1. I guess tradition is what kept the every 5 years thing going but at that rate I don't see what could be accomplished at the meeting.
2. The bosses seemed to meet a lot back in the early days, Raab talks about frequent dinner parties the bosses had. So why go out the way to meet again and take the chance of being caught again. Tradition and ego stroking is all I can think of.
3. Ok this goes off subject a little and goes into contradicting views of what happened at certain meetings. The best example I can think of is the combo of the Hotel des Palmes and Appalachian.
This comes down to a matter of opinion but I would like to hear everyone's. So on one side of the ocean we have drug routes being setup and then a month later some of the same guys are in upstate NY declaring a drug ban? Some of this stuff just kills me. Like I said I know that no one really knows what went down at these meetings but these are two widely published theories.
P.S. To bad you uncle isn't here, him and wise can go round after round on the drug ban.
1) Mingling goes along with mob culture. One can ask why they still used Social clubs after 1990 when they no longer provided the shelter they once did and in fact allowed the FBI to zero on who was coming and going.
2) There are bosses meeting (sitdowns), there were Commission meetings (Bosses on that governing body formally having a meeting) and national assembly meetings which was a general assembly, a form of Senate floor with every Family being represented.
3) Bosses can meet whenever they want. The five year meetings were an actual occurrence. I suggest you read Joe Bonanno's book and the Last Test. of Bill Bonanno. I shit on BB every chance I get but he explained the 40's-60's very well.
And HK, I wasn't a fan of Mafia Summit either but it did teach me about Barbaro and helped me to understand how much time "Cigar"(i can't spell Carmine's last name) spent in jail during his life.
P.S. Don't get me wrong there are plenty I haven't read lol But if its in a library I've lived anywhere near I've read it. Or at the Book a Million in Jonesboro, they have comfy chairs
Joe Bonanno's book is mandatory reading if you're at all interested in the mob. He distances himself from the criminal side of the mob and has a grandiose, narcissistic take on everything but that shouldn't be surprising... and who is to say his life wasn't grandiose? He was a top boss in NYC for over three decades and had maybe the widest range of influence of any boss in the country. If Phil Leonetti is a "Mafia Prince" and Joe Massino is "King of the Godfathers", then Joe Bonanno is a "Mafia God".
And I would say he absolutely "flipped" by writing his book. He may not have cooperated with the government or "ratted" anyone out, but he gave more background on Cosa Nostra than anyone else could ever hope to provide and gave a lot of valuable info about how the top levels of the organization operate. Then you throw in all of the names, events, and details about the life that he included and you have to figure the amount of info he gave is more valuable to the government than an indictment or two, especially considering by the 1980s Joe Bonanno didn't even know most of the people on the streets.
By the way I think Giuliani and the government treating Joe Bonanno's info about the Commission like it was a revelation is bullshit. The Commission and its activities were well known to the government before Joe Bonanno wrote his book. I think Giuliani cited Joe Bonanno as an influence for the Commission case mainly to add insult to injury.
His son Bill became an FBI informant during the Bonanno war we now know, so in a sense Bill was basically just monetizing something he'd already done and adding some exaggerations and a few outright lies along with the good historical info. Aside from his book, there could be reason to wonder about Joe Bonanno too. On the Magaddino wiretaps, he claims that Joe Bonanno is friendy with high-ranking members of law enforcement who he has dinner and drinks with, and Magaddino insinuates that Bonanno tells them too much. Magaddino, who by then hated Bonanno, might have just been spreading gossip about his cousin, but you do have to wonder. I sometimes wonder if more members had relationships with LE where they would "trade notes" so to speak. Not necessarily at the Scarpa level, but just a little something here and there. There has been speculation about Luciano and the FBN in the past.
Something else I just want to point out right now...
I mentioned earlier how Philadelphia was under the Gambinos going back to Sabella being appointed boss, up through Angelo Bruno's time (even when Bruno was on the Commission he was subservient to the Gambinos), but that it seemed to fall under the Genovese under Testa/Scarfo. Well, that may have just been the exception or wasn't a formal arrangement. When John Simone was killed, it was the Gambinos who did it. The Gambinos would also be the ones who beefed on the 1990 Philly-Newark making ceremony. They were then the family that appointed their ally John Stanfa as the new boss. Move forward to recent times, and you hear about Ligambi and other high-ranking Philly members having a formal meeting with many high-ranking Gambino members, with Philly trying to gain the Gambinos support in their beefs with the Lucchese and DeCav families. All of this seems like more than a coincidence to me when you look at the entire history of the relationship.
B. wrote:Joe Bonanno's book is mandatory reading if you're at all interested in the mob. He distances himself from the criminal side of the mob and has a grandiose, narcissistic take on everything but that shouldn't be surprising... and who is to say his life wasn't grandiose? He was a top boss in NYC for over three decades and had maybe the widest range of influence of any boss in the country. If Phil Leonetti is a "Mafia Prince" and Joe Massino is "King of the Godfathers", then Joe Bonanno is a "Mafia God".
And I would say he absolutely "flipped" by writing his book. He may not have cooperated with the government or "ratted" anyone out, but he gave more background on Cosa Nostra than anyone else could ever hope to provide and gave a lot of valuable info about how the top levels of the organization operate. Then you throw in all of the names, events, and details about the life that he included and you have to figure the amount of info he gave is more valuable to the government than an indictment or two, especially considering by the 1980s Joe Bonanno didn't even know most of the people on the streets.
By the way I think Giuliani and the government treating Joe Bonanno's info about the Commission like it was a revelation is bullshit. The Commission and its activities were well known to the government before Joe Bonanno wrote his book. I think Giuliani cited Joe Bonanno as an influence for the Commission case mainly to add insult to injury.
His son Bill became an FBI informant during the Bonanno war we now know, so in a sense Bill was basically just monetizing something he'd already done and adding some exaggerations and a few outright lies along with the good historical info. Aside from his book, there could be reason to wonder about Joe Bonanno too. On the Magaddino wiretaps, he claims that Joe Bonanno is friendy with high-ranking members of law enforcement who he has dinner and drinks with, and Magaddino insinuates that Bonanno tells them too much. Magaddino, who by then hated Bonanno, might have just been spreading gossip about his cousin, but you do have to wonder. I sometimes wonder if more members had relationships with LE where they would "trade notes" so to speak. Not necessarily at the Scarpa level, but just a little something here and there. There has been speculation about Luciano and the FBN in the past.
Awesome post dudebro. This sort of insight is why I read this forum.
B. wrote:By the way I think Giuliani and the government treating Joe Bonanno's info about the Commission like it was a revelation is bullshit. The Commission and its activities were well known to the government before Joe Bonanno wrote his book. I think Giuliani cited Joe Bonanno as an influence for the Commission case mainly to add insult to injury.
It wasn't such much a revelation as much as it was genuine shock that JB wrote about it. Back in the 1980's it was still commonplace for attorneys to argue with a straight face that no such thing as the mafia existed. So for an ex-mob boss of his stature to not only lay it out but describe how it functions, you can understand why Guiliani's copy of JB was heavily marked and notes taken. He confirmed what the FBI had been trying to prove existed.
Guiliani once said: "If Bonanno can write about the commission, we can indict the commission. The argument might be simplified but there is an amount of truth to it.
DPG wrote:Two things Bill taught me: Bonnano Family never sold drugs
Only Carmine Galante did and it greatly disappointed his father.
Pogo
It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits.
DPG wrote:What caused him to write the book? Finances? Do you think if events of the 60s had went differently he still writes the book?
Two things Bill taught me:
Bonnano Family never sold drugs
Americanized.....
Not finances, no. My guess would be his own ego. The Bonannos were always in love with themselves, kinda like Mafia Trumps. Read JB's book, then go through the Mary Farrell Magaddino wiretaps to get the other side of events. Bonanno was respected but he wasn't loved, he was probably a prick to have as a boss, same as Joe Profaci or Jack Tocco who once said that members need to pay their dues and if they are broke to go rob a gas station.
