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I don't think that was the case. What I do believe was that what later became known as the Bonanno crew were comprised of mafioso primarily from Castellammare del Golfo who were just very insular among themselves, much more so than the American-bred or Italian mainland members who were not strictly Sicilian but varied from different parts of Italy. The Genovese for instance had a huge contingent of Calabrians and Neopolitans, as well as many Jewish hoods, Irish and other ethnicities. They were more open to many varied far flung racket schemes. By contrast the tight-knit suspicious Sicilian born members were not. They mostly stayed to themselves which in a sense was a great, and not so great thing because it gave them tremendous solidarity and a low-key almost invisible unity. But it also limited many members rackets options.

Remember too that Joe Bonanno himself was a bit stingy as far as "sharing" wealth.

Even the Gagliano/Lucchese were also mostly Sicilian bred, but both Tommy's had a different mindset and were much more generous and loose with their men. Both in sharing the wealth, as well as allowing them a wide berth in their operations. And the Lucchese crew also had many Napolitano members, whereas the Bonanno's have nearly none.

The Bonanno's were in retrospect one of the most "Antica" or "old fashioned" families in the nation, most similar to a true Sicilian cosca from back in Sicily itself. So they operated in a much different fashion. For instance there were some in their borgata that never committed a crime or broke the law in their lives. They were small businessmen, a doctor, a lawyer, mason, etc. They were "made" into the family for the service they could possibly perform on behalf of the borgata, or because they were "compare" with a member or related by blood, or had been born in the Family's homeland of Castellammare.

Most of the other families in NYC recruited young hoodlums from the neighborhood more than strictly by blood and lineage. So decide for yourself which was better, but thats how I viewed it. I was also very, very close personally to members of this Family and know firsthand how their early mindset worked. There were other heavily Sicilian crews throughout America also operated in this manner, but in NYC they were the primary crew with this rigid and singular mindset. Nowadays it different, but I'm speaking of an earlier era.

Remember too that the Masseria/Luciano Family was a huge sized crew by comparison to the Bonanno's. And they were always far-flung in their operations by the very early structure of the crew. They operated in many areas. Bonanno did not.

Do NOT look at how Joe Bonanno expansed in territory in the 1950s-1960s era. I'm talking originally. Bonanno members were 90% based in North Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan. In later years they expanded to the Bronx, Queens, a little Jersey, LI, and then eventually Bonanno himself went out to Arizona, Cali., etc. But with the exception of Montreal where he had a full blown regime, it was really all about Joe Bonanno's personal wealth and businesses out that way. NOT his basic rank and file understand?
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That said, the Bonanno's were not nearly the overall wealthiest Family in NYC. Some crews were huge, some were half the size of others, but If I had to rank them "pound for pound proportionately" for wealth, money, and assets, I'd rank the Five Families as follows.

#1 would be a near tie between the Genovese and Lucchese Family. Even though the Lucchese were the smallest crew in the city, their men earned well. NOT in the last 30 years or so. But I'm talking at their peak in the 1950s-1960s era. Pound for pound their men were generally wealthier.

#2 Gambino - big crew and plenty of earners as well.

#3 Profaci/Colombo Family

#4 Bonanno Family

CAVEAT TO MY LIST: When I say they were the "wealthiest", it is a very deceptive statement. Always remember that each borgata has men who are multimillionaires, men who are wealthy, men who are moderately wealthy, men who just grind a decent living, and men who are complete unequivocal brokesters. But overall because of size, but also because of the way in which wealth was shared in a particular crew, or the Lucchese who were always big junk dealers or ran huge numbers businesses because they were based in Harlem where that biz really thrived, etc etc. Some Families rank and file did better than others.

for a very small family the Lucchese also held control over a disproportionate number of labor unions which brought great wealth and influence. Tommy Lucchese also had a lot of political sway, as did Frank Costello of the Genovese. This gave those 2 crews added strength.

Thats NOT to say that the other families didn't have unions, deal babania, have politicians under their thumb, or also have very wealthy mafiosi among their ranks, because they did. It only means that the above Families had a bit more pound for pound, etc.

NOTE: In truth there are SO MANY factors that go into the mix that I find myself getting deeper into this explanation than I wanted to. Thats because everything ties into everything else. There are 100 more things to be explained but these are a few of the basic facts that made the mob landscape of that era in NYC.

But it's ALL changed now. Every crew is much different than I talked about above. The Lucchese for instance are all fucked up. So are the DeCavalcante, Colombo and Bonanno. Only the Gambino and Genovese still hold it together a bit, and even thats changing rapidly I assure you.

Today there are a few crews (the ones you don't hear about) who still earn. But most guys are broke. The wealthy ones (and smarter ones) have stepped back so you'll probably never heard or read their names in the newspaper and thats a fact.

The guys you do read about who get pinched are "generally" lower end guys, or guys who are desperate to earn $$. Why the fuck would anybody who already has big bucks risk 20 years in prison unless he's a jerkoff or he's broke? You tell me??

There's your answer!