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Feds Bust Five Bonanno Family Mobsters, Including 'Donnie Brasco' Underboss
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 27, 2012
Modified Jan 27, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 27, 2012
Modified Jan 27, 2012
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A joint investigation between the DEA and FBI culminated this morning with the arrest of five high-ranking members of the Bonanno crime family, officials announced. The five alleged gangsters include "made" Bonanno member Vincent Badalamenti, a.k.a. “Vinny TV, and Nicholas "Nicky Mouth" Santora, who previously did 15 years in prison after undercover FBI agent Joseph Pistone—dubbed "Donnie Brasco"—infiltrated the family by posing as a gangster in the late 1970s. In the movie about that investigation, Santora (played by Bruno Kirby) was killed; in real life he was released from prison in 2009, and now it looks like he's going back.
Also arrested were Bonanno crime family members Anthony "TG" Graziano, alleged captain Vito Balsamo, and alleged foot soldier Anthony Calabrese. Investigators say they caught Graziano on tape when he was in prison telling an informant to get money from an extortion victim and “open him up" in necessary. As it happens, the recording was made by DEA informant Hector Pagan, who is the boyfriend of "Mob Wives" star Renee Graziano—TG is her father and Pagan wore a wire to record the conversations.
A Gambino crime family associate, James LaForte, was also arrested in the early morning raids. According to the FBI press release, the evidence reveals "a pattern of violence and intimidation employed by the defendants to further their enterprise’s economic interests, including Badalamenti allegedly directing the hostile takeover of a bar located on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, as a result of its owner’s failure to repay a debt owed to Badalamenti." Charges include racketeering, extortion, illegal gambling, conspiring to distribute marijuana, and refusing to remove their shoes in a Japanese restaurant.
Tagged
bonanno
bonanno family
donnie brasco
gangsters
la cosa nostra
mafia
mobsters
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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