Montreal Bonanno Family Faction

[Old Schooled]

Ive had a few people question me when ive called Niccolo & Vito Rizzuto Bonanno Family Wiseguys, saying that they were never blood inducted members, now for any well read person, its quite clear that Vito Rizzuto was a blood inducted Bonanno Family Soldier, since both the boss and underboss told the feds that Vito Rizzuto was a Bonanno Family Wiseguy, but ive seen several people question if Niccolo Rizzuto was as well, in my opinion based off of Sal Vitale's testimony of his trip to Montreal to offer Vito the position of capodecina (Where Vito allegedly turned the position down and told Vitale that it "Should go to my father", If Niccolo's not a Bonanno Family Member than how could he be a Bonanno Family Captain?) as well as Vincenzo Cotroni being caught on a wiretap in the 70's complaining of Niccolo's refusal to come in when called on the carpet, as well as saying "Im Capodecina I got the right to expel" which i took to mean that Vincenzo can shelf Niccolo if he wants, but thats just my interpretation of what he was heard saying. The totality of these statements lead me to the conclusion that Niccolo Rizzuto was also a blood inducted Bonanno Family Wiseguy, however belief is not fact...so im starting this thread to get some clear cut facts showing that Niccolo was or was not a Bonanno Family Wiseguy, as well as to identify as many other Recognized Montreal based Bonanno Family Wiseguys from that faction as possible. Its my understanding that the Montreal Faction had sent word seeking approval to induct new blood in either the late 90's or early 2000's, and were allegedly told no by the administration, so id be very interested to find out who was actually recognized in that faction as Bonanno Family Wiseguys, because its clear that they were inducting members but i dont think they were recognized as amico nostra by the Bonanno Family, so its always been a little confusing as to who in that crew was actually recognized by New York. Sal Vitale testified that when Joe Massino ordered George Sciascia murdered, Massino allegedly told Vitale to make sure to hide the fact that the order came from us from Vito Rizzuto, as "They got 19 guys up there, we dont want to start a war" suggesting that the faction had 19 recognized Bonanno Family Wiseguys, but its not clear if thats what they had at their . I have read that the Montreal Faction had around 20 guys before learning about Massino's comment about having 19 guys. After reading what ive found thus far on the subject, based on an old Montreal Faction Chart as well as speaking to some people who i consider to be knowledgeable on the subject, Ive developed a list of around 10 who were alleged to be some of the earlier members of the Montreal Faction, obviously starting with the Cotroni Brothers, Vincenzo, Giuseppe & Francesco (Ive seen some dispute that Frank was a Bonnano Family Wiseguy), also including Giuseppe Cocolicchio, Pietro Adamo, Nicola Colio, Niccola Di Iorio, Calogero Renda, Vincenzo Soccio, Romeo Bucci, Diadato Mastraccio and possibly a few other unknowns, later members who were allegedly inducted into the Montreal Faction were Luigi Greco, Frank Dasti, Paolo Violi, Giuseppe LoPresti, Alfonso Gagliano etc. Ive personally always taken issue with some people describing them as a "Mafia Family", but im a bit of a stickler for correct facts and names, so to call a Bonanno Family Crew a "Mafia Family" just never made sense to me, but i digress from the topic at hand. So any input, corrections or clarifications on this subject would be very much welcomed, thank you

[B.]

- The Bonanno Family originally inducted ten members in Montreal who reported to the Carmine Galante decina, which also included many members in NY and NJ.

- Joe Bonanno inducted up to 10 more in Montreal and Ontario without Commission approval. It's likely around this time that Vic Cotroni was made official capodecina of an autonomous Montreal Bonanno decina.

- They maintained around 20 members between the early 1960s and 1999, these members reporting to Gerlando Sciascia in NYC. Sciascia utilized an acting captain in Montreal.

- In addition to the Bonanno decina, there was a faction of Sicilian mafia members on record with the Bonanno Family. The Bonanno Family allowed transfers from the Sicilian mafia after a probationary period but it required an open slot, just like inductions. An FBI report in the 1980s states that the Sicilian mafia faction gained more independence, which makes sense given their allies took over the decina.

- There is no evidence I'm aware of indicating the Bonanno Montreal faction and/or the Sicilian mafiosi there were ever recognized as a Family. If members in Montreal saw themselves as a Family, it would be akin to the Gallos or Rochester in that they were not recognized by Cosa Nostra, unless of course evidence surfaces of that recognition.

- Some of the members / associates in Montreal sided with Salvatore Montagna, indicating they wished to retain their standing in the Bonanno Family or simply saw an alliance with Montagna as a path to power. There's an assumption that Montreal was all of one mind which it never has been. There are all kinds of relationships, connections, and different political interests and this has been reflected throughout the history of the Montreal decina.

[B.]

Also, Montreal is the cousin of Chicago in terms of having few inside sources and people having strong, weirdly emotional opinions about the formalities there.

[OcSleeper]

Motorfab put together a great list of the membership and possible members of Montreal throughout the decades last year.
viewtopic.php?p=197800#p197800

Also, Montreal is the cousin of Chicago in terms of having few inside sources and people having strong, weirdly emotional opinions about the formalities there.

That's for sure. I've seen people argue that they were never a Bonanno crew in the first place. The mythology around Montreal never stops giving.

[Old Schooled]

Correction: The part that gets cut off was meant to say, Its not clear if they had 19 guys at their height or at the time Massino was quoted as having said that in 1999

[Old Schooled]

Here's a Justice Department Document from January 1965 about the Montreal Faction. Luigi Greco It looks like was one of the earlier buttons in Montreal, not later as I had wrote, my mistake

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Screenshot_20220814-210624_Chrome.jpg

Screenshot_20220814-210628_Chrome.jpg

[B.]

Ed from Rat Trap believes the informant mentioned in the last doc is Bill Bonanno. The informant had recently returned from Montreal in late 1964 and reported to the FBI there were 20 members, a similar number to what Vitale reported after Sciascia's murder (20 reduced to 19 after Sciascia's death). Violi also referenced 20 Bonanno members and 20 Sicilian mafia members on the 1970s tapes.

Though the expansion from 10 members to 20 was illegitimate, it appears those members and that number were grandfathered in. We know from Vitale the Bonanno admin was unsure of the total number up there and actually expected 10, though.

You'll be interested in this thread too if you haven't seen it: https://theblackhand.club/forum/viewtop ... =29&t=7504

[thekiduknow]

Ed from Rat Trap believes the informant mentioned in the last doc is Bill Bonanno. The informant had recently returned from Montreal in late 1964 and reported to the FBI there were 20 members, a similar number to what Vitale reported after Sciascia's murder (20 reduced to 19 after Sciascia's death). Violi also referenced 20 Bonanno members and 20 Sicilian mafia members on the 1970s tapes.

That was actually a different informant that went up to Montreal in December 1964, NY 4498-C-TE. While Bill said more than he should to FBI agents before the split, in more of a wink and a nod kind of way, he didn't officially become an informant until a few weeks later in January 1965. Bill's informant code was NY 4857-C-TE.

Unfortunately, there isn't much else available on the first informant.

[thekiduknow]

Feel like this is a good time to bring this up. Michael Zaffarano was recorded, most likely on the Paolo Violi bug, talking to the Montreal leadership. He went up there to try and bring them back to the Bonannos, seems like they weren't in regular contact as he was attempting to set up a monthly meeting. There's a report from 1969 I think that states that Greco went to Joseph Zicarelli to try and break away from them, but Zicarelli denied it.

It reads like Sal Giglio was more or less shelved by this point, as Zaffarano told the Montreal guys to not discuss LCN matters with him.

It would be great if we could get the actual transcript, as it doesn't make any sense that Joe Bonanno would make Zaffarano a caporegime and an emissary to Montreal. My guess is Zaffarano may have said "Joe made me a caporegima", meaning Joe Diamond/Natale Evola, and the FBI assumed it was Joe Bonanno. They did something similar on the DeCavalcante tapes. Also Vito DeFilippo was on the West Coast/Vegas around this time, not to mentioned effectively shelved for supporting Bonanno, so I don't think he was involved with Montreal at this time.

[B.]

Yep, Montreal requested permission to break off in 1968 and Zicarelli denied it. Not that he could authorize them to form a Family anyway.

The above visit is when Nick Alfano, Nick Buttafuoco, and Zaffarano were sent by Natale Evola and taken around by Domenico Arcuri Sr. Motorfab posted some great photos of Calogero Renda and Arcuri greeting Alfano and Buttafuoco on that trip. It's clear that between 1968 and 1972 the relationship was weak, probably in part because of Cotroni's loyalty to Bonanno, so the idea that the Sicilian faction were the first ones who wanted to distance themselves from the Bonannos doesn't hold weight. The relationship seems to have gotten stronger for a time once the Sicilians gained more formal authority in the late 1970s and 80s but weakened again by the 1990s.

Something important to remember with all this stuff is the Rizzutos and Rendas associated with the Bonanno Family long before they were in Montreal. JD found that the elder Vito Rizzuto and Calogero Renda were affiliated with Nick Alfano in NYC during the 1930s before Rizzuto was murdered (by an Arcuri) and Renda returned to Sicily.

One of the Montreal books says Nick Rizzuto spent time in NYC as a protege of his Cattolicense paesan Nick Buttafuoco (Alfano decina member) before eventually settling in Canada, which would mean Nick Rizzuto was an NYC-based Bonanno associate before Canada who was involved with the same people his father was.

It's significant to me that men from Cattolica Eraclea were members of the Bonanno Family in both NYC and Canada. It's not as simple as Nick Rizzuto begrudgingly having to belong to the Bonanno Family simply because he was in Canada. His people were involved with the Bonanno Family for decades beforehand. We'd probably be reading about him as an obscure member of Nick Alfano's decina had he stayed in NYC.

There is also Manny Guaragna of the DeFilippo crew whose father was from Cattolica Eraclea. His father has never been ID'd as a mafia member or associate that I'm aware of but seems to have been a product of the same Bronx-area colony that Vito Rizzuto and Calogero Renda belonged to. It's an odd "coincidence" to me that Guaragna is yet another Cattolicense who ended up with the Bonannos regardless of geographic location, especially given his superiors the DeFilippos had such an intimate history with Canada and Montreal.

[B.]

Vito Rizzuto and Calogero Renda's 1924 immigration manifest:



- They were accompanied by a Sciortino and Marino from Siculiana heading to Los Angeles -- it says Marino's wife's mother was Caruana. The Rizzutos would have marital ties to Sciortinos in Canada, though it's a common name in coastal AG.

- Being raised in the Seattle area myself, it's funny this Campisi from Cattolica Eraclea was going there. It's not far from Vancouver BC though where Nick Gentile's relatives from Siculiana lived by the 1930s, later joined by his mafioso nephew Giuseppe Gentile who became Paolo Violi's compare via baptism, so there is a definite Bonanno Montreal -> Vancouver tie. Joe Gentile was regarded as the mafia leader of BC though what this meant formally is anyone's guess. I'd wager he was a Siculiana member but why did he become compari with the Calabrian Bonanno leader Violi?

- Rizzuto and Renda were heading to a Pietro Marino of New Orleans, listed as Rizzuto's cousin and Renda's uncle. Nicola Gentile's Boston friend Gaetano Marino may have been from that part of Agrigento. The Francesco Giula/Ciulla from Siculiana who was on the ship with Rizzuto and Renda was heading to a "Sam Pira" in LA -- his true name was probably Piro and one of the candidates I found for Gentile's friend Gaetano Marino was married to a Piro from Siculiana who lived in New Orleans.

- Gentile went to Quebec circa WWI, where colonies from Siculiana and Ribera already existed. His traveling companion was Nino Cucuzzella from Ribera who was a cousin of the Chicago / DeCavalcante LoLordos and Cucuzzella + the LoLordos had relatives there. He also visited Quebec at least one other time apart from his ill-fated visit with Gentile. Wherever Ribera and Siculiana have colonies there tended to be mafiosi, so I suspect there were Agrigento mafiosi in Montreal long before Carmine Galante went there especially given hordes of mafiosi from Agrigento moved there later.

- Gentile was briefly a Bonanno member, though he says little about it aside from arranging this via his friendship with Schiro in order to avoid a murder contract on his friend. Given we see Siculiana and Cattolica show up in the Bonanno Family later you have to wonder if the Bonannos already had other members from Agrigento. Silvio Tagliagambe was probably a Bonanno member around this time and though they had links to different parts of Sicily they had roots in Bivona which is in this part of AG.

It's obvious these relationships are deep, multi-layered, and go back far. The Bonanno connections between Agrigentini in NYC, NJ, and Canada are what make it intriguing since it was a Trapani-centric Family.

[B.]

Sorry to steal away on this tangent OldSchooled but some other stuff on these longstanding ties.

- The FBI noted that Nick Alfano made a phone call to his Racalmutese paesan, Buffalo member Calogero Bordonaro in Hamilton. Nick Alfano's brother Carmelo also lived in Hamilton since 1912 (the brothers arrived together, Carmelo heading to Hamilton and Nicolo going to NY) and another brother, Angelo Alfano, lived in Buffalo. Along with Racalmuto, Ontario would later include mafia-connected figures from Cattolica Eraclea, Siculiana, and Ribera like we see in Montreal.

- There were interconnected Racalmutesi colonies in both Buffalo and Hamilton, and Carmelo Alfano frequently traveled between both cities. Calogero Bordonaro also had a brother in Buffalo and traveled there often in early years, with Stefano Magaddino recorded talking about "Caliddu" Bordonaro being involved in a mafia affair in Buffalo during the 1920s. The early Buffalo Family had Racalmutesi members/associates in both Hamilton and Buffalo but nothing to confirm or deny if Alfano's brothers were involved in Cosa Nostra. Between his Hamilton and Montreal ties, Nick Alfano was connected to Canada for at least 60 years (1912-1972).

- Re: Guaragna, I checked some notes and Antimafia previously found that a John Guaragna was tied to the Bronx-based mafia figure Rosario Arcuri who allegedly killed paesan Vito Rizzuto in NY. Rosario appears to be related to some degree to Domenico (Montreal), Giacinto (Ontario),and Giuseppe Arcuri (Bronx), the three of them relatives and all suspected or confirmed of having Bonanno membership. Rosario Arcuri's mother was also apparently a Guaragna, so he and John Guaragna were likely cousins. In addition to being suspected of the Rizzuto murder in NY, Rosario Arcuri was wanted for murder in Italy. He was killed himself in 1934.

- Bronx-based Bonanno member Manny Guaragna's father was named Giovanni and is the only candidate I can find in the Bronx who would match the Arcuri-connected John Guaragna, showing that the Guaragnas do go back further with the Cattolicensi mafia crowd, specifically with the Arcuris and likely Vito Rizzuto and Calogero Renda as well given they were part of the same early Bronx Cattolicensi colony.

- Given John Guaragna's son became a made member and his likely cousin Rosario Arcuri was a transatlantic murderer connected to other mafia Arcuris, it indicates John Guaragna was no stranger to Cosa Nostra. Guaragna died in 1964 and has never been ID'd as a mafioso but was named in a 1930s document Antimafia shared that refers to Rosario Arcuri's use of a fraudulent visa (like Rizzuto / Renda) and his Italian murder charge. If Giovanni was more than just a relative of mafiosi and involved with the mafia himself he could have been associated w/ Nicolo Alfano like his Cattolicensi paesans Nick Buttafuoco, Rizzuto, and Renda.

- Alfano and his former acting captain Tony Crisci (Racalmutese like Alfano) are confirmed by JD to have been assigned to the Family's Bronx crew under Trinchera/DeFilippos alongside Manny Guaragna in later years, suggesting what remained of the Agrigento-centric Alfano crew funneled into what we now know as the main "Bronx crew". Manny Guaragna would be acting captain of this crew for Patty DeFilippo, whose ties to Montreal in the 1960s are well-established, being arrested there and identified on the Magaddino tapes as a liaison to Canada for his father Vito. The tapes also indicate Patty DeFilippo may have been made in Canada during the unsanctioned Bonanno inductions there. Patty DeFilippo also of course killed Gerlando Sciascia who he associated with in the Bronx.

[Eld]

Anything known about Fat Tony Salerno's relationship with the Montreal crew?

On the Palma Boys tapes Salerno says he "know all these guys from Canada, they are all in the junk business...they'll be comin down here to meet with us" and that (during 1983) this 'kid' came down from Canada to ask Fat Tony for advice.