shout out to the OG podcast for putting me on to your show…. you guys have the best mafia content hands down… on the subject on Joe Bonanno … his book is still my favorite mob book… obviously filled with so many half truths and personal biased.. but that’s what makes it special… and once you know the truth, going back and re reading and seeing the points where he blurs over and twists truth is really exciting… its kinda like Julius Caesars book on the Galic war… so many lies but its a book written by FRIGGIN Caesar so you love it anyways lol thats how i feel about Man of Honour
Ya when you talk about them avoiding the whole Galactic thing, totally makes sense. Wasn't he more or less an outlaw within the mafia, not even a real boss? Great work
Great conversation gents. When I was in college, I spent so much time in the school library reading old books about cosa nostra. It took work to focus on my curriculum
Finding a channel that gives me mob information I didn't already know is incredibly hard. OC shorts, Occasionally, Mikey scars will tell a story I didn't know before, But it's Very rare to find other people who know as much or more than me. I love what you're doing.
Hey guys, thanks a ton for the share of our articles about the Bonanno Split. Glad to see the face of my official translator 😉. I will watch the video right away !
As always, I loved this. Hopefully working with Eric soon, and the rest of you would be great. We need to get the word out on your superb channel. Have a great weekend guys
You guys should have so many more subscribers! On other channels’ comment sections I see so many people post the old incorrect myths that you guys have debunked and corrected, and I always post and tell them to check out this channel for the real low down on the deep history. People need to see this stuff to get away from all that false info. Keep it up! Hopefully with time everyone will see this stuff. Loving Angelo’s new background game btw! Last episode the 1920s tenements, today the 1960s street scene!
I'm loving the content. I'd love to hear an episode on the french/pizza connection. How they are the same operation including all families, and how the operation actually started way way earlier than we expect.
Large-scale cross-Family partnerships would be a great topic. Obviously they work together constantly on a small scale but the big operations require a different level of collaboration. Thanks for checking out the show, man.
Joe Bonanno was completely underrated! Along with his cousin Stefano Maggindio , who was a complete powerhouse ! Rules for damn near 40/50 years ! N was on the front lines during the Castellamare war . But back to Joe I believe he was the youngest boss ever right ? 26 years old , he even reigned for like 20/30 years if I’m not mistaken. I think ppl don’t give Joe his credit cus of the book but he was definitely a force
@@danevertt3210 Joe Bonanno is the most underrated Boss of all the time because of what happened in the 1960s. Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese were taking over the commission and trying to almost outcast Bonanno acting like his word and Knowledge didn’t mean anything and his experience. Gambino and lucchese were constantly trying to rule against him on everything trying to cause problems with him!
@@Mcdamn1026 exactly we gotta remember Bonanno was basically the last boss from the start of the commission from lucky , cus we gotta remember lucky didn’t make the 5 families Salvatore, Marzano n they kinda had a commission but it wasn’t called that it was called like board of directors or something , Gambino wanted to get out from under that old guard cus believe it or not Bonanno was prolly the most powerful voice during that time , if he was not at odds with his cousin stefano he prolly coulda took control of the whole commission too
2 stories regarding the Bonannos: one from an ex judge, an older woman from SW New Mexico who was trying to get into the coin op machine business in truck stops etc down there. she was directed to old Joe,.had a sit down, and he ok' d it. Another: an older gentleman who was in the same church as Bonannos, and met Joe and Bill. Said Joe was a perfect gentleman, but Bill was throwing his weight around. Lines up with yr take on Bill. Great job guys, one of the best mafia podcasts now available
Excellent content you guys, the level of detail and accuracy is the best out there! One addition to the discussion here about “super capodecinas”, in the Magaddino tapes he discusses the aftermath of the Anastasia hit and Gambinos elevation to boss. He references someone that the transcribers thought sounded like Donnarao but was probably Armand Tommy Rava. He says Donnarao was in charge of 10-12 captains, but that Magaddino had reminded him that he was still just a captain himself (after fellow captain John Ribolotto was taken out). It seems like the role of super capodecina, like Rava held, was more of an informal factional leader based on influence and clout rather than an official position. P.S. - a video on the years between Anastasia’s take over and Gambino’s would be great, there is still a lot of mystery as to who was in what position and how Anastasia actually administered his family
I would like this video as well! I always wondered about this mysterious character. “Donnarao”. Wasn’t there also a Mysterious “underboss or consigliere in the 1930’s in the Gambino or Genovese Crime Family ???
@@Mcdamn1026 yes, there were mysterious administration members in both actually. Anastasia’s first underboss was Salvatore Chiri, from 1951-1953 (then stepped down, probably due to old age). He was succeeded by Frank Scalise, who moved from consigliere. Carlo Gambino then became consigliere until 1957, when he was made provisional boss after Anastasia was taken out. Frank Scalise was killed a few months before Anastasia in 1957, and then Antonino Conte (future Gambino captain Patsy Contes father) was made underboss for a short time. In the Genovese family, during his senate testimony Joe Valachi mentioned a figure named “Sandino” as being a former consigliere, but gave no other details. Some think this was actually Alexander Pandolfo, who was close to Tony Bender Strollo, but it’s never been confirmed.
@@mattcain2988 It was definitely Alessandro "Sandino" Pandolfo. Valachi was wrong about when he died, though, as Pandolfo died in the late 1940s. He was from Naples and there's reason to believe the Gigante brothers may have first come up around him and there may be a marital relation between them. Haven't confirmed it.
I'm confident "Dannarao" is Tommy Rava. The phonetics make sense as "Danna Rao" would be among the least twisted phonetic transcriptions found on the tapes. Magaddino said he was a capodecina, head of the opposite faction around the time Carlo Gambino was named acting boss, and deceased by the time of the 1965 recording. I've talked about this on the BHF over the years but with Magaddino saying "Dannarao" was a captain over a large group of other captains then Angelo Bruno describing Dellacroce as "capodecina di capodecina" in 1963 it indicates Dellacroce inherited de facto leadership over the old Anastasia faction from Rava (which wasn't lost even on Gotti, who hung Albert's picture next to Neil's in the Ravenite). The Dellacroce faction we know of when he was underboss likely reported to him on a de facto level earlier even when he held equal rank w/ the other captains. Robilotto's death, Rava's lupara bianca murder, then Dellacroce "coming in" and securing peace looks to have resulted in the Anastasia faction being forgiven and allowed a de facto representative in the Family. We know the Gambino Family had a similar arrangement back in the 1930s when Nicola Gentile ("just" a soldier) was named Mangano's sostituto who could mediate/represent the Family's Agrigento faction made up of multiple crews. I suspect Anastasia's faction could have reported directly to him too back when he was still underboss. Interestingly there's an FBI informant who said Rava was once underboss to Anastasia. Either they confused his capodecina / "street boss" role and close relationship with Anastasia for an admin position or maybe he is yet another underboss in the 1950s. Seems to have been a lot of admin changes between 1951-1957 and I suspect Rava was the former given Magaddino said he was a captain circa 1957. Thanks for checking out the show and offering great commentary.
This is very informative. I have a great film on dvd called HONOR THY FATHER. It's all about the Bananas War and stars some great actors such as Richard Castellano from the Godfather who plays Frank LaBruzzo. Joseph Bologna plays Bill Bonanno, Felice Orlandi plays Hank Perrone, Raf Vallone plays Joe Bonanno, and Sam Coppola plays Johnny Morale. I was wondering how Galante's crew sided during the war as he was also a descendant of Castellammare? Are any of his crew members still around today?
Fantastic video guys. An angle/issue that I only recently found out about while reading the FBI Greg Scarpa files is the disappearance of Bonanno members Frankie Mari and Mike Adamo during the Bonanno conflict. Sometime after the disappearance of Colombo member Salvatore D'Ambrosio in late 1969, Scarpa told the FBI that the word was that D'Ambrosio had killed Mari and Adamo unsanctioned and that is why he was killed. Sounds dodgy, but it's in the Scarpa files. Everywhere else I've read that D'Ambrosio and another guy named Freddie Red DeLucia were taken out by the Colombos because Joe Colombo feared their ambitions. Just wondered if this has ever been discussed specific to the murders of Mari and Adamo.
I've always been very wondered that Bonanno became boss at such a young age. I doubt very much that he was elected by honest voting, because there were much more experienced and authoritative people in the family, who were much older, for example, the same Angelo Caruso. More likely, Magaddino contributed to Bonanno's election. And do you think Bonanno was really such close to Maranzano and was his favorite, or is it just exaggerated?
I think his pedigree as the son of a powerful mafioso from Sicily helped, and probably was at least an associate of Maranzano, The most powerful boss then. Plus the fact he went along with his murder and didn't make waves
Ciao, how you doing? Was Joseph Bonanno present at the 1957 Appalachian meeting? I just watched the 1998 Bonanno A Godfather's Story (5 hours long complete series) and according to his narration he gave his driver's license to Gaspare DiGregorio who was at the meeting but the cops listed Joseph Bonanno as present. He claims to not have been there. What do you think?
Has Griffin or any of you guys heard of an Arizona associate with the nick name Two Tonys? An English author/UA-camr called Shaun Attwood did time in Arizona for running an ecstasy ring, and he claims that he met this Two Tonys guy in prison there, and interviewed him to write his autobiography with him, not to be published until he died. It was published a few years ago under the title The Mafia Philosopher: Two Tonys. Attwood never gives Two Tonys’ real name, but the story goes he was born to an Italian mother and Irish father in Detroit, where he became associated with the Licavollis. He then moved to Arizona with the Licavollis, but after being there for some time he then became a Bonanno associate. He claims that he was setting bombs for the Bonnanos, under direct instruction from Bill I believe, during the bombing campaign that went on there during the Bananas War. However, googling Two Tonys brings up nothing, even searching for quite a while. And imo, Shaun Attwood has a fairly loose relationship with the truth. He also has stories about going up against Gravano’s Arizona ecstasy crew when he was dealing there, but I think Gravano says he never heard of him. The book could be an interesting source if you are looking into the Arizona Bonnano crew/s, ooooorrr, it could be a complete fabrication 😂 On this Bonanno stuff, I would LOVE an episode on the Galante post-prison era, and his “reign” as “boss”. I find this one of THE most interesting eras in terms of the operational vs organisational (British spelling) framework you guys use. What actually went down there? I know Griffin said this is a much more well known era, and I would say it *sort of* is. But more in terms of the events, and hits, and beefs, and all that. Not in the analytical legal political aspect that you guys employ however, so I think you could add a lot to the discourse on that. Any way, that’s my pitch 😂 Cheers fellas
Directly after typing that, I found a video giving Two Tonys real name and showing his prison paperwork, and it also shows a picture of him with Charley “Bats” Battaglia, who features in the book a reasonable amount, so I guess he’s real to that extent. Been a few years since I looked. Should have checked first. Doh 😣. His name was apparently Jerome (Jerry) Max Pasley. He talks quite a bit about Bonanno stuff in Arizona, so could be interesting, just treat with caution. The video with his name and paperwork is here: ua-cam.com/video/eY0iINDYv_s/v-deo.html And there’s a short video of Attwood talking about Two Tonys here shortly before publication of his book: ua-cam.com/video/hls3fBCTans/v-deo.html
@HENRY X81 who said I “believe Sammy”? I agree that Sammy slants his stories to make himself look good, so I definitely don’t believe everything he says point blank. Neither do I discount everything he says point blank. That would be poor practice when examining a biased source. The fact is, it is verified that Sammy was underboss of the Gambinos, and in this context, it is verified that he ran a large ecstasy ring in Arizona and the same time Shaun did. So he is a very valuable source. That doesn’t mean believe him uncritically. Treat what he says with caution, definitely. Take what he says into account, and weigh it against the other evidence. I would say overall 90% of what Sammy says is true, with 10% spin and bullshit to make himself look like the man. I think the earlier Sammy said something, the more reliable it is; the more recent, the less reliable. This stuff isn’t just Sammy though. I would say the great majority of gangsters who go on to write books and the like lie and spin to make themselves look good. Joe Bonanno, Jimmy Fratianno, Nick Gentile - all those guys. Never believe any of them uncritically. Always weigh the different pieces of evidence against each other. Which I am doing here, noting that Sammy and Shaun’s statements conflict somewhat. We shouldn’t believe either Sammy or Shaun uncritically.
The bombing thing had nothing to do with the mafia. It was a renegade FBI officer who was busted for hiring guys to plant bombs in Bonannos home and maybe another site in Tucson. I don't think there were any bombings.in NY war
You could make a correlation between what The Arizona Faction and the Montreal Faction did, neither was recognized as a family but they continued to make new members and have a formal administration like they were a family
I always found it interesting 🤔 on how John Morales had that Surname...I mean I've seen Spanish Last names be held by People of Latino Descent.and also Italian/Sicilian ....such as Paul Castallano....Mike Miranda...a guy outta New Jersey with the Surname Clemente ...also D'Aquila....Lomeli another Last name and known there's Guys with names such as DeSantis and a few other ones that have more of a Greek sounding to em but Morales....is Str8 up Spanish if not PR🇵🇷 cuz Mexicans weren't off that way yet in the Big Apple 🍎 so was always curious about that....cuz this back almost 60 years ago....what 58/59 years ago....do You guys have a lil more info on John Morales. Andrew Campos of The Gambino's is another one outta the Bronx....friend of Sean P.Diddy Combs if I'm not mistaken🎯🎯🎯🎯 Thank You FELLAS and Excellent Spiel/Interaction her on this one🤜💥🤛💯
Some of these surnames (eg, Clemente, Miranda), are just because of the similarities between Spanish and Italian, so there are words and surnames that are the same. Campo is another example (originally it isn’t spelled with an S, but Andy Campos’ family changed the spelling after immigrating to the US). But Sicily as well as Naples was also directly ruled by Spanish (well, first by Aragon and then the unified Kingdom of Spain) for centuries and thus you have Spanish surnames like Morales that wound up there. Funny that Bonanno is itself an Italian-derived surname in PR, though there is no connection to Joe Bonanno, as the Bonanno name in PR came from a Neapolitan who settled there in the 1700s.
Soon. New episode up in a few days. We have two other episodes that need editing and will be recording another episode this week and the next two weeks. Sorry, real life came up.
Off-topic question for Angelo. Where (geographically) and, especially, When (time-wise/era) was your background photo captured (featuring the bakery and cinema marquee?) Is that NYC? Thank you.
Yeah, Williamsburg circa 1960's, I chose it because that neighborhood has traditionally been the Bonanno stronghold and that's the group/time we were discussing. I will try and choose a bg that relates to what we discuss.
@Oneleven1 Anton? Is that you?! Holy shit, I had no idea you and "Chicago Tony" were one and the same! I didn't know you were into this subject matter. This was actually my first passion (before going to the dark side, aka "Latin Music New York.") Hope all is well brother. 🙏🏼
Bonanno knew to watch himself in the Fulton Fish Market and not to fuck with Lanza or he would have become part of the sidewalk. He knew not to fuck around in there.
Yeah I believe the stories about Bill bonannos arrogance but I've seen him in several interviews and he does come off as a fairly intelligent, charismatic person. Certainly doesn't mean he was a nice person to deal with all the time when cameras aren't rolling. My aunt and uncle knew him in his later life. At the time my uncle was a dean at a fairly prominent university and he knew Bill through fundraising efforts.for the school.
It wouldn't surprise me if the captains elected bill while simultaneously being pissed off about it. They probably understood that Joe would know who voted for who and would treat them differently if they went against it. Much like when Paul was murdered and every captain in the Gambino family voted for John gotti to be the boss. There is no way all twenty something captains were cool with it. Guys like tommy gambino and jimmy brown, who were super close With Paul and knew damn well John just killed him. But they weren't going to be the guy at that table voted no. It would have been political suicide.
They say the West Side is the ivy league of the mob but you guys are definately the Ivy League of Mobology. WOW!!!! I've been into the Mafia since I was a little kid. I remember seeing Carl's funeral on t.v. in 1976 and when they said he was "Boss of all Bosses" of the Mafia I remember my father saying something like there was no one man at the top. That it was a media made title. Then when I asked what the Mafia is he responded with something about a fairy tale invented by W.A.S.P.'s because they hated Italians and " theres no such thing as the mafia". I had no idea what he meant by the term "wasp" and at least for a few years I actually believed he meant the flying/stinging kind. I was also curious why he had such a strong opinion about the whole "boss of bosses" thing if the thing the guy was supposed to be boss of didn't exist. Of course it had to be a fairy tale if it was created by a bug's. Even at eight years old I wasn't going to believe that one. I'm pretty sure I had debunked the whole Santa Clause scam by then so I wasn't going to fall for some b.s. about prejudice, venomous insects collaborating with the media (what's a media--another new word to me at the time) to keep our people down. Just didn't make sense to me. Not just my dad's very confusing answers but why this thing got him so worked up. After all......its not real, right?? Besides, how can anyone....or anything ....hate Italians? We gave the world PIZZA. Everybody loves pizza!!!! I did learn however that my very Italian and very proud father did not like the "M" word and I was pretty much banned from using it around him at least until I was a little older (and less naive and a little more educated). Of course that moment was the beginning of my fascination with it. My dads attempt to dissuade my interest from the topic failed. It solidified it. Of course I've read all the books, seen all the movies and have watched and listened to everything UA-cam has to offer and without a doubt.....you guys are hands down, by a wide margin, simply the best. Nobody comes close. Your show is so refreshing. There are some other good podcasts and doc.'s out there but 90 plus percent of it is somebody (re-)regurgitating the same old stories about the same old characters for the way to many times to count. And so many of them can't even get the basics right. It's a never ending Mob 101 or Intro to the Mafia. Like opening a 1,000 page book but not getting past page five. You guys definitely are like archeologist. You find the right spots to dig-and you dig deep. And as you go you carefully peice things together as you uncover them. You offer educated reasoning and different points of veiws and possibilities of different scenarios and historical events without forcing your opinion upon the viewer. All of your analytical assessments are based on your expertise of the individual, of the borgata, of the geographical region your subject is from and of your extensive knowledge of Sicilian, Calabrese and Napolitano culture in general. You present it in a manor where you explain or offer different possibilities and explanations to events based on what you know to be true. Like family ties, clannish values and how different regions just a few miles apart can alter and shape the beliefs, values, bonds and loyalties these people held. While so much of the details can only be speculated about you guys provide an integral foundation for the direction of such speculation. Your reasoning and assessments and in some cases conclussions are therefore logical. We can never know with 100% accuracy all the minute details. The hows? The why's? The who's? You can't possibly have all the answers but you give so much detailed background on the culture, the borgata, the individual and their familial and geographical ties that goes way, way beyond your closest piers in this genre. You are the Apex predators at the top of your food chain. Thank you for your efforts and the professional, ethical and responsible manner in which you deliver historical journalism. P.s. sorry I wrote so much but I just can't say enough about how great your work is. Keep on Diggin'
Thank you for this discussion. I have been waiting for a video about something post 1931. I am endlessly fascinated by the Bonanno's
shout out to the OG podcast for putting me on to your show…. you guys have the best mafia content hands down… on the subject on Joe Bonanno … his book is still my favorite mob book… obviously filled with so many half truths and personal biased.. but that’s what makes it special… and once you know the truth, going back and re reading and seeing the points where he blurs over and twists truth is really exciting…
its kinda like Julius Caesars book on the Galic war… so many lies but its a book written by FRIGGIN Caesar so you love it anyways lol thats how i feel about Man of Honour
Ya when you talk about them avoiding the whole Galactic thing, totally makes sense. Wasn't he more or less an outlaw within the mafia, not even a real boss? Great work
Sorry man they misscorrected Galante and galactic!
Great conversation gents. When I was in college, I spent so much time in the school library reading old books about cosa nostra. It took work to focus on my curriculum
Thanks for checking it out, Victor.
Finding a channel that gives me mob information I didn't already know is incredibly hard. OC shorts, Occasionally, Mikey scars will tell a story I didn't know before, But it's Very rare to find other people who know as much or more than me. I love what you're doing.
Hey guys, thanks a ton for the share of our articles about the Bonanno Split. Glad to see the face of my official translator 😉. I will watch the video right away !
We'd like to have you on as well if you're interested.
@@themobarcheologists it would be a pleasure and an honor.
We can work out the details on BHC in PM if you want because I have no idea how to do it.
Hail Fabien!
Thanks for watching, Fabien!
@@Frodojack you're welcome ! I finished it yesterday, it was a really nice watch, nice work gentlemen
As always, I loved this. Hopefully working with Eric soon, and the rest of you would be great. We need to get the word out on your superb channel. Have a great weekend guys
O.C i love your channel as well!’
I can now say there are two channels that actually give me information I didn't know before. These guys now join you in that club.
I don't know how I just now found this channel but I love the deep dives on some of these lesser known topics.
You guys should have so many more subscribers! On other channels’ comment sections I see so many people post the old incorrect myths that you guys have debunked and corrected, and I always post and tell them to check out this channel for the real low down on the deep history. People need to see this stuff to get away from all that false info. Keep it up! Hopefully with time everyone will see this stuff.
Loving Angelo’s new background game btw! Last episode the 1920s tenements, today the 1960s street scene!
One listener of your caliber is better than ten thousand "subscribers". Quality over quantity. Appreciate the ongoing support, Will.
@@erics7763 Aww, shucks, Eric - that’s very kind of you man. You definitely got a lifer with me 😂 I’ll keep trying to direct more here though!
Great info as always..
I'm loving the content. I'd love to hear an episode on the french/pizza connection. How they are the same operation including all families, and how the operation actually started way way earlier than we expect.
Large-scale cross-Family partnerships would be a great topic. Obviously they work together constantly on a small scale but the big operations require a different level of collaboration. Thanks for checking out the show, man.
They arnt the same....
FINALLY PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THE BIGGER PICTURE THERE WHERE SO MANY BIG PLAYERS AND PARTNERSHIPS WILL NEVER REALLY KNOW
Thsnks for your time gentlemen. From Ontario Canada 🇨🇦
Great show guys
Rick, I had no idea you were part of this group - good job! 👍
Glad to see you, Primo!
Great job! Thanks
Joe Bonanno was completely underrated! Along with his cousin Stefano Maggindio , who was a complete powerhouse ! Rules for damn near 40/50 years ! N was on the front lines during the Castellamare war . But back to Joe I believe he was the youngest boss ever right ? 26 years old , he even reigned for like 20/30 years if I’m not mistaken. I think ppl don’t give Joe his credit cus of the book but he was definitely a force
Maggadino ruled for 52 years
@@danevertt3210 Joe Bonanno is the most underrated Boss of all the time because of what happened in the 1960s. Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese were taking over the commission and trying to almost outcast Bonanno acting like his word and Knowledge didn’t mean anything and his experience. Gambino and lucchese were constantly trying to rule against him on everything trying to cause problems with him!
@@danevertt3210 Maggidino was def underrated as well and held a lot of power as well!
@@Mcdamn1026 exactly we gotta remember Bonanno was basically the last boss from the start of the commission from lucky , cus we gotta remember lucky didn’t make the 5 families Salvatore, Marzano n they kinda had a commission but it wasn’t called that it was called like board of directors or something , Gambino wanted to get out from under that old guard cus believe it or not Bonanno was prolly the most powerful voice during that time , if he was not at odds with his cousin stefano he prolly coulda took control of the whole commission too
@@xavierjames8085 Maggadino was the oldest reigning boss at the time and also an original commission member
Unfortunately the screen froze on me, but hope you like the rest of the video.
2 stories regarding the Bonannos: one from an ex judge, an older woman from SW New Mexico who was trying to get into the coin op machine business in truck stops etc down there. she was directed to old Joe,.had a sit down, and he ok' d it. Another: an older gentleman who was in the same church as Bonannos, and met Joe and Bill. Said Joe was a perfect gentleman, but Bill was throwing his weight around. Lines up with yr take on Bill. Great job guys, one of the best mafia podcasts now available
When is next video, your channel is insane!
Excellent content you guys, the level of detail and accuracy is the best out there! One addition to the discussion here about “super capodecinas”, in the Magaddino tapes he discusses the aftermath of the Anastasia hit and Gambinos elevation to boss. He references someone that the transcribers thought sounded like Donnarao but was probably Armand Tommy Rava. He says Donnarao was in charge of 10-12 captains, but that Magaddino had reminded him that he was still just a captain himself (after fellow captain John Ribolotto was taken out). It seems like the role of super capodecina, like Rava held, was more of an informal factional leader based on influence and clout rather than an official position. P.S. - a video on the years between Anastasia’s take over and Gambino’s would be great, there is still a lot of mystery as to who was in what position and how Anastasia actually administered his family
I would like this video as well! I always wondered about this mysterious character. “Donnarao”. Wasn’t there also a Mysterious “underboss or consigliere in the 1930’s in the Gambino or Genovese Crime Family ???
@@Mcdamn1026 yes, there were mysterious administration members in both actually. Anastasia’s first underboss was Salvatore Chiri, from 1951-1953 (then stepped down, probably due to old age). He was succeeded by Frank Scalise, who moved from consigliere. Carlo Gambino then became consigliere until 1957, when he was made provisional boss after Anastasia was taken out. Frank Scalise was killed a few months before Anastasia in 1957, and then Antonino Conte (future Gambino captain Patsy Contes father) was made underboss for a short time.
In the Genovese family, during his senate testimony Joe Valachi mentioned a figure named “Sandino” as being a former consigliere, but gave no other details. Some think this was actually Alexander Pandolfo, who was close to Tony Bender Strollo, but it’s never been confirmed.
@@mattcain2988 thx for the info!
@@mattcain2988 It was definitely Alessandro "Sandino" Pandolfo. Valachi was wrong about when he died, though, as Pandolfo died in the late 1940s. He was from Naples and there's reason to believe the Gigante brothers may have first come up around him and there may be a marital relation between them. Haven't confirmed it.
I'm confident "Dannarao" is Tommy Rava. The phonetics make sense as "Danna Rao" would be among the least twisted phonetic transcriptions found on the tapes. Magaddino said he was a capodecina, head of the opposite faction around the time Carlo Gambino was named acting boss, and deceased by the time of the 1965 recording. I've talked about this on the BHF over the years but with Magaddino saying "Dannarao" was a captain over a large group of other captains then Angelo Bruno describing Dellacroce as "capodecina di capodecina" in 1963 it indicates Dellacroce inherited de facto leadership over the old Anastasia faction from Rava (which wasn't lost even on Gotti, who hung Albert's picture next to Neil's in the Ravenite).
The Dellacroce faction we know of when he was underboss likely reported to him on a de facto level earlier even when he held equal rank w/ the other captains. Robilotto's death, Rava's lupara bianca murder, then Dellacroce "coming in" and securing peace looks to have resulted in the Anastasia faction being forgiven and allowed a de facto representative in the Family. We know the Gambino Family had a similar arrangement back in the 1930s when Nicola Gentile ("just" a soldier) was named Mangano's sostituto who could mediate/represent the Family's Agrigento faction made up of multiple crews. I suspect Anastasia's faction could have reported directly to him too back when he was still underboss.
Interestingly there's an FBI informant who said Rava was once underboss to Anastasia. Either they confused his capodecina / "street boss" role and close relationship with Anastasia for an admin position or maybe he is yet another underboss in the 1950s. Seems to have been a lot of admin changes between 1951-1957 and I suspect Rava was the former given Magaddino said he was a captain circa 1957.
Thanks for checking out the show and offering great commentary.
You people are really good at this.
This is very informative. I have a great film on dvd called HONOR THY FATHER. It's all about the Bananas War and stars some great actors such as Richard Castellano from the Godfather who plays Frank LaBruzzo. Joseph Bologna plays Bill Bonanno, Felice Orlandi plays Hank Perrone, Raf Vallone plays Joe Bonanno, and Sam Coppola plays Johnny Morale. I was wondering how Galante's crew sided during the war as he was also a descendant of Castellammare? Are any of his crew members still around today?
Fantastic video guys. An angle/issue that I only recently found out about while reading the FBI Greg Scarpa files is the disappearance of Bonanno members Frankie Mari and Mike Adamo during the Bonanno conflict. Sometime after the disappearance of Colombo member Salvatore D'Ambrosio in late 1969, Scarpa told the FBI that the word was that D'Ambrosio had killed Mari and Adamo unsanctioned and that is why he was killed. Sounds dodgy, but it's in the Scarpa files. Everywhere else I've read that D'Ambrosio and another guy named Freddie Red DeLucia were taken out by the Colombos because Joe Colombo feared their ambitions. Just wondered if this has ever been discussed specific to the murders of Mari and Adamo.
Great info......
In the book Michael actually said how personel it all was. Great channel and show
I sure am glad I found this channel. I've Loved studying the banana wars over the years thank you for giving me more insight I'll be back
1:31:34
Great vid
We'd like to get you on if you're still interested. It'll take some time as the 4 of us have conflicting schedules for the next month.
You guys should make a video about Johnny Earle and his gang.
Are the Maggadino tape transcripts available anywhere? I’ve only read snippets quote in certain books.
Re music teacher -- in Ky as a kid I was in school band and the 1 st chair trumpets last name was Gambino. They were in fact related
I've always been very wondered that Bonanno became boss at such a young age. I doubt very much that he was elected by honest voting, because there were much more experienced and authoritative people in the family, who were much older, for example, the same Angelo Caruso. More likely, Magaddino contributed to Bonanno's election. And do you think Bonanno was really such close to Maranzano and was his favorite, or is it just exaggerated?
I think his pedigree as the son of a powerful mafioso from Sicily helped, and probably was at least an associate of Maranzano, The most powerful boss then. Plus the fact he went along with his murder and didn't make waves
Joe bonanno was underrated he was boss of the commission right through 40s and 50s and the godfather was based on him.
In a minute, a follow up episode with Frank Fiordilino & Griffin go deeper into this.
Ciao, how you doing? Was Joseph Bonanno present at the 1957 Appalachian meeting? I just watched the 1998 Bonanno A Godfather's Story (5 hours long complete series) and according to his narration he gave his driver's license to Gaspare DiGregorio who was at the meeting but the cops listed Joseph Bonanno as present. He claims to not have been there. What do you think?
Has Griffin or any of you guys heard of an Arizona associate with the nick name Two Tonys? An English author/UA-camr called Shaun Attwood did time in Arizona for running an ecstasy ring, and he claims that he met this Two Tonys guy in prison there, and interviewed him to write his autobiography with him, not to be published until he died. It was published a few years ago under the title The Mafia Philosopher: Two Tonys. Attwood never gives Two Tonys’ real name, but the story goes he was born to an Italian mother and Irish father in Detroit, where he became associated with the Licavollis. He then moved to Arizona with the Licavollis, but after being there for some time he then became a Bonanno associate. He claims that he was setting bombs for the Bonnanos, under direct instruction from Bill I believe, during the bombing campaign that went on there during the Bananas War. However, googling Two Tonys brings up nothing, even searching for quite a while. And imo, Shaun Attwood has a fairly loose relationship with the truth. He also has stories about going up against Gravano’s Arizona ecstasy crew when he was dealing there, but I think Gravano says he never heard of him. The book could be an interesting source if you are looking into the Arizona Bonnano crew/s, ooooorrr, it could be a complete fabrication 😂
On this Bonanno stuff, I would LOVE an episode on the Galante post-prison era, and his “reign” as “boss”. I find this one of THE most interesting eras in terms of the operational vs organisational (British spelling) framework you guys use. What actually went down there? I know Griffin said this is a much more well known era, and I would say it *sort of* is. But more in terms of the events, and hits, and beefs, and all that. Not in the analytical legal political aspect that you guys employ however, so I think you could add a lot to the discourse on that. Any way, that’s my pitch 😂 Cheers fellas
Directly after typing that, I found a video giving Two Tonys real name and showing his prison paperwork, and it also shows a picture of him with Charley “Bats” Battaglia, who features in the book a reasonable amount, so I guess he’s real to that extent. Been a few years since I looked. Should have checked first. Doh 😣. His name was apparently Jerome (Jerry) Max Pasley. He talks quite a bit about Bonanno stuff in Arizona, so could be interesting, just treat with caution. The video with his name and paperwork is here: ua-cam.com/video/eY0iINDYv_s/v-deo.html
And there’s a short video of Attwood talking about Two Tonys here shortly before publication of his book: ua-cam.com/video/hls3fBCTans/v-deo.html
@HENRY X81 who said I “believe Sammy”? I agree that Sammy slants his stories to make himself look good, so I definitely don’t believe everything he says point blank. Neither do I discount everything he says point blank. That would be poor practice when examining a biased source. The fact is, it is verified that Sammy was underboss of the Gambinos, and in this context, it is verified that he ran a large ecstasy ring in Arizona and the same time Shaun did. So he is a very valuable source. That doesn’t mean believe him uncritically. Treat what he says with caution, definitely. Take what he says into account, and weigh it against the other evidence. I would say overall 90% of what Sammy says is true, with 10% spin and bullshit to make himself look like the man. I think the earlier Sammy said something, the more reliable it is; the more recent, the less reliable. This stuff isn’t just Sammy though. I would say the great majority of gangsters who go on to write books and the like lie and spin to make themselves look good. Joe Bonanno, Jimmy Fratianno, Nick Gentile - all those guys. Never believe any of them uncritically. Always weigh the different pieces of evidence against each other. Which I am doing here, noting that Sammy and Shaun’s statements conflict somewhat. We shouldn’t believe either Sammy or Shaun uncritically.
The bombing thing had nothing to do with the mafia. It was a renegade FBI officer who was busted for hiring guys to plant bombs in Bonannos home and maybe another site in Tucson. I don't think there were any bombings.in NY war
You could make a correlation between what The Arizona Faction and the Montreal Faction did, neither was recognized as a family but they continued to make new members and have a formal administration like they were a family
I always found it interesting 🤔 on how John Morales had that Surname...I mean I've seen Spanish Last names be held by People of Latino Descent.and also Italian/Sicilian ....such as Paul Castallano....Mike Miranda...a guy outta New Jersey with the Surname Clemente ...also D'Aquila....Lomeli another Last name and known there's Guys with names such as DeSantis and a few other ones that have more of a Greek sounding to em but Morales....is Str8 up Spanish if not PR🇵🇷 cuz Mexicans weren't off that way yet in the Big Apple 🍎 so was always curious about that....cuz this back almost 60 years ago....what 58/59 years ago....do You guys have a lil more info on John Morales.
Andrew Campos of The Gambino's is another one outta the Bronx....friend of Sean P.Diddy Combs if I'm not mistaken🎯🎯🎯🎯
Thank You FELLAS and Excellent Spiel/Interaction her on this one🤜💥🤛💯
Some of these surnames (eg, Clemente, Miranda), are just because of the similarities between Spanish and Italian, so there are words and surnames that are the same. Campo is another example (originally it isn’t spelled with an S, but Andy Campos’ family changed the spelling after immigrating to the US). But Sicily as well as Naples was also directly ruled by Spanish (well, first by Aragon and then the unified Kingdom of Spain) for centuries and thus you have Spanish surnames like Morales that wound up there. Funny that Bonanno is itself an Italian-derived surname in PR, though there is no connection to Joe Bonanno, as the Bonanno name in PR came from a Neapolitan who settled there in the 1700s.
There's definitely been a lot of talk over the years of Carlo Gambino getting Gallo members to flip sides over to him.
whats Spadaro’s first name?
What happened guys? No more new content? Such a shame..
Soon. New episode up in a few days. We have two other episodes that need editing and will be recording another episode this week and the next two weeks. Sorry, real life came up.
Off-topic question for Angelo. Where (geographically) and, especially, When (time-wise/era) was your background photo captured (featuring the bakery and cinema marquee?) Is that NYC? Thank you.
Yeah, Williamsburg circa 1960's, I chose it because that neighborhood has traditionally been the Bonanno stronghold and that's the group/time we were discussing. I will try and choose a bg that relates to what we discuss.
@@themobarcheologists Loving your new background game Angelo! I particularly like the early 20th Century tenements last episode
@@themobarcheologists Ciao Angelo, what part of Italy is your family from? Arrivederci paesano!
Mr Richie Blondet, NYC/Salsa historian extraordinaire! Thanks for commenting brother!
@Oneleven1 Anton? Is that you?! Holy shit, I had no idea you and "Chicago Tony" were one and the same! I didn't know you were into this subject matter. This was actually my first passion (before going to the dark side, aka "Latin Music New York.") Hope all is well brother. 🙏🏼
Youse gentlemen should be charging tuition
I went to school w/a Licavoli in Tucson
Who did Sammy talk to In Arizona
Bonanno knew to watch himself in the Fulton Fish Market and not to fuck with Lanza or he would have become part of the sidewalk. He knew not to fuck around in there.
🤦🏿♂️😂
@elx2482 who f are you? You know sh!t about any of this, soyboy.
Yeah I believe the stories about Bill bonannos arrogance but I've seen him in several interviews and he does come off as a fairly intelligent, charismatic person. Certainly doesn't mean he was a nice person to deal with all the time when cameras aren't rolling. My aunt and uncle knew him in his later life. At the time my uncle was a dean at a fairly prominent university and he knew Bill through fundraising efforts.for the school.
Benny Lombardo had something to do with Hoe Bonanno disappearing.
Can we get some North jersey love great show
It wouldn't surprise me if the captains elected bill while simultaneously being pissed off about it. They probably understood that Joe would know who voted for who and would treat them differently if they went against it. Much like when Paul was murdered and every captain in the Gambino family voted for John gotti to be the boss. There is no way all twenty something captains were cool with it. Guys like tommy gambino and jimmy brown, who were super close With Paul and knew damn well John just killed him. But they weren't going to be the guy at that table voted no. It would have been political suicide.
Hey is that bottom right guy having a stroke?????? He didn’t move the entire time…..
Zoom update messed up the video
Patty DeFilippo was made in 76
They say the West Side is the ivy league of the mob but you guys are definately the Ivy League of Mobology. WOW!!!! I've been into the Mafia since I was a little kid. I remember seeing Carl's funeral on t.v. in 1976 and when they said he was "Boss of all Bosses" of the Mafia I remember my father saying something like there was no one man at the top. That it was a media made title. Then when I asked what the Mafia is he responded with something about a fairy tale invented by W.A.S.P.'s because they hated Italians and " theres no such thing as the mafia". I had no idea what he meant by the term "wasp" and at least for a few years I actually believed he meant the flying/stinging kind. I was also curious why he had such a strong opinion about the whole "boss of bosses" thing if the thing the guy was supposed to be boss of didn't exist. Of course it had to be a fairy tale if it was created by a bug's. Even at eight years old I wasn't going to believe that one. I'm pretty sure I had debunked the whole Santa Clause scam by then so I wasn't going to fall for some b.s. about prejudice, venomous insects collaborating with the media (what's a media--another new word to me at the time) to keep our people down. Just didn't make sense to me. Not just my dad's very confusing answers but why this thing got him so worked up. After all......its not real, right?? Besides, how can anyone....or anything ....hate Italians? We gave the world PIZZA. Everybody loves pizza!!!! I did learn however that my very Italian and very proud father did not like the "M" word and I was pretty much banned from using it around him at least until I was a little older (and less naive and a little more educated). Of course that moment was the beginning of my fascination with it. My dads attempt to dissuade my interest from the topic failed. It solidified it. Of course I've read all the books, seen all the movies and have watched and listened to everything UA-cam has to offer and without a doubt.....you guys are hands down, by a wide margin, simply the best. Nobody comes close. Your show is so refreshing. There are some other good podcasts and doc.'s out there but 90 plus percent of it is somebody (re-)regurgitating the same old stories about the same old characters for the way to many times to count. And so many of them can't even get the basics right. It's a never ending Mob 101 or Intro to the Mafia. Like opening a 1,000 page book but not getting past page five. You guys definitely are like archeologist. You find the right spots to dig-and you dig deep. And as you go you carefully peice things together as you uncover them. You offer educated reasoning and different points of veiws and possibilities of different scenarios and historical events without forcing your opinion upon the viewer. All of your analytical assessments are based on your expertise of the individual, of the borgata, of the geographical region your subject is from and of your extensive knowledge of Sicilian, Calabrese and Napolitano culture in general. You present it in a manor where you explain or offer different possibilities and explanations to events based on what you know to be true. Like family ties, clannish values and how different regions just a few miles apart can alter and shape the beliefs, values, bonds and loyalties these people held. While so much of the details can only be speculated about you guys provide an integral foundation for the direction of such speculation. Your reasoning and assessments and in some cases conclussions are therefore logical. We can never know with 100% accuracy all the minute details. The hows? The why's? The who's? You can't possibly have all the answers but you give so much detailed background on the culture, the borgata, the individual and their familial and geographical ties that goes way, way beyond your closest piers in this genre.
You are the Apex predators at the top of your food chain. Thank you for your efforts and the professional, ethical and responsible manner in which you deliver historical journalism.
P.s. sorry I wrote so much but I just can't say enough about how great your work is.
Keep on Diggin'
Don't believe what's in that book.
Great stuff
House of bonanno had no seat.