by B. » Wed Oct 14, 2015 8:00 pm
I have very ambivalent, sometime conflicting thoughts on Brasco. Absolutely great book for both information and entertainment, and I think it was that book that really kickstarted my interest in the Bonannos more than any other NY family. A lot of what he said in that book was later confirmed but I also think some of it is wrong, both because he got slanted information, misinterpreted things, and just did some guesswork. I think it's an accurate viewpoint of what an associate sees of the organization from the outside, though -- they absorb a lot of information, but can't get everything right, which is why even made members can't be trusted 100% when they believe they're telling the truth. Everyone gets things a little bit twisted, no matter who they are. When you throw in the fact that some people deliberately lie, that fucks everything up way more.
A lot of his conversations with Lefty for example show that Lefty tried to communicate some of the details of Cosa Nostra's structure and rules in an indirect way, which I think is common between members and associates. It's a way for members to gossip and pass on info to their buddies without officially breaking the rules. He found other ways of saying things that didn't always say the absolute truth, but more or less gave Pistone the idea. But like the game of telephone, I think Pistone misinterpreted some things. With the whole "Galante as boss" thing, you have to figure that Ruggiero was a soldier in Mike Sabella's crew, which was a key part of the faction that supported Galante as boss. Galante was the guy who made Ruggiero and in his world, Galante was at the top of the chain. Maybe he did know that Rastelli was the official boss and just didn't see the point in explaining it to Pistone since it didn't matter. Or maybe he did think Galante was the boss because he followed whatever Sabella told him and didn't hear much street gossip specifically about "who is in charge".
I've never actually read Pistone's follow-up books, but I'm of the opinion that he greatly enjoyed being a wiseguy and that he didn't just cash in on the whole "sunglasses" act for money, but also so that he could keep the Brasco character going. I think other agents who had been in his position would have been happy to retire and go about their lives out of the spotlight, but he found ways to put himself into "mafia pop culture" again and again... even though the whole "Donnie Brasco" thing from beginning to end caused his family immense distress/grief! I don't have anything to back this up, but reading between the lines I do think he was an FBI agent who went a bit rogue which was becoming a major issue for his supervisors. Naturally they aren't going to say that, as in the end it was great publicity for them and a major insult to Cosa Nostra.
I think it's ridiculous when Pistone has commented on Montreal, especially his more recent testimony up there. What I would love to hear him talk more about is how in the original book he says a member from Montreal came down to New York to support Tony Mirra in his heroin beef against Brasco. How and why would a Montreal member come down to support an unpopular, dangerous guy like Mirra in a beef with an associate in another crew? Who was that member? The only thing I can figure, if it's true, is that Mirra's capo Cesare Bonventre recruited a friend from Montreal, as he was friends with the crew up there. Still, it's a very dangerous game and regardless of the Montreal situation, I do believe that Brasco was causing a lot of controversy in the family due to his status with Napolitano and his ability to earn an carry himself well. I 100% believe that Napolitano wanted to make Brasco, possibly with the longterm goal of putting him in charge of the family's Florida operations. That's just my own theory, nothing more.
I have very ambivalent, sometime conflicting thoughts on Brasco. Absolutely great book for both information and entertainment, and I think it was that book that really kickstarted my interest in the Bonannos more than any other NY family. A lot of what he said in that book was later confirmed but I also think some of it is wrong, both because he got slanted information, misinterpreted things, and just did some guesswork. I think it's an accurate viewpoint of what an associate sees of the organization from the outside, though -- they absorb a lot of information, but can't get everything right, which is why even made members can't be trusted 100% when they believe they're telling the truth. Everyone gets things a little bit twisted, no matter who they are. When you throw in the fact that some people deliberately lie, that fucks everything up way more.
A lot of his conversations with Lefty for example show that Lefty tried to communicate some of the details of Cosa Nostra's structure and rules in an indirect way, which I think is common between members and associates. It's a way for members to gossip and pass on info to their buddies without officially breaking the rules. He found other ways of saying things that didn't always say the absolute truth, but more or less gave Pistone the idea. But like the game of telephone, I think Pistone misinterpreted some things. With the whole "Galante as boss" thing, you have to figure that Ruggiero was a soldier in Mike Sabella's crew, which was a key part of the faction that supported Galante as boss. Galante was the guy who made Ruggiero and in his world, Galante was at the top of the chain. Maybe he did know that Rastelli was the official boss and just didn't see the point in explaining it to Pistone since it didn't matter. Or maybe he did think Galante was the boss because he followed whatever Sabella told him and didn't hear much street gossip specifically about "who is in charge".
I've never actually read Pistone's follow-up books, but I'm of the opinion that he greatly enjoyed being a wiseguy and that he didn't just cash in on the whole "sunglasses" act for money, but also so that he could keep the Brasco character going. I think other agents who had been in his position would have been happy to retire and go about their lives out of the spotlight, but he found ways to put himself into "mafia pop culture" again and again... even though the whole "Donnie Brasco" thing from beginning to end caused his family immense distress/grief! I don't have anything to back this up, but reading between the lines I do think he was an FBI agent who went a bit rogue which was becoming a major issue for his supervisors. Naturally they aren't going to say that, as in the end it was great publicity for them and a major insult to Cosa Nostra.
I think it's ridiculous when Pistone has commented on Montreal, especially his more recent testimony up there. What I would love to hear him talk more about is how in the original book he says a member from Montreal came down to New York to support Tony Mirra in his heroin beef against Brasco. How and why would a Montreal member come down to support an unpopular, dangerous guy like Mirra in a beef with an associate in another crew? Who was that member? The only thing I can figure, if it's true, is that Mirra's capo Cesare Bonventre recruited a friend from Montreal, as he was friends with the crew up there. Still, it's a very dangerous game and regardless of the Montreal situation, I do believe that Brasco was causing a lot of controversy in the family due to his status with Napolitano and his ability to earn an carry himself well. I 100% believe that Napolitano wanted to make Brasco, possibly with the longterm goal of putting him in charge of the family's Florida operations. That's just my own theory, nothing more.