TB I agree. The Bonannos and Colombos and Gambinos have always been strongly Brooklyn-based. After the Bonannos were weakened (which you may or may not agree, was due to Joe's non-leadership or lack of leadership) and became aimless, Gaspare DiGregorio was in charge and was a very weak don. His successor, not a lot of people have heard about was Paul Sciacca. Sort of the Underboss to the side of the family that was against Joe.
Some have said that the reason about half of the Bonannos went with DiGregorio was because Joe made his son Salvatore (Bill) his consigliere, even though Bill had never made his bones formally and was part college educated. Also, about six weeks after Joe's supposed "kidnapping," he began making calls to Bill over a prearranged network of pay phones. Bill never told the remaining Bonanno loyalists that his father was alive, which caused more of them to defect to DiGregorio.
Gaspar was certainly a weak Don, and Sciacca even weaker (Bonanno called him "a nonentity" in his autobiography). Rusty Rastelli wasn't exactly a powerhouse, either.
