Joe Bananas
| Joseph Bonanno | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 18, 1905 Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Italy |
| Died | May 11, 2002 (aged 97) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart failure |
| Other names | "Joe Bananas", "Don Peppino" |
| Citizenship | Italian and American |
| Known for | Boss of the Bonanno crime family |
| Criminal charge | Contempt of court |
| Criminal penalty | 14 months |
| Criminal status | Released November 1, 1986 |
| Spouse(s) | Fay Labruzzo |
| Children |
Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno Catherine Bonanno Genovese Joseph C. Bonanno, Jr. |
Joseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. (January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002) was an Italian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family.
Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno was born on January 18, 1905 in Castellammare del Golfo, a town on the northwestern coast of Sicily. When he was three years old (1908), his family moved to the United States and settled in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn for about 10 years before returning to Italy (1918). Bonanno slipped back into the United States in 1924 by stowing away on a Cuban fishing boat bound for Tampa, Florida. By all accounts, he'd become active in the Mafia during his youth in Italy, and he fled to the United States after Benito Mussolini initiated a crackdown. Bonanno himself claimed years later that he fled because he was ardently anti-Fascist. However, the former account is more likely, since several other Castellammarese mafiosi fled to the United States around the same time.
Eventually, Bonanno became involved in bootlegging activities, and soon joined a Mafia family led by another Castellammarese, Salvatore Maranzano.
Almost from the beginning, Bonanno was recognized by his accomplices, especially Salvatore Maranzano, in Brooklyn as a man with superior organizational skills and quick instincts; Bonanno immediately became a protege of Maranzano. He also became known to the leader of Mafia activities in New York, Joe "the Boss" Masseria. Masseria became increasingly suspicious of the growing number of Castellammarese in Brooklyn. He sensed they were gradually dissociating themselves from his overall leadership.
In 1927 violence broke out between the two rival factions that shortly developed into all-out war. This war between Masseria and Maranzano became known as the Castellammarese War. It continued for more than four years. By 1930, Maranzano's chief aides were Bonanno (as underboss and chief of staff),Tommy Lucchese and Joseph Magliocco. Tommy Gagliano ran another gang that supported Maranzano. The Buffalo, New York mob boss Stefano Magaddino, another Castellammarese, also supported Maranzano. Magaddino's son was Peter Magaddino, a boyhood friend of Bonanno from his student days in Palermo. Masseria had Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese, Joe Adonis, Carlo Gambino, Albert Anastasia and Frank Costello on his side.
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Wikipedia