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| May 16, 2002 | |||||
| By Jerry Capeci | |||||
| Joe Bonanno, 1905-2002 | |||||
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Bonanno, the youngest of 24 Mafia bosses to be sanctioned in 1931 by the newly formed Mafia Commission, had 33 amazing years atop his family as the J. Edgar Hoover-led FBI denied that the mob even existed.
And when the Commission took his
crime family away and kicked him out
With guile, luck and the help of Salvatore (Bill) Bonanno, (right) his oldest son, Joe Bonanno gives real meaning to the old adage that crime pays. He lived the life of a millionaire, spending less than two years behind bars. Together, father and son were convicted four times, for relatively minor crimes. Bill, who was inducted into his father's crime family at age 22, served about three years in prison. Joe's life of crime in the U.S. began in 1924 when he arrived from Sicily at the |
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age of 19 during the height of the Prohibition Era and quickly moved into the booming bootleg liquor industry. Using powerful Sicilian Mafia connections – in his 1983 autobiography, "Man of Honor," Bonanno implied that his father had been a made man in Sicily – he joined the family of Salvatore Maranzano. When Maranzano was killed in 1931, Bonanno took over and his financial situation skyrocketed. He invested in funeral homes, laundries and moved into the garment center, using corrupt and terrified union officials to gain an edge on competitors of two clothing manufacturing firms he obtained. He bought a 280-acre, upstate New York dairy farm, and became a partner in a Wisconsin cheese factory whose owners reached out to him to ward off extortion efforts by the Chicago Outfit.
In 1957, he attended the Apalachin, New York conference of Mafia leaders from around the country, and was one of the nattily dressed Dapper Dons in pointy shoes who was caught running through the woods by state troopers. In October 1964, on the night before he was to appear before a federal grand jury looking into the upstate conclave, two gunmen forced him into a car as he was walking with his attorney. For Bonanno, it was a great time to make himself scarce – family wiseguys were on his case for trying to make son Bill the family consigliere; the Commission was furious Bonanno had plotted to kill two of them – and not too many people thought he had been kidnapped. Two days later, New Jersey boss Simone (Sam The Plumber) DeCavalcante |
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In 1968, Bonanno realized the Commission was serious about its decision to banish him and would kill him if he didn't leave, and he moved to Tucson, establishing himself as a businessman and "venture capitalist." In 1995, more than 300 of Bonanno's closest relatives and friends, who included business people, lawyers, actors, his biographer, clergy and a college instructor, helped celebrate his 90th birthday at what Bill described as a "private-family-and-friends party" in Tucson. Guests took home an eight-page program that featured a 1925 picture of Bonanno, a family tree, and a page of "Bonannoisms" like: "Friendships, connections, family ties, trust, loyalty, obedience, is the glue that holds us together." Governor Fife Symington and Senator John McCain sent their regrets along with birthday greetings that were read aloud to the guests. When he died last week, son Bill said his dad was a proud "last survivor" of old line gangsters: "I can't remember any time when he ever expressed any regrets. If he were born again tomorrow, he'd live his life the same way." |
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| A Loanshark By The Same Name | |||||
 Nearly
40 years ago, George Lombardozzi jumped in with his fists and both feet when
he saw an FBI agent taking pictures at a funeral he was attending with his
uncle, Gambino capo Carmine [The Doctor] Lombardozzi.FBI agent John Foley was beaten savagely and George, along with four relatives, were convicted of assault and served 20 months in prison. Today, Carmine, a top loanshark of another era and an attendee at the Apalachin mob conclave with Bonanno, is dead; George [right] is a laid back Gambino family wiseguy who lets others do his dirty work, according to the feds.
He reputedly conducts mob business with cousin
Daniel Marino –
a fellow soldier who was part of the attack team outside a Brooklyn church
Lombardozzi, who was bounced from a lucrative post as secretary treasurer of Teamsters Local 918 for associating with John and Gene Gotti, was recently hit with loansharking charges filed in Manhattan Federal Court. His accused enforcer, Frank Isoldi, a 5' 4" associate who used his cell phone to threaten dead beat customers, was detained without bail after assistant U.S. attorney Adam Siegel played several tape recorded threats for Judge Allen Schwartz. But Siegel, who noted that Isoldi often described Lombardozzi as the "boss of the entire operation" in his taped conversations, had a much more difficult time when it came to detaining the burly Lombardozzi as a danger to society. Lawyer Charles Carnesi cited his client's failing health, noted that he was not tape recorded and only named in a single loan – Isoldi was charged in 17 counts – and that the only hint of violence involving his client was 40 years ago. Lombardozzi was no danger and should be released, said Carnesi. After much back and forth, Schwartz accepted a $1.5 million personal recognizance bond backed by $200,000 in cash and allowed Lombardozzi to go home to await trial. |
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Legendary Mafia boss
Joseph Bonanno, who wrote a book about his life as a powerful mob chieftain
and lived to enjoy the royalties, died last week at age 97.
As key mob
underlings moved into drugs and other rackets in Montreal (
was overheard saying that mob bosses knew nothing about the
Bonanno kidnapping. Underboss Frank 
in
1963
