Bonnano question

[Jack]

What years were they off the Commission? Was it the entire time between the sixties and the nineties or was it just briefly during the Bannana War and then again after Donnie Brasco?

[thekiduknow]

I'm blanking on if Massino testified about it.

Bonanno was removed from the Commission and as boss in September 1964. DiGregorio, despite having the backing of the Commission, and Magaddino in particular, doesn't seem to have been formally on the Commission during his tenure as boss. Paul Sciacca was reported by a few different informants from different families to have been placed on the Commission when he became boss in late 1968. However his tenure was also brief. I don't believe I've seen Natale Evola mentioned as being a Commission member.

After the three captains murder, Pistone said that Sonny Black said something to the effect of "This is the first time in ten years the family will run itself". If literal, it would mean that the Bonanno's were removed from the Commission sometime in 1971, when Evola was boss. It also could be it was more of a general statement that the Commission oversaw the Bonannos while Rastelli was in prison in the mid 70s, but that's just a guess.

Is there anything out there about Rastelli being a Commission member? I know Salerno talked about it on a wire, but that was in 84. I wonder if he got on when he was made boss in 74.

[B.]

Carmine Galante supposedly attended the Commission meeting where they mediated the DiBella-Persico vs. Yacovelli-Abbatemarco conflict in 1976.

[thekiduknow]

That would seem to imply that Rastelli was a Commission member, and that Galante was acting for him at least initially.

[Ryan98366]

Sonny Black was made in 1976. His knowledge of commission and family structure would be sketchy at best. He probably said 10 years and in reality it was just a long time.

[thekiduknow]

I agree. I still think it’s interesting he was under an impression that the family wasn’t running itself.

Rastelli being imprisoned for a long period could explain it. Perhaps the Commission had some input on the Bonannos during that time, but that’s just a guess.

[B.]

The info about the Colombo dispute may have come from Colombo member Lenny Dello. Whoever the CI was, he filled the FBI in on a lot of Colombo Family intrigues from that period including the leadership conflict.

I was always under the impression that once the Bonannos lost their seat in 1964 they never got it back but thinking about it now I don't know. I was surprised when I first saw the reference to Galante attending the Commission meeting. Whether the Bonannos had a seat or they simply included the acting boss of the Bonannos because it concerned all of NYC isn't clear to me.

[JeremyTheJew]

Smh they have galante in the commission one meeting…:
Then the next meeting is over if he should get killed n obviously does

Did he blow up Costello gravesite ?

I wonder if galante voted any certain way st the first meeting n that’s why the snake voted not to kill him

[JoelTurner]

Did he blow up Costello gravesite ?

The mausoleum was bombed literally the day after Galante was released. There's no real proof he was behind it, but it would be one hell of a coincidence if he wasn't

[CabriniGreen]

That would seem to imply that Rastelli was a Commission member, and that Galante was acting for him at least initially.

You really think Galante did anything on Rastellis behalf? This is a real question here.

I think they just couldn't keep Galante out of the loop. He was too powerful.

[CabriniGreen]

I thought Fat Tony was on tape saying Rastelli could be boss. But not on the Commision, and referenced his " crew of 80 guys moving junk" as a big reason why? No?

[B.]

I thought Fat Tony was on tape saying Rastelli could be boss. But not on the Commision, and referenced his " crew of 80 guys moving junk" as a big reason why? No?

Here are two quotes from Tony Salerno during separate conversations on the Palma Boys tapes:

"Tony Ducks told Rusty, he said, 'Listen,' he said, 'take care of your Family first. Straighten out your Family and when you straighten them out, then we talk about the Commission.'"

"... this guy wants to be the boss. He can be the boss as far as I'm concerned...but he cannot be on the Commission. One vote is enough to throw it out. Because, the Commission thing, it's supposed to be such a sacred thing."

[B.]

Those tapes also indicate to me the Commission didn't recognize an official Bonanno boss for a period. They had to "re-ratify" Rastelli after the Family conflict(s).

Something similar played out after the Colombo war in the 1990s, where Allie Persico met with leaders of other Families requesting that they again recognize Carmine as official boss, indicating the other Families stopped recognizing him during the war.

Historically the Commission refused to recognized a newly elected boss during times of conflict (this happened to Nick Delmore, John LaRocca, and Joe Magliocco), but it sounds like they may have stopped recognizing an existing official boss during conflict too. Not positive I'm interpreting it right but I've seen more than one reference to this type of situation.

[Ryan98366]

I thought Fat Tony was on tape saying Rastelli could be boss. But not on the Commision, and referenced his " crew of 80 guys moving junk" as a big reason why? No?

I though the quote from Fat Tony was more or less “they are all junk men.” Referring to the Bonanno Family.

[thekiduknow]

That would seem to imply that Rastelli was a Commission member, and that Galante was acting for him at least initially.

You really think Galante did anything on Rastellis behalf? This is a real question here.

I think they just couldn't keep Galante out of the loop. He was too powerful.

That could be the case too. He could have just stated he was representing the Bonannos, and the other families gone along with it since Rastelli was in prison.