Joe Bonanno, Sr. was a self-described “venture capitalist” and denied any involvement with drug trafficking or prostitution. As the head of one of New York City’s five original mafia families, Bonanno led the Brooklyn-based crime family for more than three decades before losing power in the 1960s. Bonanno was born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno on January…
Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano – Made Famous in “Donnie Brasco”
Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano came into this world on June 16, 1930, and was raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where he got his start as a petty thief. Although his descendants were from Naples, Italy, he was born with blond hair and as he grew into adulthood died it jet black which earned him the nickname…
Paul “Big Paulie” Vario – Goodfella’s Paul Cicero
Paul “Big Paulie” Vario was born on July 9, 1914 and lived in Brooklyn New York. He had four brothers, Vito, Salvatore, Thomas, and Leonard. As a youngster, Vario was in trouble with law enforcement often. In 1925 at the age of 12 he was sent away for seven months for truancy. He had several…
Benedetto “Benny” Aloi – High Profile Defendant in the Infamous 1990’s “Windows Case”
Benedetto “Benny” Aloi was born on October 6, 1935 and had one sibling, a brother named Vincenzo “Vinnie” Aloi. His father, Sebastian “Buster” Aloi was a soldier in the Profaci crime family and is responsible for bringing his sons into the La Cosa Nostra. Aloi spent much of his childhood like any other child hanging around his…
Anthony “Old Man” Spero – Carmine Galante Protege and Bonanno Family Consigliere
Anthony Spero was the consigliere and two time acting boss of the Bonanno crime family of New York. He was born in 1929 and became involved with organized crime on the streets of Brooklyn in his early twenties. Early on his closest confidant was Bonanno underboss Carmine Galante who showed Spero the ways of the…