Anthony Indelicato

Last updated

Anthony Indelicato
Born (1947-03-04) March 4, 1947 (age 77)
Other names"Bruno"
"Whack-Whack"
Occupation Mobster
Parent Alphonse Indelicato
Relatives Jimmy Burke (father-in-law)
Allegiance Bonanno crime family
Conviction(s) Murder (1986)
Murder (2008)
Criminal penalty40 years' imprisonment and fined $50,000 (1987)
20 years' imprisonment (2008)

Anthony Indelicato (born March 4, 1947), [1] also known as "Bruno" [2] and "Whack-Whack", [3] [4] is an American mobster and high ranking caporegime in the Bonanno crime family of New York City.

Contents

Early life

Anthony Indelicato is the son of Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, a powerful capo in the Bonanno family. Anthony Indelicato's wife is Catherine Burke, a daughter of Lucchese crime family associate Jimmy Burke. [5]

In 1979, Anthony Indelicato participated in the murder of Bonanno boss Carmine Galante. With the official Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli in prison, Galante had taken effective control of the family in the early 1970s. His ruthlessness and ambition created many enemies within the Bonanno family and in the other New York families. [6]

The Mafia Commission finally allowed several Bonanno capos to plot Galante's assassination. On July 12, 1979, Galante entered Joe and Mary's Italian-American Restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn, for lunch. Three gunmen murdered Galante at his table as he was eating lunch on the patio of the restaurant. Two other men who were sitting with him were killed as well. [7] As a reward for his involvement in killing Galante, Indelicato was promoted to capo. [8]

Three capos murder

After Galante's murder, a power struggle erupted between two factions of the Bonanno family. One faction included capos Dominick Napolitano and Joseph Massino, who were loyal to Rastelli. The second faction, which included Indelicato's father Alphonse, Philip Giaccone and Dominick Trinchera, wanted to murder the leaders of the Massino faction and assume power for themselves. After receiving permission from the Mafia Commission, Massino set up a plot to murder the rival captains first. [9]

Napolitano later contacted Donnie Brasco, whom he hoped to make a made man, [10] to murder Indelicato, who had previously evaded death after missing a meeting that left his father, Giaccone, and Trinchera dead on May 5, 1981. [11] Frank Lino, who Indelicato's father brought to the meeting instead and escaped the massacre, was quickly won over to Massino's side. [12] Brasco, however, was actually 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. [13]

Mafia Commission Trial and prison

On November 19, 1986, Indelicato was convicted of the 1979 Galante murder during the historic Mafia Commission Trial. [14] On January 13, 1987, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined $50,000. [15] [16] Soon after being sent to prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Indelicato met Catherine Burke while she was visiting her incarcerated friend John Carneglia. In 1992, Indelicato and Catherine Burke were married at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1998, Indelicato was released from prison on parole. [8]

Santoro murder

In 2001, Indelicato participated in the murder of Bonanno associate Frank Santoro, who had threatened to kidnap one of the sons of then Bonanno capo, Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano. [17] [18] [19] In July 2001, Indelicato was arrested for parole violations after he was videotaped and photographed by investigators associating with men including Basciano. [8] In February 2006, Indelicato was charged with murder and racketeering for the 2001 Santoro murder. [5] In August 2008, Indelicato pleaded guilty to murder, [20] and on December 16, 2008, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. [21] Indelicato was imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury. He was released on May 20, 2022. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominick Napolitano</span> American mobster

Dominick Napolitano, also known as Sonny Black, was an American Mafia caporegime in the Bonanno crime family. He is known for unwittingly allowing FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone to become an associate in his crew and nearly getting him made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Indelicato</span> American mobster (1931–1981)

Alphonse "Al" Indelicato, also known as Sonny Red, was an American mobster and caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Massino</span> American mobster (1940–2023)

Joseph Charles Massino was an American mobster. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvatore Vitale</span> American former underboss

Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale is an American former underboss of the Bonanno crime family before he became a government informant. After his arrest in 2003, Vitale agreed to cooperate with the government and testify against his brother-in-law, boss Joseph Massino, and in July 2004, Massino was convicted in a RICO case. Vitale had admitted to 11 murders, however, in October 2010, was sentenced to time served due to his cooperation, and entered the witness protection program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmine Galante</span> American mobster and boss (1910–1979)

Carmine Galante was an American Mafioso who was acting boss (unofficial) of the Bonanno crime family of New York City. Galante was rarely seen without a cigar hanging from his mouth, leading to the nickname "The Cigar" and "Lilo". He was assassinated on Commission orders in 1979 while dining in a restaurant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph D. Pistone</span> American FBI agent

Joseph Dominick Pistone is an American former FBI agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family, and to a lesser extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City. Pistone was an FBI agent for 17 years, from 1969 until he resigned in 1986. The evidence collected by Pistone led to over 200 indictments and over 100 convictions of Mafia members, and some responsible for his infiltration were also killed by other mobsters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lefty Ruggiero</span> American mobster (1926–1994)

Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero was an American mobster in the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for his friendship and mentorship of FBI undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone, who Ruggiero knew as Donnie Brasco. When Pistone's operation was ended on July 26, 1981, the FBI intercepted and arrested Ruggiero on August 29, 1981. In November 1982, Ruggiero was sentenced to 15 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy; he was released in April 1993 before his death from cancer.

Alfred "Al Walker" Embarrato, also known as "Alfred Scalisi" a.k.a." Aldo Elvorado", was an American mobster who became a caporegime of the Bonanno crime family and a powerful labor figure at The New York Post distribution plant.

Cesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre was a Sicilian mobster who served as a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family, operating out of Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick. Bonventre alongside Salvatore “Toto” Catalano led the Sicilian “Zips” faction of the family and was a key member of the Pizza Connection until his assassination on April 16, 1984 on orders of Joe Massino and Philip “Rusty” Rastelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Mirra</span> American mobster

Anthony "Tony" Mirra was an American mobster, soldier and later caporegime for the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for being the individual who introduced FBI Special Agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone into the Bonanno family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Sabella</span> American mobster

Michael "Mikey Cigars" Sabella (1911–1989) was a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and a relative of Philadelphia crime family mob boss Salvatore Sabella.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominick Trinchera</span> American gangster

Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera was an American caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Philip Giaccone for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Giaccone</span> American mobster

Philip Giaccone, also known as "Philly Lucky", was an American mobster and caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Al Indelicato for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Lino</span> American mobster

Frank "Curly" Lino was an American former caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who later became an informant.

Frank Coppa Sr. is a Sicilian-American gangster in the Bonanno crime family who was a close friend of Joseph Massino and Frank Lino and made large sums of money in stock fraud schemes. In 2002, Coppa became the first Bonanno made man to turn state's evidence.

Antonio Tomasulo, also known as "Bootsie", was an Italian-American mobster who served in the New York Bonanno crime family running a highly lucrative illegal slot machine gambling operation.

Raymond J. Wean a.k.a. "Big Ray" was a Bonanno crime family associate who worked under capo Joe Massino and Dominick Napolitano.

Nicholas Angelo "Nicky Mouth" Santora was the reputed underboss of the Bonanno crime family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Rastelli</span> American mobster

Philip "Rusty" Rastelli was an American mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family; he spent all but three years of his reign in prison.

The Bonanno crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia.

References

  1. Organized Crime in America p.268 U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary (1983) Archived September 21, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Mobsters, unions, and feds: the Mafia and the American labor movement, James B. Jacobs, NYU Press, 2006 ISBN   0-8147-4273-4, ISBN   978-0-8147-4273-0, 320 pages page 38
  3. Born to the Mob: The True-Life Story of the Only Man to Work for All Five of New York's Mafia Families, Frankie Saggio, Fred Rosen, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2004 ISBN   1-56025-559-5, ISBN   9781560255598, page 16
  4. Divorced from the Mob: My Journey from Organized Crime to Independent Woman, By Andrea Giovino, Gary Brozek, Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005 ISBN   978-0-7867-1556-5, page 82
  5. 1 2 Rashbaum, William K. (February 17, 2006). "Mob Figure Is Charged in Plot to Kill a Rival Gangster". The New York Times.
  6. Raab, pp. 203–205
  7. Lubasch, Arnold H. (October 9, 1986). "Slaying of Galante in '79 is detailed in mob trial". The New York Times . Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 "Mob Soldier Faces a Return To Jail for Parole Violations". The New York Times. July 18, 2001. Archived from the original on November 2, 2009.
  9. Mitchel Maddux; Jeremy Olshan (April 13, 2011). "Nomerta! Mafia boss a squealer". New York Post. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  10. DeStefano 2007, pp. 112, 117
  11. Raab, Selwyn (May 13, 2014). Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. Macmillan. ISBN   9781429907989.
  12. Raab, p. 615
  13. DeStefano 2007, pp. 118–120
  14. Lubasch, Arnold H (November 20, 1986). "U.S. Jury Convicts Eight as Members of Mob Commission". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  15. "Judge Sentences 8 Mafia Leaders to Prison Terms". The New York Times. January 14, 1987. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
  16. Federal Government's Use of Trusteeships Under the RICO Statute. Vol. 4. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. 1989.
  17. John Marzulli (August 1, 2007). "Pretty quickly, Gorgeous found guilty in '01 slay". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  18. "'Vinny Gorgeous' guilty of murder". UPI.com. United Press International. August 1, 2007. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  19. Lee, Trymaine (August 7, 2008). "Four in Bonanno Family Plead Guilty in Murders". The New York Times.
  20. "Four in Bonanno Family Plead Guilty in Murders". The New York Times. August 7, 2008. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.
  21. NY POST "Bonanno boss hit with 15 years for mob shooting" Archived January 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine New York Post December 17, 2008.
  22. Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator

Further reading