects, it had nothing to do with the Bonnanos. In fact the drug thing kept em off, I remember I think it Fat Tony Salerno talking about it with one of his guys. I think it's a wiretapped conversation. They got 80 guys in a crew, all they do is move junk, something like that... I think he was talking specifically about Rastelli, they said get your house in order, he could be boss of the Bonnanos, but not on the Commision.
There is specifically a part in the book, where they say Sonny Red took a consignment and didn't pay. THIS IS WHY THE SICILIAN TOOK PART IN THE MURDERS. THE GAMBINO CREW TOOK PART IN THE CLEANUP BECAUSE they had a vested interest, they were prime buyers. Also, SonnyRed wasn't one of the Bonnanos at the 57 meeting in Palermo. You do know about that right? The Bonnano Family of NY, WASHED ITS HANDS OF HANDLING DRUGS, AND JUST TOOK A FEE FOR ALLOWING THEM TO DEAL ON Bonnano TERRITORY. They didn't BUY ANY DRUGS, where are you getting that?
Alfa, I see you totally skipped everything I posted. You skipped the part about the car bomb in Sicily that disrupted the heroin trade. Whatever contacts Bonnano made were in disarray by 1963, when Mafiosi had to flee abroad. Like its this opening that allowed guys like Ike Atkinson, Nicky Barnes, Frank Lucas to set up their own pipelines from Vietnam. You CAN NOT UNDERSTAND THE ITALIAN HEROIN TRADE IF YOU INSIST ON IGNORING SICILY.
Alfa, NO FUCKIN WAY MASSINO WACKS NICOLA RIZZUTOS SON, come on now, they couldn't even wack HIM, AND HE WAS IN THE WRONG. Violi was the Bonnano official representative, how do you explain HIM BEING THE ONE getting killed? Like how did you miss this in the book? They had meeting after meeting, after sitdown, after meeting to try to resolve things, SICILY NEVER GAVE PERMISSION TO THE BONNANOS.
If you are your own boss, you use your own money. Again, I don't know if you understand THE DRUG TRADE, NOT SO MUCH AS THE MAFIA. The CONNECTION IS WHAT MATTERS. THE FACE TO FACE. THE TRUST. Look, I've been around tons of weed, used to grow, still got like 3k in seeds. Sometimes I would pay, a lot of the time it wasn't even neccesary, but you never really want to owe anyone, so I never really did that. And let me tell you something, super high level producers, NEED THE DISTRIBUTORS AS MUCH AS THE DISTRIBUTORS NEED THEM. ITS HOW THE MEXICANS BECAME WHAT THEY ARE TODAY. DITTO WITH THE IMPORTERS. IVE DETAILED BEFORE THERE ARE THREE AND A HALF WAYS TO DOMINATE THE DRUG TRADE. ONE IS SUPPLY, THE OTHER IS TRANSPORTATION/IMPORTATION, AND FINNALY DISTRIBUTION. I GIVE LAUNDERING THE HALF LOL....
Wholesalers might, pay, big emphasis on MIGHT, pay all at once, until trust is established. Retailers pay, but a guy getting the stuff direct from the source? That's why I mentioned the Flores brothers, they paid when the stuff was sold, and sometimes not even the full agreed upon amount. ( This isn't even a drug thing, it's a retail thing, I worked at a restaurant once and Zanios foods always gave the owner credit)
I explained WHY Sciascia got hit, but you started talking about HIM getting hit. I was talking about Sciascia setting UP a hit, or at least providing the shooters. As a way of explaining WHY he got hit.
Alfa, wack a guy for a legal strategy? That's a stretch to say the least, lol
Alfa, Sonny Red was born in NY. But the Agrigento connection I believe is why he was picked to move the dope.
You don't see how Montagna fits in. Good lord man, he was the deported Bonnano acting boss, SENT TO CANADA, AND GOT KILLED IN A POWER PLAY WITH A FRENCH CANADIAN. AND YOU KNOW WHAT ALFA, THE BONNANOS DID NOTHING.
You gotta read more Alfa, and I don't just mean about NY five families. I don't think you understand how the narcotics trade works at all. Check that article I posted.
When you say envelops, I Dont know if it was for drugs, envelops arnt even big enough. That was probably their share of the traditional Montreal rackets they got tribute from when the Cotronis were running things. Gambling and whatever.
There was no big Colombian/ Bonnano mafia coke operations, that I've ever heard of, for the simple reason the Cali Cartel had the NY market. This is,what I mean when I say you gotta read more.
Like the Agrigento thing, you completely misunderstood what I was saying. You also don't consider the timelines. My whole point of that was that Agrigento mobsters have had 50 years in the drug business, so THATS WHERE THIER CONTACTS COME FROM. Not the NY based Bonnanos. There is no opium in NY, no cocoa in NY. You gotta got to wherever the coke is, wherever the dope is to get a high level connect like that.
I'm starting to think you are confusing this operation with the French Connection. THAT WAS A FIVE FAMILY THING, but only because of Luciano, and maybe
Three Fingers Coppola. That got disrupted in the early sixties. Also the many deported Mafiosi helped in the logistics. Like seriously if ANY family in NY was running the drug trade, it was probably the Gambinos. I don't think anyone sold more than those Cherry Hill guys. And the thing is, a VAST MAJORITY OF THAT MONEY WENT TO SICILIAN FAMILIES. Not NY.
Caruana coke went to Canada and Europe, I'm almost positive. It had nothing to do with NY. Also Vito's contacts? No way the Bonnanos set up the hash thing with the West End Gang. Or the Big Circle boys, or the Lebanese suppliers ( These people have nothing to do with Sicily, or NY even) And his father was in Venuzuela, since getting expelled from Canada. It's kinda like how Afghan heroin feeds the European market, we get the Mexican/Colombian variety. Like you gotta understand how the routes work.
The CARUANAS supply EVERYONE, AND LAUNDER EVERYTHING. Like I actually think the Rizzutos were a CARUANA -[BadWord]-RA subsidiary, like the Escobar to their Ochoa.
This owning the merchandise thing. Alfa, the only OWNERS, are the Colombians, the Mexicans, whatever the Afghani or Thai, whoever is supplying heroin. Also, again read more, they had plenty distributors, and alliances with distributors in Canada. Why the hell would the Bonnanos allow THIER drugs, to go to Canadian distributors. Why not Basciano with his Blue Thunder brand? Read about the Cannabis shipments going To MONTREAL for distribution, not a Bonnano farm team of youngsters in NY. Also, SICILIAN MAFIAMFAMILIES INVESTED IN THESE DRUG SHIPMENTS, AND THEY SENT THEIR CREWS TO MOVE IT.
Honestly I think the Gambinos were just kinda better at it.
Look, I know the guy seems to WANT to believe Vito was the biggest thing in the world, I just ignore all that, like I did with the Calabrian Comments. I've seen this stuff verified by too many other sources. Again I read a TON of shit.
Check this article, and tell me if you still feel the same.
https://www.tni.org/en/paper/rothschilds-mafia-aruba
