B. wrote: ↑Wed Oct 04, 2017 12:52 pm
I've been revisiting the original transcript that this topic was based on and see some things in a new light. When I have time I may give it a new breakdown.
One thing I wanted to mention now though is that the number of Bonanno members in the Montreal decina seemed to be an issue for Magaddino and may shed some light on the make-up of the Bonanno Montreal crew.
In reference to Canada, Paul Sciacca tells Magaddino that Bonanno took seven people from Magaddino's territory, then made two more in Montreal (on top of the existing members in Montreal). Magaddino indicates that he is fine with the Montreal decina having ten members, but any more than that (i.e. the 9 additional members) is unacceptable to him. In the DeCavalcante tapes, Sam mentions something about Bonanno inducting members after the books were closed, specifically in Arizona and Montreal, yet another grievance the Commission had with JB.This indicates that the Montreal decina was originally ten members and Bonanno recruited an additional seven men from Toronto or an area that was otherwise under Buffalo's control, plus made an additional two new members in Montreal
It's hard to say what is meant by JB "taking" seven people from Magaddino (i.e. it could mean they were simply allied with him in the war, though this seems to have taken place before the "war" broke out), but from the context it does seem like they're talking about members initiated into the Bonanno family in Canada. A report from the 1960s claims that the Montreal decina had ~20 members, just like it did in the late 90s/early 2000s. Since we have had such little member information from within Montreal, we have no idea who many of the ~20 members were. However, if you look at the numbers discussed by Magaddino/Sciacca, there were 10 officially sanctioned Montreal members, probably all made by the time the books closed in 1957. Then Bonanno brought in 9 more men, bringing the total crew members to 19, which matches the ~20 mentioned in other docs.
There were certainly enough recruits in Montreal proper to make up a 20 member decina, but like I said we have no idea who many of the early Montreal made members were, just a handful have been confirmed and we can speculate on a few more, but what if 7 of the 20 members circa mid-1960s were based in Toronto? The Montreal crew did have longstanding interests there and Vito DeFilippo had a strong presence in the area as well, maintaining influece over Paul Volpe and likely other Magaddino members/associates.
Remember that decades later Sal Vitale expected there to be ~10 members in Montreal and was surprised to find that there were 19 (previously 20, as Sciascia had been killed). Joe Bonanno's expansion of thecrew seems to have been unsanctioned, and maybe the Bonanno family/NYC continued to have the false impression that the Montreal crew was limited to ten, when in actuality they maintained the "illegal" ~20 number set up by Bonanno.
With the other discussion going on lately about the younger Violis possibly being Ontario-based Bonanno members, I was thinking about this reference to 7 possible Bonanno members made in Canada in Magaddino's "area".
From a different transcript (Magaddino talking with Calabrian Magaddino soldier Dominick Romeo, who is knowledgeable of Canada), Magaddino seems to make reference to Giacomo Luppino:
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 0&tab=page
He is discussing Paolo Violi's father-in-law as a "caporalista" (phonetic for Camorrista, no doubt) who is "also of Bonanno". The "also" would be in addition to Violi, who we know was a Bonanno member in Canada, so the implication here would be that Luppino was a Bonanno member or otherwise affiliated with the Bonannos.
I have seen Luppino mentioned as a suspected member of the Buffalo family in old documents and I have bought into the assumption that he was a Buffalo member/associate (possibly in addition to 'ndrangheta membership), but has this ever been 100% confirmed? Member sources and confirmations are extremely scarce in Canada through all eras so I'd be curious if a US member or knowledgeable source has ever mentioned it. No doubt Luppino associated with Buffalo members, but if this vague reference does mean that Luppino was with the Bonannos (something I dismissed before), it would be less surprising that the younger Violis joined the Bonannos despite their father's murder and their group losing standing in Montreal.
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 1&tab=page
Later in the discussion linked above, Magaddino is discussing the girl Paolo Violi was marrying and says "the father of this young girl was called by Bonanno and joined him in Montreal." Again vague, and could be interpreted to mean he simply met with Bonanno in Montreal, but coupled with the earlier comment (Luppino being "also of Bonanno", indicating being on record) it does point to Luppino being affiliated with the Bonanno family in some capacity. Maybe antimafia or Laurentian has some info that can either add to this or prove it's a misinterpretation but I'm curious what people think either way. We do know that the Bonanno family has a track record of successfully recruiting Calabrians in Canada despite having been one of the most overwhelmingly Sicilian families.
edit: Paolo Violi's recruitment into the Bonannos is another question and if there is even a little bit of truth to Luppino being affiliated with the Bonannos in some way, it would make more sense how Violi went with them. This transcript suggests Violi was recruited from Calabria and brought into Canada as a stowaway, then he went from Hamilton where he no doubt worked with his future father-in-law to becoming an initiated Bonanno member in Montreal. It makes this less confusing if Luppino had an existing relationship if not formal affiliation (be it as member or associate) with the Bonannos at this time.
It's also worth pointing out that we know the Montreal crew allowed transfers, which presumably means guys could transfer out as well, so even if Luppino was in some way with the Bonannos this doesn't mean he stayed with them.
