Frank LaBruzzo possible CI.

[B.]

Do they ever say why DiGregorio was being called to the meeting?

I've seen info that he proposed Bill Bonanno for consigliere and I've also seen the opposite, that he was in trouble for complaining about Bill's promotion. Doesn't make sense he'd complain if he was the one who put Bill's name up for election.

Never really sorted out what caused DiGregorio's initial problem with JB, only that he was shelved and went to Magaddino for help. He was then put under Commission protection and we know the rest from there.

[thekiduknow]

According to Joe, he just wanted to meet with his "top guys" after being deported from Montreal, but couldn't contact DiGregorio. He doesn't mention a specific meeting DiGregorio missed.

Bill says that the meeting was to go over Bill and Morale's promotions, the Gambino/Luchese alliance, and Bonanno's plans for retirement.

Joe claims that Gaspar nominated Bill, but secretly wanted the position himself. He probably thought it would look good nominating Bill, but thought it would go to him or somebody else?

I don't think Bill says who elected him, just that he asked Caruso to put DiGregorio's name to be put up as well.

I can see DiGregorio nominating Bill thinking that's what Bonanno wanted. I feel that Joe might be right in that Gaspar probably complained to Magaddino about Bill's election/his shelving, who then turned into a huge issue, telling DiGregorio not to go.

It kind makes sense why the Bonanno membership would be skeptical of the other stories about Bonanno, if the final straw was DiGregorio being shelved.

[motorfab]

Great work my friend

[B.]

Thanks. Always been confused about the reason DiGregorio fell out of favor.

-

These seem to be the big reasons the Commission cited for deposing Bonanno:

- Plot to take LA family from Frank Desimone in 1961.

- Inducting Bonanno members on the west coast and Canada after the books closed in 1957. Mentioned on the DeCavalcante and Magaddino tapes.

- Accused of conspiring with Joe Magliocco to kill Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese in 1963.

- Shelving and mistreating Gaspare DiGregorio in 1964, who went to Magaddino and the Commission for protection/intervention.

- Refusing to report to the Commission to discuss the problems going on in his family, late 1964.

Basically the mafia's own equivalent of a RICO case. He's confirmed guilty of many of these and there's good reason to believe he was guilty of all of them.

Any other reasons given?

[Antiliar]

Don't forget that in 1965 writer Gay Talese interviewed Bill Bonanno and other Bonanno Family members. He even traveled to CDG. Bill gave him a lot of info, and after the book was released in 1971, his father refused to talk to him. Obviously they made up, but Bill gave out a lot of information to Talese. Maybe there's clues about the other informants in the book worth looking at.

[B.]

Been years since I've read that one. Should revisit it.

There were informants in Arizona reporting just about everything Joe Bonanno was doing and saying in the 1970s, curious who they might have been. They told the FBI how he was still trying to get "reinstated" and wanted to take over the Bay Area families through at least the mid-1970s.

[thekiduknow]

There were at least two informants in Arizona in the 1960s, PX 777 and PX 772. They both identified members, but PX 777 was more aware of what was happening in NY during the split. In the October 1967, the NY members he's listed as identifying are John Bonventre and Joseph Spadaro. So he was a NY member before going to Arizona. I don't know much about the Arizona crew, so I wonder how many were transplants and how many, if any, were local?

Just a thought, Bonventre was reported to be involved in the Italian-American Master Bakers association, along with Tucson transplant Peter Sciortino. Sciortino was interviewed about it in 1958 and admitted to known Bonventre, but denied Bonventre was involved. Could be nothing, but just a little connection I made just now.

I wonder why they didn't list Valachi as a source for Spadaro though? Could just be an error. The other source for Spadaro is Bill.

It doesn't surprise me that Arizona members were talking though. Both informants said that Bonanno didn't offer any leadership in the 1960s, only appearing for family or his own financial interests. In the early 1970s, an informant said that with Bonanno in Arizona full time, he was alienating many members with his increasing demands and egotistical attitude.

[thekiduknow]

Just a thought, Bonventre was reported to be involved in the Italian-American Master Bakers association, along with Tucson transplant Peter Sciortino. Sciortino was interviewed about it in 1958 and admitted to known Bonventre, but denied Bonventre was involved. Could be nothing, but just a little connection I made just now.

Never mind, found a Mary Ferrell document where they stress that Sciortino was uncooperative when agents tried to interview him in 64, so he probably wasn't the source for Bonventre, or at least wasn't the Arizona informant.

[B.]

Magaddino boasted that Joe Bonanno was only able to keep control of his family from Arizona since the early 1940s because of (surprise) Magaddino's influence. Maybe some truth to it but no question Bonanno had loyalists running things for him.

Antonino Cacioppo was an Arizona guy I know little about but a Martin Bonventre in NYC married a Cacioppo. Not sure it's the same Dr. Martin Bonventre (Pietro's son) who is believed to be a Bonanno member but there were at least a couple younger Martin Bonventres from the clan. I think the Cacioppos came from Santa Margherita di Belice, same town as Nino Adamo who was close to John Bonventre. There were Adamos from Vita (hometown of Michael Adamo) on the same ship as the Cacioppos when they came to the US, makes me wonder if the Adamos from Vita and Santa Margherita have a connection as the towns aren't too far away despite being in different provinces.

If Nino Cacioppo was an extended relative of the Bonannos it might explain him being in Arizona with the Bonanno faction. Dr. Martin Bonventre was close to Joe Spadaro, too. Makes me wonder if Nino Cacioppo was one of the FBI sources you're talking about given the connections.

Going back to Frank LaBruzzo, one of the members who came up on his office bug was Gaspare Mione, who LaBruzzo said had been shelved and then reinstated. Natale Evola was blood related to the Miones from CDG but I couldn't find a direct relation to Bonanno member Gaspare Mione, also from CDG. It's known that Mione married Lucchese member Frank Callace's sister (from Corleone), but Gaspare Mione's older brother was also married to another Callace sister earlier which is interesting. Never seen the brother mentioned anywhere.

[B.]

^ Meant to add, it's a funny coincidence Natale Evola was mistaken for a Lucchese member early on via his garment industry activities and he's related to the Mione name, which produced Castellammarese brothers who married sisters of a prominent Lucchese member. You don't see many (or any other?) Bonanno->Lucchese or Castellammarese->Corleonese marriages so worth speculating that there may have been more to Natale Evola's close association with the Lucchese family.

[jimmy_beans8]

Gravano said bonnanno reached out to him,,,,,,,,any opinions? Does the timeline even match? When did BB pass away?.....too lazy to Google it right now?

[B.]

It's def possible. Bill Bonanno wrote a book with Joe Pistone and made contact with various people so not hard to imagine he tried to network with the most infamous turncoat. That would have been such a fucked up project, Bill Bonanno and Sammy Gravano. I almost wish it happened haha.

[B.]

On the January 1965 Magaddino tape, Stefano accuses Joe Bonanno of socializing and talking too openly with "sbirri" but I don't know what substance there is to that accusation. He makes it sound like Bonanno drank with LE figures and said too much, not that Bonanno was actually cooperating, but Magaddino knew Joe Bonanno arguably as well as anyone could and this could indicate Magaddino felt Joe Bonanno found value in friendly relationships with LE.

Just looked at the transcript:

- The FBI believed Magaddino said Bonanno wasn't invited to Apalachin because they worried he was talking to "sbirri". Magaddino says he was told about this by a local sheriff who he was friendly with.

- He also apparently tells a story about Joe Bonanno and Buffalo member Joe Bongiorno (Magaddino nephew) going to California together where Bonanno swapped an appointment of some kind with Bongiorno which put Bongiorno under heat from LE. Paul Sciacca responded to this by saying Bonanno must have been an FBI informant.

- However... I think the FBI was mistaken. Their analysis of these confusing transcripts is understandably error-prone and even though the FBI said Magaddino was talking about Bonanno I think he was talking about cousin Peter Magaddino.

- The FBI makes a similar mistake earlier where they thought Stefano was saying he supported Joe Bonanno financially while he was in the army but we know this was Peter Magaddino, who did serve in the army while Bonanno did not. The FBI's confusion comes from Stefano calling both JB and Peter "my cousin" (both are first cousins) and his blatant contempt for both men.

- That doesn't explain the Apalachin comment though. Joe Bonanno himself claimed he didn't attend Apalachin and there was controversy, so that would fit the FBI's interpretation that it was Bonanno who was barred from Apalachin for being too close to LE. Hard to believe the Commission would let Bonanno remain boss for 7 more years if that's the case.

I believe the main accusation Magaddino was making was against Peter Magaddino but it was discussed in context with Joe Bonanno given Peter sided with Bonanno.

So now the question is if Peter Magaddino was yet another Bonanno loyalist feeding info to LE.

EDIT: Later Magaddino says he heard Joe Notaro was a "sbirro" and explicitly calls Joe Bonanno one as well. He is basically calling all of them rats.

[thekiduknow]

Great connections B. I wonder if Bonanno moved members out to Arizona, or if they went willingly? Probably a discussion for another time, but I'm always impressed by the connections you make.

To your point about Bonanno and the feds, Bonanno was at the Palermo conference a month before Apalachin. So, if the Commission was suspicious about him that didn't seem to impact his participation. I can believe that Bonanno might have been chummy with the cops, but Magaddino often thought the worst of Bonanno for everything. You pointed this out recently that Magaddino implied Bonanno and Notaro had something to do with Mike Angelina's death, when Sciacca told him Mike had called him right before he killed himself.

Are there other sources regarding Bonanno being friendly with LE? I've seen that before but not sure if it comes solely from Magaddino.

[davidf1989]

Been years since I've read that one. Should revisit it.

There were informants in Arizona reporting just about everything Joe Bonanno was doing and saying in the 1970s, curious who they might have been. They told the FBI how he was still trying to get "reinstated" and wanted to take over the Bay Area families through at least the mid-1970s.

Could one of the informants be Frank Bompensiero from San Diego as I think that he had a relationship with Bonnano by then.