He closed several of the familys once renowned social clubs. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? (Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Bernadette Baum), ARE YOU A PEOPLE PERSON? This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Massino turned to Colombo crime family boss Carmine Persico and Gambino boss Paul Castellano for advice; they told him to act immediately. [103], The Bonanno squad's chief, Jack Stubing, was well aware of the measures Massino had taken to avoid scrutiny. You dont forget how to make a living.. [34] When Trinchera, Giaccone and Indelicato arrived with Frank Lino to meet Massino, they were shot to death, with Massino himself stopping Indelicato from escaping. Massino's formal education was complete by his sophomore year of high school, but his criminal one was just beginning. [25][67], During Massino's imprisonment at Talladega Federal Prison for his 1986 conviction, Vitale functioned as his messenger, effectively becoming co-acting boss alongside Spero. Prosecutors were pushing for a 20 year sentence and and didn't recieveRead More Until his death, he remained loyal to his wife, Dolores Pellegrino, who had swept him off his budding young gangster feet when theyd met at a Brooklyn nightclub on Flatbush Avenue in 1953. [119], Three more Bonanno made men would choose to cooperate before Massino came to trial. "[1][9], A side effect of these reforms was the reduction of Vitale, in his own words, to "a figurehead. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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[106] Graziano would assume Spero's duties, but he too pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in December 2002 and was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. He finally turned himself in on July 7 and was released on $350,000 bail. ", "A Mafia Boss Breaks a Code in Telling All", "Natale Evola, Mafia Figure, Is Dead at 66", "U.S. Convicts Reputed Leader of Crime Group in Shakedown", "Rastelli v. WARDEN, METRO. Like many mafiosi, he was angered at family namesake Joseph Bonanno's tell-all autobiography, A Man of Honor, and regarded it as a violation of the code of omert. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. In May 1981, Massino heard that the three disgruntled captains were stocking up on weapons. [25] On June 3, while both men were convicted on hijacking charges, they were cleared of the murder conspiracy charges. Massino has spent a little more than 10 years in prison. [60][61], The labor racketeering trial began in April 1986,[60] with Massino as one of 12 defendants including Rastelli and former underboss Nicholas Marangello. Mr. Massino's baseball coaching record included six district championships, three regional championships, one sectional championship, and one trip to the State Finals in 1972, in a single class system. Al DArco was the most significant made member to cooperate. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? [112] A third, Joseph D'Amico, subsequently turned state's evidence with the knowledge that Cantarella could implicate him for murder as well. "[3], Massino testified again in the 2012 extortion trial of Genovese capo Anthony Romanello, primarily to provide background as an expert on the American Mafia. NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Joseph Massino was the highest ranking mobster ever to turn government informant, having served as boss of the infamous Bonanno family. He died in witness protection earlier this month from complications due to kidney disease. He convinced his bosses to lend him a pair of forensic accountants normally used in fraud investigations, believing that they could easily pinpoint conspirators in the family's money laundering schemes. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. This is a carousel with slides. "[66] Raymond Wean and Joseph Pistone testified against Massino, but both proved unable to conclusively link Massino with any of the murder charges. PHOENIX - FOX 10 obtained the Phoenix Police incident report on the death of Joseph Ryan, the third ex-husband of Lori Vallow. Massino became known as Big Joey due to his weight and criminal prowess. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Indeed, one of John Ashcroft's final acts as Attorney General was to order federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Massino. 0 cemeteries found in Hennepin, Putnam County, Illinois, USA. Originally a truck hijacker, Massino secured his own power after arranging two 1981 gang murders, first a triple murder of three rebel captains, then his rival Dominick Napolitano. [96] Wary of surveillance, Massino generally avoided meeting with members of other Mafia families[74] and encouraged his crews to operate independently as well. Massino affectionately called Rastelli Unc as his underworld mentor. Please reset your password. The huge Mafia Commission trial of 1986 had convicted all the ruling New York bosses. Massino served as the district chairman for the Illinois High School Coaches Association and was inducted into the I.H.S.A Coaches Hall of Fame, in 1980. [32], Following the Galante hit, Massino began jockeying for power with Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, another Rastelli loyalist capo. In some cases, he held meetings in foreign countries, and had his capos bring their wives along so they could be passed off as vacations. Napolitano had endorsed Brasco and even considered him for Cosa Nostra membership an unforgivable breach of Mafia security. [127], Massino's trial began on May 24, 2004, with judge Nicholas Garaufis presiding and Greg D. Andres and Robert Henoch heading the prosecution. [39][40] "Brasco", however, was in fact an undercover FBI agent named Joseph Pistone; shortly after the hit was ordered, Pistone's assignment was ended and Napolitano was informed of their infiltration. Before his racketeering conviction in 2004, Bonanno boss Joe Massino was known as The Last Don, because he was the only head of any of New Yorks Five Families who wasnt in prison. Jan. 27, 2005, 8:06 PM PST / Source: The Associated Press. There was a problem getting your location. defendant in the Rastelli-Bonanno family trial.Credit: NY Daily News via Getty Images. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? In 1987, with the Bonannos weakened, the FBI merged its Bonanno squad with its Colombo family squad,[101] and this squad was initially preoccupied with the Colombos' third internal war. Now he is the president of the Arizona American Italian Club. Pale. Convicted of eight murders, Massino, the 70-year-old former head of the Bonanno crime family, will be set free in 60 days, giving the government time to make arrangements for his safety, his lawyer Edward McDonald told Reuters on Thursday. Massino was a protg of Philip Rastelli, who took control of the Bonanno family in 1973. [92][93] By the late 1990s, the situation was reversed and the Bonanno family was now reckoned as the most powerful crime family in New York and the nation, in no small part because Massino was the only full-fledged New York boss who was still on the streets. [100] He finally made his debut as a witness at Basciano's trial for the murder of Randolph Pizzolo in April 2011;[163] Massino's testified both during the trial itself and, after Basciano was convicted, on behalf of the prosecution's unsuccessful attempt to impose the death penalty. CORRECTIONAL CENTER, 610 F. Supp. The dangerous Carmine Galante had become a problem, considering himself the new boss and attempting to dominate the familys heroin business. In 1982, pending an indictment, Joe Massino went into hiding in Milford, Pennsylvania. This account has been disabled. C. ColonelReb Banned . The hit was approved and executed on July 12, 1979; Rastelli subsequently took full control of the family and rewarded Massino's loyalty by promoting him to capo. He was a member of the Mafia and boss of the Bonanno crime family from 1991 until 2004, when he became the first boss of one of the Five Families in New York City to turn state's evidence. But Massino had flourished. He created a clandestine cell system for his crews, forbidding them from contacting one another and avoiding meeting their capos. [171], Last edited on 26 December 2022, at 06:08, "A Simple Queens Caterer, or 'Big Joey' the Mob Killer? https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218609444/joseph-f-massino. Joseph Charles Massino was born in Maspeth, Queens, on January 10, 1943. Fearing Galante wanted him dead for insubordination, Massino delivered a request to the Commission, the governing body of the American Mafia, on Rastelli's behalf to have Galante killed. He was one of the toughest, most difficult witnesses I ever faced, said Gerald Shargel, the veteran defense attorney who represented Amuso and others. [83][85], Before Massino became boss, John Gotti was one of his closest allies. [111] He was followed shortly by acting underboss Richard Cantarella, a participant in the Mirra murder,[45] who was facing racketeering and murder charges. [27] He was scheduled to go on trial in 1977, but the charges were dropped after he successfully argued that he had not been properly mirandized, disqualifying statements Massino gave to police from being used in trial. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Affable as he was, though, Massino had a fearsome reputation. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. From a hiding place on Long Island, DArco reached out to the FBI. All about ex-Bonanno crime boss Massino going into the witness program as a free man after ratting out dozens of fellow wiseguys. Joseph Massino's Net Worth: $1-5 Million Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 920 Dore Dr., Hennepin, Illinois. [118] Massino hired David Breitbart, an attorney he had originally wanted to represent him in his 1987 trial, for his defense. In June 2013, Massino, 70, was resentenced to time served and given supervised release for the remainder of his life. To minimize surveillance and informants, he closed the familys social clubs as well. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. [17] On February 23, 1974, at a meeting at the Americana Hotel in Manhattan, the Commission named Massino's mentor, Rastelli as boss. Unlike flashy Mafia contemporaries such as Gotti, who sauntered through the Little Italy streets with an entourage, DArco lived modestly and conservatively. HIRING 6 BENEFIT REPS-WORK REMOTE W/TRAINING, New York Family Fun Day & Camp Fair Brooklyn. Make sure that the file is a photo. Instead, he renamed it the Massino family, after himself. [63] Around this time, Massino was believed to be the Bonanno family's official underboss. [65] Rastelli had spent all but two years of his reign behind bars,[68] and many felt Massino would bring the family stability. Then, in 2004, Joe Massino did the unthinkable he became the first sitting boss of a New York crime family to become a government informant. There was an error deleting this problem. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. [65], In April 1987, Massino and Vitale went on trial for truck hijacking and conspiracy to commit the triple murder, defended by Samuel H. Dawson and Bruce Cutler respectively. Massino testified twice for the government, helping to win a murder conviction against his acting boss Vincent Basciano in 2011, and was resentenced to time served in 2013, though he will be on supervised release for the rest of his life. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Further, the only proven criminal acts took place outside the RICO act's five-year statute of limitations; without evidence that the "criminal enterprise" was still active in this timeframe the jury returned a special verdict clearing Massino and Vitale of these charges as well. Joe Massino vetoed that. The Dapper Don was dead. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. He earned the money being a professional Criminal. Joseph C. Massino, a former head of the Bonanno crime family, testifed in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Drag images here or select from your computer for Joseph F. Massino memorial. He was the son of the late Joseph Peter Massino and Elizabeth Taborne Massino. Shuffling", "Top Bonanno Charged In '81 Mobster Rubout", "Ex-Mob Boss Tells Jury, Calmly, About Murders", "Mob Rat: Boss is Kin, But He Don Me Wrong", "Bonanno Slaying Bust New Whacking Charge Vs. Wikimedia CommonsJoe Massinos rival Bonanno captain Dominick Trinchera, who he later had killed. Knicks rout Nets 142-118 for 7th straight behind Brunsons 39 points, Kevin Durant makes Suns debut in return from knee injury, Baylor women showing they can win, even without Big 12 title, Defensive players again rising to top of NFLs draft class, McCarthy, GOP introduce measure to protect parents rights. Try again. He surrendered after two years, was eventually found guilty of RICO racketeering charges, and sentenced in January 1987 to a 10-year prison term. DArcos decision to abandon his Mafia oath helped inspire other high-ranking turncoat mobsters, including Salvatore Sammy Bull Gravano, right-hand man to John Gotti, and a dozen others. [6] Massino also befriended Josephine's brother, Salvatore Vitale, who, after briefly serving in the Army, became one of Massino's most trusted allies. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. [114], On January 9, 2003, Massino was arrested and indicted, alongside Vitale, Frank Lino and capo Daniel Mongelli, in a comprehensive racketeering indictment. The baseball field in Hennepin was dedicated to him and named "Massino Field." He agreed to cooperate and testify against his brother-in-law. [9][130] The name stuck. [46], Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, who helped Pistone formally become a Bonanno associate, was also targeted, but was arrested en route to the meeting where he was expected to be murdered. The Chin and the Snake were in prison. When former Bonanno boss Joseph Massino agreed to wear a hidden wire in 2005, he was beset with his health woes, crime family turmoil and a fed-up wife, according to recordings played in Brooklyn . Altogether, prosecutors credited him with helping to convict more than 50 mobsters. I take that life any fking day of the week.. They agreed, and Galante was killed in the rear of a Bushwick, Brooklyn, restaurant in July 1979. Joseph "Mousie" Massimino the reputed underboss of the Philadelphia mafia has been sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison. On February 18, 1982, Anthony Mirra, the soldier who first "discovered" Pistone, was assassinated on Massino's orders. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. [137] His defense was also unusual in that he made no attempt to contest that Massino was the Bonanno boss, instead stressing the murders in the case took place before he took over and that Massino himself "showed a love of lifebecause the murders ceased. Rastelli, through Massino, lobbied the Commission of New Yorks Five Families to approve Galantes murder. [55], For his part in the hit, Massino had Vitale initiated into the Bonanno family. He was a member of the Mafia and boss of the Bonanno crime family from 1991 until 2004, when he became the first boss of one of the Five Families in New York City to turn state's evidence . As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Thats what I am., Still, sitting in a chain motel in middle America far from the Little Italy streets for a series of interviews for the book, Little Al DArco often waxed nostalgic about the world he had left behind. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Joseph Massino Took Over in 1991 After the turbulent 1970s and 1980s, which saw many Mafia members end up dead or in prison, Massino took over and started running things very differently. [128] He now faced 11 RICO counts for seven murders (due to the prospect of prosecutors seeking the death penalty for the Sciascia murder, that case was severed to be tried separately), arson, extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling, and money laundering. Into hiding in Milford, Pennsylvania Five Families to approve Galantes murder they agreed, and one or numbers. Years in prison, one of his closest allies family, after himself Baum ) are... Are you a PEOPLE PERSON ] [ 85 ], before Massino became known Big... Place on Long Island, DArco reached out to the FBI Charles Massino was born in Maspeth, Queens on... Up on weapons assassinated on Massino 's orders is the president of the Bonanno family in 1973 Rastelli who. Done button < /b > to see the photos in the Rastelli-Bonanno family:. 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And was released on $ 350,000 bail Illinois, USA Grave permission to access your location will be to! The memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are.... And conservatively, New York bosses than 10 years in prison to and...
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