King of the Godfathers: "Big Joey" Massino and the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family (32 page)

Where Are They Now?
(as of February 27, 2007)

Baldassare Amato
(Bonanno soldier): Indicted in January 2004 on various racketeering charges in federal court in Brooklyn. Among the charges were allegations that Amato took part in the murder of Bonanno family associate Sebastian DiFalco in 1992. He was convicted in July 2006.

Greg Andres
(prosecutor): After successfully prosecuting Joseph Massino in July 2004, Andres received an award from the Department of Justice for “superior performance by a litigation team” in convicting 35 members and associates of the Bonanno crime family. Massino was included in that total. He was also promoted in January 2006 to the position of deputy chief of the criminal division in the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office. Andres continued to handle trials and in March 2006 was the lead trial counsel in the case of reputed acting Bonanno boss Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano.

Vincent Basciano
(acting Bonanno boss): The FBI and others in law enforcement considered Basciano to have been the acting boss of the Bonanno family from early 2004 until December of that year. Basciano was arrested in November 2004 on racketeering charges, including the murder of mob associate Randolph Pizzolo. In March 2006, Basciano went on trial for another federal racketeering case that included the 2001 killing of Frank Santoro in the Bronx. He was convicted of racketeering, but the jury came to a mistrial on the Santoro murder. Basciano was also scheduled to go on trial later in 2007 for the Pizzolo murder, a charge that is eligible for the federal death penalty.

David Breitbart
(defense counsel): Continued to live and work in New York City and do criminal defense work. He represented model Naomi Campbell when she was arrested for assault in March 2006.

Richard Cantarella
(Bonanno captain): Remained a cooperating witness for the federal government. He testified in the March 2006 trial of Basciano and was awaiting sentencing for racketeering.

Patrick Colgan
(FBI agent): Was retired from the FBI and working as a private investigator in New Jersey. In March 2006 he testified as a prosecution witness in Brooklyn federal court in the “Mafia cops” trial.

Frank Coppa
(Bonanno captain): Remained a cooperating witness for the federal government and was awaiting sentencing for racketeering.

Joseph D’Amico
(Bonanno soldier): Remained a cooperating witness for the federal government and was awaiting sentencing for racketeering.

Flora Edwards
(defense counsel): Like David Breitbart she continued to work as a criminal defense attorney in New York City. In late 2005 she handled the affairs of Genovese crime boss Vincent “The Chin” Gigante as he became terminally ill and died.

Nicholas Garaufis
(judge): As a sitting judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Garaufis handled most of the criminal cases related to the federal prosecutors’ offensive against the Bonanno crime family. In March 2006 he presided over Basciano’s trial. He was expected to preside over Bonanno crime family cases well into 2007.

Robert Henoch
(prosecutor): Also received an award for his service as government trial counsel in the Massino case. In 2006, Henoch was lead government attorney in the prosecution of the so-called “Mafia Cops,” a trial which led to the conviction of two ex-NYPD detectives accused of being hit men for the Luchese crime family.

Mitra Hormozi
(prosecutor): Along with Andres and Henoch, she received an award from the Department of Justice for her work on the Massino case. In 2006 she was co-counsel with Henoch in the trial of the “Mafia Cops.” She married in August 2005 and had a baby boy in 2007.

Duane Leisenheimer
(Massino associate): He was a federal cooperating witness.

Frank Lino
(Bonanno captain): He remained a cooperating witness and was awaiting sentencing for racketeering.

Kimberly McCaffrey
(FBI agent): Continued to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York City. Along with the rest of the prosecution team, she received a Department of Justice award for her work on the Massino case. Her main responsibility in 2006 was the handling of Joseph Massino after he became a cooperating witness for the government. She had her second child, a girl, in mid-2006.

Patrick Marshall
(FBI agent): Was retired from the FBI and living on the West Coast.

Adeline Massino
(daughter): Continued to live in Howard Beach with her husband and two daughters. She took a job in the accounting field. In her spare time she busied herself with her children’s school, as well as their dance and sports activities.

Joanne Massino
(daughter): Like her sister Adeline, she continued to live in Howard Beach in a home near her mother. As a single divorced mother, she raised a daughter and son. A few days a week she worked at her children’s parochial school.

Joseph Massino
(former crime boss): After the former Attorney General John Ashcroft ruled that Massino was eligible for the death penalty, he moved in earnest to become a cooperating witness for the federal government. He finally signed a cooperation agreement in June 2005 and was placed in the federal witness security program. Massino was expected by many to be called as a witness in 2006 for the trial of his former confederate Vincent Basciano but has never made an appearance in the case. He is said by friends and associates to be exercising and trying to control his diabetes.

Josephine Massino
(wife): She continued to live in her Howard Beach home, which she bought with her husband many years earlier. Much of her time was spent in the company of her daughters and grandchildren. Josephine also had been dealing with the recuperation of her sister Anna from the effects of a stroke. Since her husband was convicted in July 2005, Josephine has not made any public statements about his case.

Ruth Nordenbrook
(prosecutor): She was retired from federal government service. Nordenbrook suffered the untimely death of her husband in November 2004 just prior to her retirement. She continued to live in New York, tending a Brooklyn Heights neighborhood rose garden and doing volunteer work.

Joseph Pistone
(FBI agent): After retiring from the FBI, he started a second career as an author. Pistone’s books included, as co-author, “Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia,” (1987) and, on his own, “The Way of the Wiseguy” (2004). He also co-authored a novel with Bill Bonanno, son of the late crime boss Joseph Bonanno, entitled “The Good Guys” (2005).

Vito Rizzuto
(Bonanno soldier in Canada): Referred by law enforcement officials as the “Godather of the Italian Mafia in Montreal,” he was indicted in January 2004 on racketeering charges, including the murder of the three captains in 1981. He was ordered extradicted by Canadian courts in 2006 but continued to fight that move with additional legal challenges. Trial was pending.

Charles Rooney
(FBI supervisor): Retired from the FBI in fall 2005 and began working as a consultant to the agency.

Benjamin Ruggiero
(soldier): Released from federal prison in April 1993 at the age of 79. He died of natural causes in 1995.

Jeffrey Sallet
(FBI agent): He moved to FBI headquarters in Washington where he took a job as a supervisory special agent in the organized crime section. He received an award from the Department of Justice, along with the others on the prosecution team, for his work on the Massino case. Sallet occasionally traveled to New York City to help in the prosecution of other Bonanno crime family members.

James Tartaglione
(Bonanno captain): Remained a cooperating witness for the federal government. He testified in the 2006 trial of Basciano and was awaiting sentencing for racketeering.

Anthony Urso
(Bonanno acting underboss): Pleaded guilty in 2005 to racketeering charges in federal court in Brooklyn. Was awaiting sentencing.

Salvatore Vitale
(former Bonanno underboss): Remained a cooperating witness for the federal government and testified in the March 2006 trial of Basciano. During his testimony, Vitale said that his sister Josephine wasn’t aware of the details of the crimes he and Joseph Massino carried out. Vitale said he never discussed “street” business with his sister or in her presence. He was awaiting sentencing.

Notes

1. “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”
Details of the events surrounding Joseph Massino’s arrest on January 9, 2003, came from interviews of Massino’s wife and two daughters on May 23, 2004, for a story that ran in
New York Newsday,
as well as from interviews with FBI Special Agents Jeffrey Sallet and Kimberly McCaffrey and McCaffrey’s testimony during Massino’s trial in 2004. Information about Massino’s prior problems with law enforcement came from his 1982 and 1985 federal indictments and court records of those cases. Details of the news conference announcing Massino’s arrest were provided by newspaper articles and press releases from the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office.

2. Amici
The story of the development of the Mafia in New York is found in several books, notably
Luciano: The Man Who Modernized American Mafia
by Tony Sciacca,
Honor Thy Father
by Gay Talese,
The Valachi Papers
by Peter Maas,
The Five Families
by Selwyn Rabb,
The Crime Confederation
by Ralph Salerno,
The Mob: 200 Years of Organized Crime in New York
by Virgil Peterson, and
American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power
by Thomas Repetto.

3. The Toughest Kid on the Block
The background on the families of Joseph and Josephine Massino was derived from the May 23, 2004, interview with Josephine and from confidential sources. Details about Joseph Bonanno’s development as a major Mafia boss are contained in his autobiography
Man of Honor,
cowritten with Sergio Lalli. Bonanno’s son, Salvatore, also known as “Bill,” gave his own perspective of his father’s life in
Bound by Honor: A Mafioso’s Life.
The kidnapping of Joseph Bonanno was described in his autobiography and in contemporary news accounts.

4. Maspeth Joe
Salvatore Bonanno’s meeting with Philip Rastelli and others the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated is described in
Bound by Honor.
Rastelli’s life as a career criminal is contained in the 1970
Report of the New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Crime, Its Causes and Effect on Society
and in various newspaper articles. The Bonanno crime family wars was detailed in the
New York Times.
Duane Leisenheimer testified about his friendship and work with Joseph Massino during Massino’s 2004 trial. Salvatore Vitale also testified at Massino’s trial about his background in crime. Similar information about Vitale is contained in reports of his interviews with the FBI. Background on the federal investigation of the garment industry is contained in a series written by me for
Womens Wear Daily
in 1977. Joseph Bonanno’s travels to Sicily were detailed in his autobiography.

5. A Piece of Work
The murders of Vito Borelli and Joseph Pastore were described by Vitale in his interviews with the FBI and in documents filed in the case
U.S. v. Joseph Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY). Pastore’s murder is also discussed in
U.S. v. Joseph Massino,
SS81-cr-803 (SDNY).

6. “I Don’t Do Nothing”
Testimony about the Hemingway truck hijacking is found in
U.S. v. Joseph Massino, and Ray Wean,
75-cr-471 (EDNY). Massino’s testimony is also contained in the court file. Former FBI agent Patrick Colgan was interviewed about the Hemingway case.

7. Power Play
The description of the scene outside Casa Bella Restaurant is contained in
Donnie Brasco: My Life Undercover in the Mafia
by Joseph Pistone and Richard Woodley. The Pistone-Woodley book is also the primary source for information about Pistone’s infiltration of the Bonanno crime family. Details of Pistone’s undercover work is also contained in the trial record of
U.S. v Napolitano et.al.,
81-cr-803 (SDNY). Carmine Galante’s rise to power in the 1970s was described in a 1977 article in the
New York Times.
Galante’s assassination was described in various newspaper accounts. The Pistone-Woodley account also describes the effects of the Galante murder within the Bonanno crime family.

8. The Three Captains
The Pistone-Woodley book describes the way Benjamin Ruggiero and Dominick Napolitano came to know and trust “Donnie Brasco.” The plotting within the Bonanno crime family that led to the deaths of the three captains is described in a variety of sources. The Pistone-Woodley book gives some background on those murders but most of the details are derived from the trial record in
U.S. v. Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY) and the testimony of Frank Lino and Salvatore Vitale. FBI agent Vincent Savadel testified in
U.S. v. Napolitano.
FBI agent Charles Rooney was interviewed by me on a number of occasions. Donna Trinchera testified about the last time she saw her husband in the trial of
U.S. v. Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY).

9. The Inside Man
The aftermath of the murder of the three captains is detailed in the Pistone-Woodley book and in Pistone’s testimony in the trial of
U.S. v Napolitano.
Former FBI agent Patrick Colgan was interviewed a number of times by me.

10. Up on the Roof
Testimony of Pistone in
U.S. v. Napolitano.
Salvatore Vitale interview with FBI. Testimony of former FBI agent Doug Fencl in
U.S. v Napolitano
and
U.S. v. Massino
(2004).

11. Do It to Me One More Time
My interviews of former FBI agent Patrick Marshall. Trial record in
United States v Napolitano.
Testimony of Lino in
U.S. v Massino
(2004).

12. The Gathering Storm
The genesis of the Pizza Connection investigation was described to me by Rooney. Vitale’s comments about Massino’s strange trips were made during interviews with the FBI. Additional information in the chapter was provided by Patrick Colgan, by trial records of
U.S. v. Napolitano
and
U.S. v. Massino
(1981), and by contemporary news accounts of the trials.

13. Murder on the Lam
Massino’s time on the lam was described by Duane Leisenheimer and Salvatore Vitale in their testimony in
U.S. v. Massino
(2003). The Charles Rooney interview provided details about the Pizza Connection investigation and indictments. Vitale was interviewed by the FBI about the Bonventre murder and he also testified about the events, as did James Tartaglione in
U.S. v. Massino
(2004).

14. Return
Attorney Jon Pollak described his blindfolded trip to see a fugitive Massino in an interview with me. Details of Massino’s arraignment came from the transcript in
U.S. v. Massino
(1981).

15. Horatio Alger of the Mafia
Patrick Marshall described the service of the wiretap notification in an interview with me. Anthony Salerno’s and Salvatore Avellino’s comments on surveillance tapes are contained in transcripts from the Commission Trial of 1986. Details of the trial of Philip Rastelli, Joseph Massino, and others in the moving industry case were taken from contemporary news accounts in the
New York Times
and in reported court decisions. Attorney Bruce Cutler provided me with details about Massino’s 1987 trial with Vitale. Other information about that case is contained in the trial record of
U.S. v Massino
SSS81-cr-803 (SDNY) and in accounts published in the
New York Times.

16. By the Numbers
Charles Rooney provided details of his conversation with Louis Freeh, as well as his theory of the Sciasica murder, to me in an interview. FBI agents Jeffrey Sallet and Kimberly McCaffrey, as well as supervisory agent Jack Stubing, were interviewed by me. Former prosecutor James Walden is the source of information about the Baldassare Amato and Anthony Spero cases. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Nordenbrook was interviewed by me. Details about the Barry Weinberg connection are contained in the testimony of McCaffrey in the trial of
U.S. v. Massino
(2004). Frank Coppa testified about his cooperation in the 2004 Massino trial.

17. Ghosts
Details of Massino’s arraignment are contained in an audio taped record made by the Brooklyn federal court.

18. All in the Family
Josephine Massino and her two daughters, Joanne and Adeline, gave an interview to me on May 23, 2004. Additional information about them was provided by confidential sources. Information about Vitale’s decision to become a cooperating witness is contained in the 2004 Massino trial record, in Vitale’s interviews with the FBI, and in accounts published in
Newsday.
Tartaglione’s decision to cooperate was something he discussed in his trial testimony. Nordenbrook also provided details about Tartaglione. Information about Tartaglione’s taping is contained in the Massino trial record and government documents.

19. “Let’s Bring In the Jury”
Details of the various Bonanno-related indictments are found in news releases distributed by the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office and in court documents. The jury selection process in Massino’s 2004 trial was observed by me and was the subject of some press accounts. The legal wrangling over pretrial motions in the Massino case are detailed in court filings and motions papers.

20. “They Didn’t Die of Old Age”
Trial transcript filed in
U.S. v. Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY), author’s notes.

21. “They Thought They Might Get Killed”
Trial transcript filed in
U.S. v. Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY), author’s notes.

22. “I Didn’t Want to Do No More Time”
Trial transcript filed in
U.S. v. Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY), author’s notes.

23. “This Is for Life”
Trial transcript filed in
U.S. v. Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY), author’s notes.

24. “He Is a Rat”
Trial transcript filed in
U.S. v. Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY), author’s notes.

25. “I Had Killed for Him”
Trial transcript filed in
U.S. v. Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY), author’s notes.

26. “Not One We Won”
Trial transcript filed in
U.S. v. Massino,
02-cr-0307 (EDNY), author’s notes.

27. Endgame
Two confidential sources provided me with information about Joseph Massino’s monumental decision to become a cooperating witness. Details of his cooperation are contained in court records filed in
U.S. v. Basciano
(EDNY) and court proceedings the day Massino pled guilty to the murder of Gerlando Sciascia on June 23, 2005.