BENJAMIN “SONNY†NICOLETTI, THE BONNANOS, MONTREAL, VIOLI’S & HAMILTON
I recently reread The Niagara Falls Reporter Sept. 11, 2012 article on Nicoletti titled Falls’ Benjamin “Sonny†Nicoletti; Part of the Falls’ unique character by Mike Hudson. After the Bonanno making ceremony, Violi/drug trafficking arrests, and the mention of the Todaro Crime Family in the Hamilton area of Canada the following quote strikes me as interesting. Hudson writes:
Quote
A mobbed up former inmate who served with Nicoletti at the Loretto Federal Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania during his 1993 bid said Sonny was a quiet guy and a gentleman who only cared about football and taking bets. “Everyone knows he wasn't a saint, but he was very respected through the country,†the former inmate said. “And of course he was old school.â€
Nicoletti was held in high regard from the guys in New York and Rochester. Sonny was close with Rochester capo Frank Frassetto, who thought the world of Nicoletti, and members of the Bonnano family of New York such as caporegime Joey Chille said he was well respected from Montreal to Manhattan
Also his Rochester B team buddy Frank Frassetto was arrested for Heroin trafficking in 2006, if I remember correctly.
QUESTIONS 1. Could this indicate what was left of Buffalo was absorbed by the Bonannos?
Very possible. Everybody knows about the longstanding ties, but it's interesting to hear about Jerry Chilli too, who was still a high-ranking member until his recent death.
Originally Posted by NickleCity
2. If rumors that he was Buffalo’s underboss were true, did he use his respect and relationships to forge work across family lines and reinvigorate the drug trafficking triangle established by Magaddino and his cousin Joe Bonanno?
Woah now. Nowhere in the article does it allude to that.
Originally Posted by NickleCity
3. Is this just a hell of a coincidence?
What do you mean?
Originally Posted by NickleCity
4. Does it raise other questions about the O’Tremmens operation and the mention of a Todaro Crime Family being involved?
5. What are your ideas and thoughts?
I don't think it throws much confusion into the prevailing theory of many, who believe that the "Todaro crime family" members arrested in Canada were members of the long-defunct Canada crew. It's doubtful that this crew could have died on it's own accord due to the lack of police pressure, but there is a huge reason to believe that it was taken over or absorbed by it's warring rivals, who murdered the Todaro-Canada crew's top leader and right-hand-man in one clean sweep.
