In addition to info that explicitly came from this informant, I suspect he was one of the sources who provided the FBI with full lists of the admin and captains during the early-mid 1970s along with other organizational details. He was an admitted Bonanno member and very open about the organization
D'Angelo's Basic Background
- Epifanio D'Angelo was born in Castellamare del Golfo in 1914 and came to the US with his mother and siblings in 1919, arriving to a father (Giacomo) already living on E 12th in the East Village. D'Angelo's mother had the maiden name "Spataro" on early records. Further research suggests her name was a variation of Spadaro.
- By 1930 the family was living on E 12th in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Strangely they lived on two different E 12th streets but records confirm these were separate locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Their next door neighbor in Brooklyn was Antonino Galante from Castellammare like them. Antonino Galante had also been the D'Angelos' next door neighbor in the East Village before this, suggesting they moved to Brooklyn in coordination.
- Relatives often moved in tandem and records show that Antonino Galante's mother was a Spadaro. This could explain why they were next door neighbors in both Manhattan and Brooklyn given D'Angelo's own mother was a "Spataro". It also opens up a possible connection to Bonanno members Anthony and Joseph Spadaro, the latter related to Joe Bonanno via marriage. Joe Spadaro was Castellammarese. (Both Anthony and Joseph Spadaro were included on a short list of deceased Bonanno members on an FBI report during the period this informant was active.)
- I didn't notice any other obvious Castellammarese neighbors in Sheepshead Bay, but Carmine Galante and his family were living in the East Village at the same time Antonino Galante and the D'Angelos lived there prior to their Brooklyn move. Antonino Galante and Frank's father Giacomo D'Angelo were also longshoremen like Carmine Galante and his father and brothers. Their Castellammarese heritage, residence in East Village, shared profession, and connections to the Bonanno family would suggest they weren't strangers.
- In the 1930 census Epifanio D'Angelo was listed as "Fano", a common nickname for his given name. It's not clear how/when he began using "Frank" but the "Fauney" part of his nickname obviously derives from his true name Epifanio / Fano. He married a non-Italian woman in 1935, the wedding taking place in Manhattan though by then the D'Angelos lived in Sheepshead Bay.
- I don't have much detail on his activities in the Bonanno family but he was connected to the Bonanno element in the East Village, the Lower East Side, and Brooklyn. He was seemingly active in the standard rackets. His age means he was likely inducted in the 1940s or 1950s and he is confirmed as a member by the time the books closed in 1957. His earlier captains aren't known to me, but LCNBios identified him as a member of the Angelo Salvo crew by 1979.
- He was alive as of 2002 and I can't confirm his date of death, but he would be 107-years-old today so no doubt he is dead unless he's superhuman. He is not mentioned to my knowledge by the 2000s defectors, his advanced age no doubt being a factor.
The Informant
- The Bonanno informant told the FBI that he and his associates grew up in New York admiring the local mafia members, becoming involved in street crime early on. His criminal behavior resulted in multiple convictions and an unspecified amount of time in prison. Following a prison sentence through which the informant proved he was a "stand up" guy, a Bonanno member offered to sponsor the informant into the Bonanno family.
- The informant said both he and his family had been close to his sponsor and the sponsor's relatives in Sicily and New York City. His wording indicates that he as well as his sponsor were born in Sicily and it's explicitly clear their families knew each other there, saying they were "close friends" in both places. Statistical probability would make Castellammare del Golfo the best possibility for their hometown given most Bonanno members were from there and most of the Castellammarese Bonanno members had multi-generational relationships going back to Sicily.
- The informant's induction ceremony took place at the Brooklyn residence of Natale Evola. In addition to the informant, his sponsor, and presumably Evola, boss Joe Bonanno was also in attendance along with other unidentified proposed members. The men first had a meal and then Joe Bonanno presided over the induction ceremony, which was fully traditional unlike some other contemporary Bonanno ceremonies. Joe Bonanno himself pricked the informant's finger and a saint card was burned in the informant's hand while he was told about the organization's secrecy and what it meant to be a member. The men had drinks together afterward before leaving Evola's home.
- Joe Bonanno presiding as boss and the scope of the informant's overall knowledge confirm that this ceremony took place in the mid-to-late 1940s at the earliest and 1957 at the latest. Joe Bonanno became less of a fixture in NYC by the 1950s and is not believed to have participated in many ceremonies as boss, suggesting the informant was made earlier rather than later. The 1940s is likely the first time new members were made under Bonanno's leadership so he may have been motivated to involve himself more at that time.
- After becoming a Bonanno member, the informant became involved in gambling and loansharking operations. He continued to operate in these activities during his cooperation along with other unspecified activities.
- The informant stated that Joe Bonanno's kidnapping was fake and arranged by Joe and Bill Bonanno. It was his opinion that if the kidnapping were real, Joe Bonanno never would have surfaced (presumably implying murder). He believed Bill Bonanno had been made underboss around that time (an error; he was consigliere) which upset members given Bonanno's young age. He did say Bill Bonanno was college educated and intelligent. He also said Bill had "common sense". This is significant given how many sources disparaged Bill Bonanno.
- The informant said Frank Mari did in fact become boss of the Bonanno family, with Mike Adamo as underboss. He doesn't say outright whether he meant official or acting but we know Mari was not approved by the Commission and his description sounds like a short-term version of the Carmine Galante situation of the 1970s.
- He said Mari became boss through force and was not popular within the family. Because of this, Mari and Adamo were murdered and buried in concrete. He told the FBI he knew more about the Mari/Adamo murders but refused to elaborate, perhaps indicating involvement. He said Natale Evola succeeded Mari as boss. Unlike Mari, Evola was "fair" and well-liked as boss. Evola had loansharking operations that were redistributed upon his death.
- Though he was critical of Frank Mari as boss, this informant appears to have associated with Mari up until his death and had knowledge of Mari's movements and activities (and apparently his murder, as mentioned).
- I can't verify if it was the same informant, but between 1973 and 1975 there was a Bonanno informant actively updating the FBI on Carmine Galante before and after he was released from prison. While Galante was still incarcerated in the early-mid 1970s he said Galante held the rank of capodecina (was he re-promoted?) and later ID'd him as the acting boss.
- Again, not positive it's the same informant but a Bonanno informant was also giving the FBI information about different high-level promotions/demotions during this period of the 1970s that are more or less consistent with our understanding of the leadership at the time.
D'Angelo = Informant?
- Like the informant, Frank D'Angelo was familiar with both the Manhattan and Brooklyn elements within the Bonanno family. He also associated with Frank Mari. This alone is not a smoking gun, as Mari became one of the most active members in the mid-late 1960s and there were other members who no doubt knew him and had ties to the East Village, Lower East Side, and Brooklyn. This includes D'Angelo but this alone doesn't narrow it down.
- We know the informant and his friends grew up under the influence of local mafia figures and aspired to mafia membership. D'Angelo was born in Castellammare del Golfo and lived next to his probable relative Antonino Galante, who shared a hometown, profession, and neighborhood with Carmine Galante's family. D'Angelo and Carmine Galante grew up in the East Village at the same time, where both men engaged in street crime in their early years. The East Village at that time would fit the informant's description of his early neighborhood and it provided multiple recruits for the Bonanno family who proved themselves through early criminal activities (a quality not universal in early Bonanno recruitment).
- An important detail is the informant saying he and his family knew his mafia sponsor in both Sicily and New York. The informant's statement indicates he was born in Sicily himself. This fits D'Angelo, who lived his first five years in Castellammare and then lived next to other Castellammarese in New York. D'Angelo was in a position to have personally known certain Castellammarese families in Sicily and NYC, especially given their connection to the names Galante and Spadaro.
- The FBI noted that this informant had a criminal history of robbery, burglary, grand theft auto, and rape. I'd already narrowed D'Angelo down as a strong candidate for this informant but comparing his criminal record was essential. I contacted LCNBios a few years back seeing if he had Frank D'Angelo's criminal arrest record, which LCNBios generously provided. Epifanio "Frank Fauney" D'Angelo's criminal record was virtually identical to the informant. This was the smoking gun for me.
- Without an unredacted ID of the informant like we have for Carmine Taglialatella and Carmine Lombardozzi I'm not comfortable saying D'Angelo is 100% the Bonanno informant, but available information heavily points in his direction. In my mind he is the informant but of course we always have to reserve a margin of error. This informant was active for years and I don't have access to anything close to the full extent of his cooperation so there could be other biographical info in there that makes the Frank D'Angelo case stronger/weaker. "Most likely" seems fair for now.
Other Indicators
- In LCNBios' article about East Village Bonanno soldier Alphonse DeMarinis, he included the following info from 1966:
- I assume this was from a report in or around 1966, not necessarily an informant recollecting it years later.The following October a benefit dance was held at Riccardo's Restaurant in Astoria, Queens in honor of Gambino Soldier Joseph 'Piney' Armone, set to begin a fifteen year sentence at USP Lewisburg following a narcotics conviction. Bonannos present aside from DeMarinis included Acting Capodecina Frank Mari and Epifanio 'Frank Fauney' D'Angelo, another obscure member from East Village. An FBI informant was also among the attendees, and it was through this source that the FBI learned 'Big Al' LNU, who they already knew of as an East side gambling figure, was also a made member with the Bonanno Family.
- Note that an informant was in attendance who identified a previously unknown East Village Bonanno member (DeMarinis) and both Frank Mari and Frank D'Angelo were also in attendance. Informant reports will often include references to the informant's true identity, especially when it comes to attendance at an event, but it is phrased as if he is just another attendee in order to disguise the informant.
- Like the 1970s informant believed to be D'Angelo, this informant had a connection to Frank Mari, Manhattan, and the East Village. Frank D'Angelo had other ties to Joe "Piney" Armone beyond this one party, too. The FBI identified an alleged nephew of Frank D'Angelo as "Charlie the Jap" Errigo who closely associated with Joe Armone. Charlie Errigo's father was from Castellammare del Golfo so the D'Angelo relation/connection isn't out of the question.
- D'Angelo's ties to Armone, Mari, and the East Village Bonanno element, plus both the informant and D'Angelo's attendance at this party show that if they weren't the same person, they ran in the same circles. If this informant was D'Angelo, it would mean he began cooperating much earlier than the 1970s reports I've seen. There was a Bonanno informant active in the 1960s too who did some traveling with Frank Mari but I can't confirm it was the same 1960s informant mentioned by LCNBios.
- There may be other information from the Armone party informant that rules Frank D'Angelo out, as I've only seen what LCNBios shared, but it does raise an eyebrow given it appears D'Angelo was informing later on and was connected to everyone mentioned at this party in addition to attending himself alongside an informant. This party likely included many other mafia figures, but it's noteworthy that this snippet only mentions people Frank D'Angelo was connected to, including D'Angelo himself.
- Despite his obscurity, Al DeMarinis shows up a couple times in connection to cooperation within the Bonanno family. This raises suspicion about DeMarinis, too, but it's unlikely he was the informant at the Armone party given the informant identified him only as "Big Al" without a last name.
- In the same LCNBios article on Al DeMarinis, he also notes the following:
- Given DeMarinis' roots in the East Village like Carmine Galante and sponsorship by Galante's cousin Prisinzano, this could indicate DeMarinis was first made into the Carmine Galante decina. It could mean Frank D'Angelo also started in the Galante crew given his roots in the same neighborhood as Galante and DeMarinis, plus D'Angelo's apparent relation to another Galante. This would explain the Frank Mari association, as Mari also started out under Galante. Bonanno crews don't always make sense, but this is an educated guess based on what's available.By Fall 1975 Soldier in crew headed by former sponsor Angelo Prisinzano. The majority of those under Prisinzano were from either Lower Manhattan or Bath Beach area of Brooklyn. (Note: During this period of time the FBI succeeded in developing a member source in the Bonanno Family. The source, who has yet to be identified, also reported to Prisinzano.)
- If Frank D'Angelo came up in the same crowd as DeMarinis, he could have ended up under Presinzano as well. Other members from or otherwise connected to Manhattan in addition to DeMarinis also reported to Presinzano during this time. It was primarily a Manhattan / Brooklyn crew, both areas D'Angelo came up in.
- Here we have another Bonanno member informant reporting to Presinzano, too. Not sure if the LCNBios article implies this informant was brand new in 1975, but the "D'Angelo" informant was still informing as of 1973/1974 with no indication he stopped. This informant would have been a longtime member given it was a year before they inducted new members.
- LCNBios placed D'Angelo with the Salvo crew by 1979 but there were many promotions/demotions and crew members reassigned during the 1970s so without other information we can't say for sure where he was in the years before Salvo. It could tell us D'Angelo was part of other crews, not necessarily those discussed above.
- The Salvo crew had at least partial roots in the Angelo Caruso crew, which operated out of Manhattan and New Jersey. Frank D'Angelo may have had a relation to Caruso, as in addition to Charlie Errigo being cited as a nephew of D'Angelo, Errigo was also said by the FBI to be related to Caruso somehow. Caruso was not Castellammarese but he had marital relations with other Bonanno figures and his role in the Bonanno family needs no introduction.
- Whether the same Bonanno member was informing from the mid-1960s up to and possibly through the mid-1970s is impossible to confirm right now. There are some indications these could have been the same person (continuously informing or not), but if it wasn't the same informant it's interesting in its own right as it means multiple unidentified Bonanno members were informing at the time who had knowledge of lesser-known parts of the family (publicly at least)
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I will leave it at that. We can't say 100% that the informant is D'Angelo without an unredacted FBI report identifying him as the source. He does fit the profile of the informant very closely, including a similar personal background and identical criminal record. They operated in similar if not the same circles.
Maybe we will get more info on Frank D'Angelo that adds to this discussion or other info will come to light. The rare appearance of Joe Bonanno conducting a traditional induction ceremony is big alone and I don't recall Joe or Bill Bonanno ever mentioning him doing that. Joe Bonanno is not known to have attended nor presided over other ceremonies mentioned by informants from at I've seen.
It should be noted that attendees Joe Bonanno and Natale Evola were Castellammarese and if the Sicilian hometown of the informant and his sponsor was also Castellammare del Golfo as I suspect, it could be a sign that this ceremony had some added significance. If this ceremony was primarily attended by Castellammarese Bonanno figures it's possible they took more interest in ceremony. The dinner before and drinks after also shows a level of comradery not always typical of inductions.
D'Angelo's Castellammarese heritage and connection/relation to the Galante and Spadaro names also tell us he may have been more closely connected to the heart of the Bonanno family than we would otherwise guess. His survival into the 2000s makes him a thread running through Bonanno history, having been part of the family during many different regime changes and pivotal events.
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