Where does the story that Frank Tieri was involved in Angelo Bruno’s death come from?

[JoelTurner]

There’s a fairly popular apocryphal story that’s told about the murder of Angelo Bruno. It’s said that Frank Tieri convinced Antonio Caponigro that he would get permission for killing Bruno. At the commission meeting after, he denied it and let Caponigro get killed to take over his rackets.

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This story is referenced on Tieri’s Wikipedia page. “ In March 1980, Tieri sent a message to Philadelphia capo Antonio Caponigro that the Mafia Commission would support him as boss if he assassinated Bruno. What Caponigro didn't know was that the Commission had no intention of sanctioning Bruno's murder. On March 21, 1980, Bruno was murdered in his car on a Philadelphia street. The Commission immediately summoned Caponigro to New York for a meeting; two weeks later, his body was discovered in New York with $20 bills stuffed in his orifices. However, the New York families did achieve access to Atlantic City.”

Caponigro’s page shares a similar story adding inaccuracies like referring to Tieri as his friend.

This isn’t just a Wikipedia story either. It’s pretty well known.

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Vincent Cafaro doesn’t mention Tieri at all in his description of the event let alone someone being tricked. He says that Caponigro was likely killed by Dominick Canterino and the Greenwich Village crew.

In fact, how would anyone even know what happened in the meeting? The participants were: Antonio Caponigro, Alfred Salerno, Anthony Corallo, Salvatore Santoro, Paul Castellano, and Anthony Salerno. The first two got killed and the rest didn’t talk.

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It’s a well-known and specific story. I couldn’t help but wonder where did it start and was there any truth to it.

[Antiliar]

It comes from Phil Leonetti in the book "Mafia Prince." Before that it came from an informer in "Breaking the Mob" by Frank Friel," then repeated in George Anastasia's "Blood and Honor."

[CabriniGreen]

Seriously..... what is this thread about?

[CabriniGreen]

I mean... from Gravano too. He says he got it from Johhny Keys..

[johnny_scootch]

First thing is Tieri being from another family wouldn’t just be able to ‘take over’ Caponigro’s ‘rackets’ becAuse it doesn’t work that wAy. All that would go to the Philly family but if I recall correctly years prior to all that Tieri and Caponigro had a beef over a loansharking operation that led to a sit down that was won by Caponigro. Losing that sit down and the loansharking operation is what fueled Tieri to eventually double cross Caponigro.

[Wiseguy]

First thing is Tieri being from another family wouldn’t just be able to ‘take over’ Caponigro’s ‘rackets’ becAuse it doesn’t work that wAy. All that would go to the Philly family but if I recall correctly years prior to all that Tieri and Caponigro had a beef over a loansharking operation that led to a sit down that was won by Caponigro. Losing that sit down and the loansharking operation is what fueled Tieri to eventually double cross Caponigro.

According to Leonetti, here were three reasons Tieri, Manna, and Chin wanted Bruno dead and manipulated Caponigro. First, with Bruno dead, Philadelphia's Commission vote goes to them, not the Gambinos. Second, Scarfo would gain control of HEREU Local 54, which would benefit them. And third, they could take over Caponigro's rackets. However it's supposed to work, I've never seen anything to suggest it didn't go down that way.

[JoelTurner]

It comes from Phil Leonetti in the book "Mafia Prince." Before that it came from an informer in "Breaking the Mob" by Frank Friel," then repeated in George Anastasia's "Blood and Honor."

Thank You!

I guess I should have started by looking at the most obvious source. Apparently the story came from Bobby Manna who told it to them.

[JoelTurner]

First thing is Tieri being from another family wouldn’t just be able to ‘take over’ Caponigro’s ‘rackets’ becAuse it doesn’t work that wAy. All that would go to the Philly family but if I recall correctly years prior to all that Tieri and Caponigro had a beef over a loansharking operation that led to a sit down that was won by Caponigro. Losing that sit down and the loansharking operation is what fueled Tieri to eventually double cross Caponigro.

According to Leonetti, here were three reasons Tieri, Manna, and Chin wanted Bruno dead and manipulated Caponigro. First, with Bruno dead, Philadelphia's Commission vote goes to them, not the Gambinos. Second, Scarfo would gain control of HEREU Local 54, which would benefit them. And third, they could take over Caponigro's rackets. However it's supposed to work, I've never seen anything to suggest it didn't go down that way.

So when Caponigro is talking to Funzi Tieri about killing Ange, he thinks he’s talking to the boss, because everyone thought that Tieri was the boss, but he wasn’t. The Chin was.

So Tieri strokes Caponigro along and all the while, Tieri, the Chin, and Bobby Manna are manipulating the whole thing. They want Ange dead so that my uncle gets the union, which benefits them. They also want Ange dead so that Philadelphia’s Commission vote now goes with the Genovese and not the Gambinos, which benefits them, and on top of it, they want Caponigro dead so they can take his gambling and loan sharking operation, which is worth several million, which also benefits them.

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This was the exact quote.

[thekiduknow]

First thing is Tieri being from another family wouldn’t just be able to ‘take over’ Caponigro’s ‘rackets’ becAuse it doesn’t work that wAy. All that would go to the Philly family but if I recall correctly years prior to all that Tieri and Caponigro had a beef over a loansharking operation that led to a sit down that was won by Caponigro. Losing that sit down and the loansharking operation is what fueled Tieri to eventually double cross Caponigro.

In Mafia Prince, it says that Bruno defended/represented Caponigro at the Commission meeting, and won. I wonder what was going through his head to trust the guy he beefed with, to kill the his boss who defended him.

[Pogo The Clown]

I wonder what was going through his head to trust the guy he beefed with, to kill the his boss who defended him.

$$$$$$$$$$



Pogo

[Extortion]

First thing is Tieri being from another family wouldn’t just be able to ‘take over’ Caponigro’s ‘rackets’ becAuse it doesn’t work that wAy

Are you serious?

[Pmac2]

probaly from fish cafaro. he knew the tale from fat tony who didnt want anything to do with it. he flips 86 87

[johnny_scootch]

First thing is Tieri being from another family wouldn’t just be able to ‘take over’ Caponigro’s ‘rackets’ becAuse it doesn’t work that wAy

Are you serious?

Yeah, if a Lucchese kills a Gambino soldier the Lucchese family doesn’t get to keep all the dead soldiers associates and various illegal businesses. Technically they would be redistributed by the Gambino family. This case with Tieri and Caponigro isn’t as straightforward as that but I think you get my gist.

[Gelis]

First thing is Tieri being from another family wouldn’t just be able to ‘take over’ Caponigro’s ‘rackets’ becAuse it doesn’t work that wAy

Are you serious?

Yeah, if a Lucchese kills a Gambino soldier the Lucchese family doesn’t get to keep all the dead soldiers associates and various illegal businesses. Technically they would be redistributed by the Gambino family. This case with Tieri and Caponigro isn’t as straightforward as that but I think you get my gist.

Wiseguys do move in on each others rackets no matter if it's protocol or not, particularly in areas like New Jersey where a number of Families operate. Hence the reason for sitdowns, like the one involving Tieri / Caponigro. The outcome depends on a number of factors. With Caponigro and Bruno dead and a new Philidelphia boss beholden to the the Genovese' in place, I don't think there would have been many objections to Tieri moving in on Caponigro's interests.

[eboli]

Here's an excerpt from an article I did on Tieri. It includes Cafaro and Leonetti's accounts of the Bruno-Caponigro murders:

Another thing Cafaro mentioned was Tieri's involvement in the murder of Philadelphia Crime Family boss Angelo Bruno. He stated that in early 1980, Antonio 'Tony Bananas' Caponigro, Bruno's consigliere, traveled to New York to seek support in taking over the family. Frank Tieri told him he had the Commission's permission to do what he had to do. After Bruno got shotgunned to death on March 21, 1980, Caponigro realized he got duped into the unsanctioned murder of a mafia boss.

According to Cafaro, Caponigro returned to New York in April to sort things out. He was expecting to meet up with Chin Gigante. Instead, Caponigro got killed by members of the Greenwich Village Crew. On April 18, 1980, Caponigro and his brother-in-law, Alfred Salerno, were found dead, battered, and nude in the trunk of a car in The Bronx. Salerno was a co-conspirator in the murder plot against Bruno. The NYPD said that the murderers ripped and stuffed $20 bills in the corpses' orifices - mocking them for their greed.

Philip Leonetti, the former underboss of the Philadelphia Crime Family, stated that Frank Tieri, Louis Manna, and Vincent Gigante planned the Bruno and Caponigro murders. The Genovese bosses wanted to take over Caponigro's rackets in North Jersey and promote Nicodemo 'Little Nicky' Scarfo as the new boss of Philadelphia.

Leonetti advised that while Carlo Gambino was still alive, the Genovese couldn't muscle in on Caponigro. Tony Bananas had the protection of the Gambino Crime Family thanks to the close personal friendship between Angelo Bruno and Carlo Gambino. After Gambino's death, the Genovese leaders hatched a plot to dupe Caponigro into murdering Bruno.

In the aftermath, they expected to take over his rackets before installing their ally Scarfo as the boss and undercutting the influence of the Gambino Crime Family at the same time.

Caponigro's bookmaking/numbers rackets were a cause for many disputes and strained relations between Caponigro and Tieri since the early-1960s. Back then, Tieri lost a sit-down against Caponigro, and it seems he never managed to get over it. In 1980 Tieri exploited the long-term disdain Caponigro had for his boss.