1983 SPECIAL REPORT: "JOE BONANNO"

Joseph Bonanno for three decades was one of the top mafia figures in the United States for more than a quarter century he headed the New York organized crime family that bore his name and through all of those years and since he lived his life behind a veil of secrecy that is until he agreed to an extended television interview which we aired last March veneno now 78 and in failing health wanted to tell us that all his life he has been misunderstood that he was not the criminal that law enforcement has made him out to be but that he was instead a man of honor a man of honor old man of honor and I believe we have a sense of integrity I was a born a man of honor I was the muster respected man in New York all over the country he was indeed respected by his fellow mob bosses and in a strange way by law enforcement officials because for 50 years the toughest rap they could hang on him was a wages a towers infraction back in 1941 for which he paid a $450 fine but most of all Joe Bonanno was respected by his Brooklyn crime family 300 members strong who ruled Brooklyn often with intimidation sometimes with terror we sat down in his Tucson Arizona home with Joe Bonanno his son bill who was according to law enforcement officials the consigliere of the crime family the third in charge and with his son Joe jr. and his daughter Katherine we spent a day with this American folk figure to try to understand him better bonanno's life in the mob began in the 1920s in New York City when he met a man from whom he would learn the lessons of the mob and of the streets mafia kingpin Salvatore Maranzano you loved a man you said by the name of Salvatore Maranzano yes your first hero that's right was Salvatori my nacho man turns on oh yes but then you say he was said to be able to snap a man's neck with his fingers and I say when I read that that submit the father girl well it's quite a metaphor it's quite a metaphor he also told you this man is the hardest animal to kill don't you aim at a man your handshake your eyes twitch your heart flutters but you kill nonetheless that's what I find a little difficult to understand you all gotta make sure fighting for your life and to protect your life and nobody has a right they put the soil of the human being or you on doma once you do make sure and make sure that you protect yourself more than anything so that I can fully understand what your dad's saying sometimes it comes point in the affairs of men where you try to control by force and if that does not succeed then you have to control by being a brute by being a brute and if possible Maranzano told you if possible always touch the body with your gun to make sure the man is dead once your fight to survive it to protect your life make sure dr. yousa safety but Marin's a know himself became a victim of the mob he was stabbed six times in shot four times by killers in the higher of Lucky Luciano and it was after Maranzano's death that the so called Commission was created effectively the judicial and executive body of the mob the first Commission was composed of Lucky Luciano Vincent Mangano Gaetano Gagliano Joe profit Qi and Joe Bonanno according to law enforcement officials the Commission rules on problems pertaining to disputes among the father's and is also believed to order contract hits killings of members who get out of line Bonanno was one of the ruling commission members for over 30 years the commission they said on they say okay that man's gonna go we're not gonna do it no the Commission will never say that the Commission is a nothing to to do where I'm wrong orders a hit aa who orders a hit who orders a killing [Music] practically no this is a profile of the Bonanno crime family that I got from the New York police okay Bonanno went to his close friend Joe Magliocco and requested his help to kill three crime bosses Gambino Lucchese and Magaddino bull or D fantasy liars let me continue Gambino called a meeting of the Commission Magliocco told all or was fine $40,000 and deposed from the Commission Joe Colombo was rewarded by being named the new Don and taking magma echos place on the Commission but now no in the meantime simply gave the Commission the finger told them to get lost in other words the Commission became angered and sent word to Bonanno that he was dismissed from the Commission you know all that garbage it's all garbage a liar filthy and I'm truth and false it build up this I can say this if I didn't you I gotta die any moment this had never happened this never was the truth and this is all garbage I take a point of what I know at the age of only 26 banana became the youngest father in history of a crime family at that time he was still driving a truck part-time after becoming boss he married Fey mother of his three children it was his head of the Bonanno crime family that Joe Bonanno rubbed elbows with some of the leading mafia figures of our time Frank Costello called the prime minister of the mafia bearing nine all that you've gained and received and well what have you ever done to our country is a good citizen paid by tax vito genovese said to have been a kingpin and heroin traffic in the u.s. Genovese was convicted on narcotics charges in 1959 well sir have you ever been connected with the mafia at any time never what about the government's charge that you're the right man you're the number one man in this narcotics charge off that you're ridiculous he also knew Meyer Lansky said to be the brains of a mob the investment banker and Lucky Luciano Lansky sidekick who helped Americanize the Mafia into its present-day structure and he knew probably the most famous and powerful crime figure in America at the time Scarface Al Capone you knew Al Capone Oh what kind of a man Capone it was a very solid guy Al Capone was a jolly guns right dollar what do you find so funny bill my reaction is the your reaction surprised why did you like you voice a voice approach to play sir the the way handle myself for the way their appearance I never know their component from the inside Charles lucky lucky luciano what was his power what was his talent what kind of a man who shared a believe it morning Lucia I sell Opera they believe in said that Kate that's why to make money what's wrong with his wanting money I mean your but Bonanno wanted money I don't wanna is money or sky more you banana claims that he made money in the more traditional way as gambling and bootlegging while Luciano went for the big payday making his money through narcotics prostitution extortion here you have two young fellas coming up in there in in the world in their own world seemingly from the same background the Nano and Luciano's instantly having a conflict of philosophy a philosophical common what basically was the the conflict in philosophy product right that is the conflict and the conflict boiled down to the Americans wanted everything to revolve around money making money and your father was his whole life has been one of trying to live up to his own principles of his own traditions which have come in conflict with the new tradition of this country one thing I can remember is it is it a child growing up and my dad told me there's three things that just art that just don't happen and and one is women living off of women meaning prostitution where a woman supports you right to is dealing in narcotics and the third is hurting anybody for money now let me understand that if anybody dealt in narcotics from the banana family or in prostitution from the banana family or killing on contract for money in the Bonanno family they did it without your knowledge without my knowledge here the pressure of my swearing ah you swear it I swear that before God but according to law enforcement officials Joe Bonanno has links was known heroin traffickers one of them was carmine Galante his longtime underboss who was murdered in 1979 with his cigar still warm in his mouth carmine Galante worked for you he was picked up and convicted of a narcotics charge if Joe Bonanno runs a family he's supposed to know what's going on he can't go longer without for my knowledge higher your dealer will not Cadiz I never know this the necklace where my can square they're not anything weighted all the banana money come from through his work products he the cheese cheese business he's had farms dairy farms he has garment manufacturing our turkeys had cotton farms he's had produce farms ranches of what else little distributors bootlegging bootlegging gambling gambling the old Italian lottery extortion no I don't think so protection protection the cinetic personal protection in the American Way of a some people are come to see you because you are a big man you're the name yeah and they're all they say mr. Bernardo I wanna be a partner you didn't you didn't collect you didn't make money from protection up there if there's some people you must be the most misunderstood figure in there and I say before and either said again all my life had been misunderstood I just the rule of my family is a father to this day among men of bonanno's traditions family loyalty is foremost and everyone outside the family is considered a stranger Christmas at his daughter's horn and the clan gathers round with the exception of Bill who was married to Rosalie provancha niece of Joe Profaci the late Mafia father the banana blood family is kept out of the crime family business to his grandchildren Joe is a grandfather not a godfather his values his traditions have taught to the children by his example I make of this toast to wish you your home good out and Merry Christmas you know why because I love you in his world for instance the women of the family are treated with respect and they remain insulated from the family business as daughter Catherine explains they revered and till this day Revere their women and if any thing should enter into their lives it might be a little bit discolored or a little bit harmful they're protected from it mafia fathers ordinarily shunned publicity except for an occasion of great joy as with a son's wedding and when bill Bonanno married Rosalie provancha Joe Bonanno provided the most lavish mod wedding on record every forgive me mobster in the world it seemed in the United States was that that Hotel in New York Detroit was their Cleveland was their Buffalo was their all United States was there yeah like there was there were 3,000 people there and I eventually the same according to FBI statistics that there are not more than 4,000 quote mafia members unquote in the whole United States according to the FBI and every major mafia leader in the United States was at that wedding along with the congressman and the lawyers and the bankers major mafia leader all the master all the major father over there this beautiful symbol over my traditional generation was there the father the end over the family out of respect for you I don't respect the way yes if a family member had an affair with another family members wife what was the penalty what is the penalty that death they're not calling of the code who does the killing huh the guy the guy another family yeah the guy the cat calls oh let's say this the cuckolded man does the killing if he wants to keep it by by talking about all of this mr. Bonanno are you violating your own code of omerta why not I expressed my feeling I don't accuse anybody I don't know tried percent anybody Cheryl so when you for instance say about Carlo Gambino yeah he is a squirrel of a man he is servile he is cringing that is not violation of omertà that is your stand in front of him well I service a lot for many times you have said the US government has tried to destroy him yeah that's right why have they failed to destroy you they haven't failure they haven't failed well yes they may still get you sure in January of 1981 banana was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiracy to obstruct justice tampering with a grand jury witness the US Supreme Court turned down bananas final appeal and he's expected to go to jail sometime this spring but Joe Bonanno maintains that he has done nothing wrong and that in the eyes of the Lord he is still a man of honor since we first aired this broadcast last March a federal court in Arizona has delayed sending banana to jail because of serious health problems the judge says he will decide shortly whether Joe Bonanno nonetheless will go to prison tonight more about Joe Bonanno for over 30 years head of one of New York's organized crime families five weeks ago in this broadcast Joe Bonanno claimed that all his life he has been misunderstood but he was not the kind of criminal that law enforcement officials have made him out to be tonight in part two Bonanno insists once again that through all his years as boss of the Bonanno family he did what he did the Honorable way do you ever say to yourself Joe I have the brain I have the heart I have the strength and I didn't go the respectable I went the more than respectful way I went to for arrabal way because I came from Sicily and I came from the family Bonanno who has a great tradition in Sicily and I came here with Hannah banana has now written a book about his life in times he likes to think of himself as the benevolent patron like Don Corleone II in the movie The Godfather he says the Godfather was not even a mafia picture but instead a picture that showed the Sicilian spirit I don't care what city until the rest world and a month from novice I look big shots gonna give you what you want too late they start shooting in a week I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse you like the picture hello Milo Brown throw in the turn of the feeling over this neck for the family you sound a little like Marlon Brando I don't know but I had a little a couple here more than him job and I don't like that movie because they like to be portrayed that way you know like the kindly family head who takes care of everybody but when in fact they're murderers in that joke copy is commanding officer of the New York Police Department's organized crime Homicide Unit The Godfather in the film was a prototype of Joe Bonanno absolutely without any question without any question a criminal that's better a criminal arch criminal a parasite he agrees he's been involved in gambling good lady narcotics and prostitution he says no never can I say to you that mr. Bonanno had a bag of heroin in his hand or bag of cocaine was actually smuggled narcotics in his country no I can't say that but we know that his family his crime family the Bonanno crime family which still holds that name today is directly involved in the smuggling importation and distribution of narcotics in this country document Joe bonanno's says he long ago retired from all dealings with a crime family that still bears his name he lives in Tucson Arizona where we talked to him surrounded by his children his oldest son Bill Joe Jr and Katherine back in 1964 bananas power was being challenged by his fellow mob bosses notably by his cousin Buffalo crime boss Stefano Magaddino on October 21st that year banana was returning home from dinner when two gunmen grabbed him on Park Avenue in New York City and kidnapped him the headlines of the day wrote Joe Bonanno off is dead his attorney then was tough-talking William Power Maloney who was with banana when he was abducted misses entire matter appear mysterious to you at all funny I think if it appears mysterious to almost everybody in the world doesn't it what a man is snatched away in front of your eyes and you don't see him at all again here nothing about him I think that's pretty mysterious who kidnapped you back in 1964 might be a person that kidnapped a man Stefano Magaddino yes not himself you know tell me what was your reaction when they picked you up on Park Avenue well my neck said this is it according to Bonanno Magaddino wanted him out of the way so that he could take over the Bonanno family but six weeks after kidnapping him says Bonanno Magaddino released him why didn't Magaddino kill you why not for many many raesha maybe if they won my blood on his conscience maybe this retaliation from my people from New York could ever go to to Buffalo because they weren't a fair trade with him but banana was afraid that one of the other bosses might try to kidnap him again or kill him so he went into hiding 19 months later he walked into the Brooklyn federal court building the authorities had believed that he was living in South America or Haiti or Europe and to this day they insist banana was not in the United States during those 19 months this fantasy this incredible fantasy died I wasn't I was in South America I was insisting I was all over the world I was in New York no God oops Ted in New York asking friends playing golf sometime bill Bonanno who was consigliere of the crime family the third in charge on a rainy Sunday took us back to the Ridgewood section of Brooklyn that was his crime families turf and he talked about his father's disappearance all this nonsense about the FBI not knowing about his disappearance we negotiated for months to bring my father in with the FBI Hoover had sent a couple of his agents to talk to me about it and they kept wanting more and more first was that he was to surrender then they wanted to arrest him in a restaurant then they wanted to have him show up at the FBI headquarters all for publicity purposes following the kidnapping according to law enforcement authorities the soldiers of the Bonanno family turned violent they became one of the most violent families in America the Bonanno family was not the most sophisticated family in organized crime still isn't it's a sloppy family sloppy family what do you mean sloppy in the way that they have no sophistication about them in the way they kill from the time Joe Bonanno disappeared in 1964 until the time he says that he retired from crime in 1968 a mob war was fought in the streets of Brooklyn the Bonanno family against armies of mobsters from the other four New York City families the war in effect was ridiculous from a law enforcement point of view bodies were dropping all over Brooklyn well this is where the so-called banana war took place in which 20 of you were up against how many others pick a figure No 2,000 3,000 4,000 and you survived most of you and how many did you get on the other side then we kept track and Gasper DiGregorio who was your Godfather was operating I have the traitor if you will all right for Stefano Magaddino this Iceland and trying to kick it nice crowd I mean you smile about it but the fact of the matter is that that's the way you live back there my great grandfather told me rather my great grandfather had said to my father who has told me one of his prayers was dear Lord protect me from my friends because I can take care of my enemies and I always remember that need i say more this is the way i born if i exposed this organization it was joe valachi back then who caused Joe Bonanno more problems than his fellow bosses for it was Valachi the low-level mob informant who told a Senate committee and a national television audience that the man who made him in the mob the man who was his Godfather was none other than banana happen to be my gosh I never saw Joe Valachi my life he never saw my face the voice of the filter over the bottom 11 all that this is supposed to be a mafia are you telling me however that there is no such thing as organized crime there is no mafia there is no not I am not telling you that organized criminal activity mike is as old as America's American as apple pie you go back to the James brothers the dolphin gang the turn of the century Jewish gangs the Irish gangs the Italian element and after the Italian element has run its course the Italian ethnic criminals of this country are only one tile in a giant mosaic of organized criminal activity that this country has gone through now we have the blacks we have the Puerto Ricans we have the Cubans we have the Colombians I mean it's an endless stream of activity that's as I said is American as apple pie and it was bootlegging which used to be as American as apple pie and that first filled the coffers of the Bonanno crime family in the 30s gave them the capital to invest in other rackets but Joe bonanno's says it wasn't just mobsters who got rich from bootlegging Joe Kennedy was an apple like a bootlegger yes was so smart he made a lot of money it was a path for Frank Costello who was a partner of Franklin George okay that allegation in bananas book has been denied by a spokesman for the Kennedys Steve Smith who says his late father-in-law the head of the Kennedy family who made a fortune in the liquor business was not a bootlegger nor a partner of crime boss Frank Costello during that same period in the 30s Bonanno says he was made an offer he refused he says he turned down an offer by mobster Lucky Luciano to cut him in on a piece of New York's garment district he says the offer was made by Luciano as a token of friendship what does that mean offer Joe Bonanno was controlling controlling why controlling at the time become a dis the union's but in 1968 Joe Bonanno says that he decided to retire from his life in crime and he moved his year-round home to Tucson Arizona where the FBI began their most concerted effort to put him in prison in 1975 in Arizona narcotics strike force team working with the FBI began to collect Joe bonanno's garbage a former FBI agent Jean Eamon was with the strike force at the time of those garbage collections who came up with the idea of stealing his garbage well first the idea of stealing of course is repugnant to us because that wasn't the case but wait a minute wait a minute you you were in a garbage truck you'd stopped in front of his house you take his garbage you'd put other garbage into the can put it back down you can you stole his garbage that was public domain at that point and has been determined to be that by courts okay did we take his trash yes it was my idea what'd you learn about criminal activities as a result of this garbage inspection very little G naman in Arizona when the so called garbage policeman right went through my father's garbage among the olive oil cans and the spaghetti drippings on the paper and admittedly in court admitted that they had no reason to investigate the man that they did this for for years hoping to find something to pin on him and they came up with one thing that he spoke to members of his family about an investigation that was involving that involved two of his sons but with leads developed from that so-called garbage cover and evidence from an informants testimony plus wiretap on bonanno's telephone the Justice Department was able to convict Joe Bonanno of conspiracy to obstruct justice for tampering with a grand jury investigation involving bonanno's sons bill and Joe jr. it was bananas first felony conviction and the man who was most instrumental in finally getting the evidence on him went back to banana after he left the narcotics strike force with a business proposition mr. Damon did you want to make a film of the Bonanno family did you make a proposal to skip Donald the attorney for the Bonanno family that you make a documentary on the life of Joseph Bonanno senior I talked to him about that yes why would you let him do that because mr. Bonanno is an interesting figure I mean you're the guy who ran the garbage cover you were the man who went after him to try to find something on him and now you want to make money off those off the life of Joe Bonanno I would suggest that my interest was not dissimilar to yours well I'm not a cop and neither am i anymore anymore is he a man can I use this word carefully is your man that you reluctantly respect with an equally careful response yes if I have a funny idea they think that this is a life of action they think it's a life very romantic life not romantic in a romance center but actually the particular lifestyle that many people have become involved in over the years it's really just a lifetime of waiting tremendous loves between moments of action and I've never understood Bill but I know why you didn't turn your back on it and say come on a man of intelligence yourself attractive gift of command articulate educated hoodlums why you know how many times I've asked myself that question it all comes down to one thing it comes down to love of heritage and love of another person that other person of course is his father bill Bonanno and his younger brother Joe now face state and federal charges in California for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and for interstate transport of stolen property the trial is set for this summer Joe Bonanno is scheduled to begin serving up to five years in prison sometime this spring you realize of course that in 1983 it is possible that you and your son Bill and your son Joe that's all could be in prison or yes the only thing of myself I ever steal of my trust in God faith in myself and when together fading yourself and trust a gun he goes that after the war

Channel: Hezakya Newz & Films

Views: 449,781

Rating: 4.7291961 out of 5

Keywords: Joseph Charles Bonanno Sr., bonanno crime family, hezakya, hezakya newz, mafia, mobster

Id: IR24TZPSLWk

Length: 32min 46sec (1966 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 17 2019