Michael Mancuso on the daily news.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Didn't Mancuso jump directly from soldier to acting?

Quite unusual, soldier to boss.

[JohnnyS]

I remember saying he wouldn't last long when he was released. These days a boss meeting with everybody is not smart.

[OcSleeper]

Hopefully more comes out about the period right after he went to prison. Cicale said Mancuso was making a powergrab when he was on the street. It's come out Santora and Badalamenti were Mancuso loyalists and it looks like Sal Montagna played a big role helping secure Mancuso's position. That's significant given we now know Montagna wouldn't hesitate to assert his own influence through violence.

I'll see if I can find it but wasn't there an article that came out after Montagna's murder in 2009, Santora and Rabito were pushing for Asaro to take over and the Sicilians supported Badalamenti?

[Uforeality]

I’ve always wanted to know why Mancuso wasn’t permanently shelved for murdering his wife? Is it because the Bonannos were such a mess in the 80s and 90s that they couldn’t afford to lose him? Not only did he not get shelved but he eventually became boss of the freaking family. Always been curious about this.

I thought the exact same thing about Mancuso killing his wife. How in the world did he not get clipped because of that?

[Pogo The Clown]

Wasn't badalamenti the consigliere around 2009-2011? You would have to imagine he would still be either on the admin or on a committee of senior captains.

He was Acting Consigliere from 2007-2010 before becoming Acting Boss.

Didn't Mancuso jump directly from soldier to acting?

Quite unusual, soldier to boss.

He served as an Acting Capo from 2003-2004 and then Acting UnderBoss for Basciano in 2004.


Pogo

[Little_Al1991]

Mancuso must have some serious respect if the Bonannos made him boss while he was in prison.

If someone wants the top spot in this day and age, you’d almost be a fool to interject. It left the target on his back and the feds hard on for him persists. Think someone else really wants that role? But I do agree he probably also does have a decent amount of respect. Did he return to the Bronx after his halfway house?

It still means something to be the boss today.Michael DeSantis showed that he didn’t care about how big that target was after he almost started a bloodbath in the Bronx in 2017 over the boss position

[Ivan]

I don't fully know what to make of him. He's still a mystery but outsiders really miscalculated him from 2006 until his murder. Wish some of those old Real Deal posts were still around, people had strong opinions that turned out to be completely wrong.

I think I remember this, posts like "the Bonanno family is really scraping the bottom of the barrel by having some random ironworker as boss, surely this means the end of La Cosa Nostra (Italian for 'this thing of ours')."

[AntComello]

I think there way more guys who would love to be boss then some of u make it out to be. These guys are career criminals and being a boss of a family is about as far up the latter as you can get.

[AntComello]

The smart ones who already make shit loads of money prob want nothing to do with it. But we all know there are plenty of guys with half a brain and big balls who are in the mob.

[B.]

I think I remember this, posts like "the Bonanno family is really scraping the bottom of the barrel by having some random ironworker as boss, surely this means the end of La Cosa Nostra (Italian for 'this thing of ours')."

Yep, and many people were convinced Basciano was still the boss and Montagna was holding onto the seat for him. They were also adamant Montagna would be a non-factor in Montreal who we'd never hear from again.

I don't blame people for not knowing anything about him, nobody did, but as is typical with this subject people form hardline opinions for no reason and double down on it.

I'll see if I can find it but wasn't there an article that came out after Montagna's murder in 2009, Santora and Rabito were pushing for Asaro to take over and the Sicilians supported Badalamenti?

I remember Capeci said Asaro had support from the Sicilian faction and Grimaldi was close to that group as well. At that point nobody knew about the younger Sicilians being made into the Family and it was before Valenti flipped and talked about how Asaro had been very close to guys like Cesare Bonventre and Baldo Amato in the 1980s.

--

As for Mancuso killing his wife, Rastelli is believed to have ordered his wife's murder as well. She was an FBI informant and shows up in files talking about him and his close associates.

[CabriniGreen]

Wasn't badalamenti the consigliere around 2009-2011? You would have to imagine he would still be either on the admin or on a committee of senior captains.

He was Acting Consigliere from 2007-2010 before becoming Acting Boss.

Didn't Mancuso jump directly from soldier to acting?

Quite unusual, soldier to boss.

He served as an Acting Capo from 2003-2004 and then Acting UnderBoss for Basciano in 2004.


Pogo

Was Mancuso acting for Bacianos crew? Or was that Cicale?

[OcSleeper]

I remember Capeci said Asaro had support from the Sicilian faction and Grimaldi was close to that group as well. At that point nobody knew about the younger Sicilians being made into the Family and it was before Valenti flipped and talked about how Asaro had been very close to guys like Cesare Bonventre and Baldo Amato in the 1980s.

I forgot about searching for the article but here's one that mentioned Santora and Rabito's support for Asaro and the Sicilians for Badalamenti. It also mentions Grimaldi is viewed as an advisor for the Sicilian faction.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mob-murd ... o_b_417688


@Cabrini Cicale was acting for Basciano, Mancuso was acting for DeFilippo.

[B.]

Thanks OC -- that's the one I was thinking of.

Asaro, a longtime Queens-based gangster is a certified old-school gangster who speaks Italian fluently and is well-respected by the Zips, sources say.

He often uses Sicilian phrases and idioms to explain his reasons for his actions. One of his favorites is "Cu mangia sulu, s'affuca sulu." ("He who eats alone, chokes alone.") In addition to having a nice ring to it, the saying drives home the key Mafia lessons of loyalty and paying tribute to your bosses, whose help you will probably need sooner than later.

Gang Land's sources say Asaro, who for many years has had dealings as both a mob supervisor and cohort of Sicilian wiseguys, may win Grimaldi's support. Another major player with key Sicilian backing is Vincent (Vinny TV) Badalamenti, whose Christmas Party was raided by DEA agents last month.

Sounds like Capeci was saying Asaro and Badalamenti weren't competitors but both candidates being supported by the Sicilians.

Funny he says Asaro's saying drives home the point about paying tribute... it was Asaro who vehemently protested when Massino imposed a monthly tax for the war chest as he felt members shouldn't have to pay to be members.

[TommyGambino]

What members are part of the Sicilian faction?

[B.]

Tommy, here's a post from last year:

Here are the living members known to be involved with the Bonanno Sicilian faction along with the rank they held. Most of them have roots in the Middle Village area, either having lived or hung out there, and now some of them live around Howard Beach.

The vast majority of the names below have heritage in Trapani province, particularly early Bonanno hot spots like Castellammare del Golfo / Alcamo and Santa Ninfa / Partanna. The Pipitones' ties to Torretta open the imagination up given the powerful members from Torretta in the Gambino family.

--

Giovanni Corallo
Anthony Fasitta (captain)
Vincenzo Masi (acting captain)
Antonino Mistretta
Natale Mule (acting captain)
Antonio Navarra
Filippo Navarra
Anthony Pipitone (captain)
Vito Pipitone
Pasquale Romania
Joseph Spatola
Damiano Zummo (acting captain)
- Giuseppe Bosco (possible / assisted admin)

"Joe" TNU (described as a "boss" / possibly Cammarano Jr.)
Vito Grimaldi (former captain)
Joseph Grimaldi (former captain)
Vincent Asaro (former captain + ruling panel)
- Jerome Asaro (possible / captain)

Anthony "Ace" Aiello (imprisoned)
Baldassare Amato (imprisoned)
Salvatore Catalano (former acting boss / living in Sicily)

Salvatore Montagna (former acting boss / murdered 2011)

--

This list doesn't include other members of Sicilian or Trapani heritage, only those that can be linked to this faction. It's possible some of the other members with this heritage are aligned with them, too, just as the Asaros and Grimaldis were.

Wouldn't be surprising if there are more names among this faction who have been inducted in the last 15 years. A lot of these guys are relatively young and otherwise unknown.

Note: "Joe" was Nino Mistretta's superior who had to approve/direct him to contact CDG boss Francesco Domingo. The timeline could mean this was Joe Cammarano or another possibility is Joe Bosco. Bosco might be related to the Boscos of the CDG Family but I haven't confirmed and we know he was a high-ranking figure for a time.

There are also some other "possibles", some of which might be made or otherwise affiliated with Sicilian Families (Turricano, Gucciardi) but they are close to the Bonannos. There's also Franco Montagna who is still a mystery as to how involved he is with mafia activity.