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Joseph Bonanno
The Bonanno Crime Family
Joseph Bonanno was quite interesting to learn about. I had never heard of this man. He was definitely worth doing research on. I actually enjoyed learning about him. Let’s dive into the life of Joseph Bonanno.
Joseph was born on January 18, 1905, in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. This is the same area that had spawned the Don of the Genovese Crime Family, Joe Masseria, and the Cosa Nostra Boss Salvatore Maranzano. The Bonannos had left Sicily for the U.S. while Joe was still a young child. They live in Brooklyn for 10 years before returning to Italy.
It was while they were back in Sicily that Joe was first introduced to the Mafia. Benito Mussolini was in power. It was Mussolini’s crackdown on organized crime that had motivated Joe to return to America without a visa. He came back to the U.S. illegally in 1924. Joe then joined the Maranzano crew. He was just 19 years old.
Joe stood out early on. He was a well-read man. From my research on different mobsters, it is the well-read ones that stand out the most in this time. Now, Joe rose in the ranks of the Maranzano family.
When war broke out between powerful mob families, just a few short years after he came to the U.S., Joe took that time of disorder to establish himself as a true leader. Now, Joe was hired by Maranzano to be…
