Mafia Boss Joe Bonnano

Joseph Bonanno, often referred to as "Joe Bananas", was born in Sicily on January 18, 1905. At the age of 19 he slipped into the United States through Florida by way of a fishing boat from Cuba. Bonanno rose from being a low level street thug to becoming boss of one of the five New York Mafia families from 1931 to the mid 60s. His Mafia family has been described as one of the most enduring of all organized crime syndicates.

In 1983, Bonanno released an co-wrote an autobiography about his life in the Mafia, in which he not only admits membership in the illegal crime organization, but also claims to have been chairman of "The Commission" during the 50s and 60s. The Commission is a panel of Mafia bosses established to resolve internal disputes between Mafia families without significant bloodshed.

Bonanno was careful not to become so involved in illicit crimes that he couldn't explain an income, and was able to earn millions of dollars in legitimate income by investing in legitimate investment opportunities which included real estate, a dairy farm, factories, and food companies. Whatever Bonanno did to distance himself from the illicit activities of the crime family which bore his name must have worked, because for the thirty years that he served as boss, Bonanno was never indicted for a single crime. He did, however, have to serve prison terms for obstruction of justice and civil contempt of court charges in his retirement.

Another way that Bonanno was able to distance himself from illicit activities was by choosing not to live the flamboyant and lavish lifestyles of his counterparts in other families. Bonanno was the type to host quiet dinners for himself and other Mafia members rather than throw loud and expensive parties for complete strangers.

It is believed that Bonanno's influence in the Mafia did not begin to diminish in the mid 60s after his plot to assassinate two other high ranking members of the Mafia was revealed by the man assigned to carry out the murders.

Before Bonanno could be retaliated against, he vanished for 19 months. Bonanno asserted that he was abducted, but many believed that he fled in fear for his life and to avoid a government subpoena to testify to the grand jury. Federal Investigators claim that Bonanno only resurfaced when The Commission ruled to spare his life on the condition that he relinquish command of his family and many of his money making schemes.

In his autobiography, Bonanno claims that he retired in 1968 to Tucson because he had become disgruntled and upset at the direction the Mafia was taking. Bonanno disagreed with other mob bosses who seemed to have been abandoning the traditional Mafia code for their own greedy purposes. He also disagreed with other bosses who allowed membership into their families not of Sicilian heritage.

Joseph Bonanno remained in Tucson until his death in 2002 at the age of 97.

Sources:

Selwyn Raab. Joe Bonanno Dies; Mafia Leader, 97, Who Built Empire. The New York Times.