Born Jan. 18, 1905 in Castellamare del Golfo, Sicily, Bonanno first came to the U.S. with his family (established Mafia leaders) at age 3. The family returned to Sicily when he was about 7 to protect its interests there. Bonanno traveled back to Brooklyn in 1924 and settled with his relatives, the Bonventres.
Within a few years, Bonanno was actively bootlegging for the Cola Schiro organization (which appears to have been cofounded by another Bonanno relative, Stefano Maggadino, some years earlier and which included a large number of Castellamarese immigrants).
Bonanno was a staunch supporter of Salvatore Maranzano in the Castellamarese War, but was welcomed into the new Mafia hierarchy after Maranzano's assassination in 1931. Bonanno claims to have been made boss of the Brooklyn Castellamarese clan after Maranzano's death. He held that role and expanded his family's interests into Canada, Arizona and California - with some competition (made famous in the press as the "Banana Wars") and occasional interruptions (he was once allegedly kidnapped) - into the 1980s.
The Family's hard times continued after Bonanno's retirement. It was kicked off the Commission in the 1980s when it was learned that the group was directly involved with drug trafficking in violation of a Paul Castellano edict. Joe Bonanno died of natural causes May 12, 2002.
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