In 1987, with the Bonannos weakened, the FBI merged its Bonanno squad with its Colombo family squad,The Bonanno squad's chief, Jack Stubing, was well aware of the measures Massino had taken to avoid scrutiny. With this in mind, he was determined to avoid the pitfalls that landed other Mafia bosses in prison.

While the FBI suspected Vitale was a mafioso, he had never been convicted of a Mafia-related crime. He convinced his bosses to lend him a pair of Until 2002, the Bonannos had been the only family in the modern history of the New York Mafia (i. e., since the On January 9, 2003, Massino was arrested and indicted, alongside Vitale, Frank Lino and capo Daniel Mongelli, in a comprehensive racketeering indictment. He had served twelve years of a life sentence for eight murder counts.

Joseph Massino was born on January 10, 1943 in New York City. Despite a weak start, with opening witness Anthony Gilberti unable to recognize Massino in the courtroom, the prosecution would establish its case to link Massino with the charges in the indictment through an unprecedented seven major turncoats, including the six turned made men.

In July 2004 Massino was finally convicted in a murder and racketeering indictment based on the testimony of several cooperating made men, including Massino's disgruntled underboss and brother-in-law Joseph Massino was born on January 10, 1943 in New York City. During that time, he could not associate with convicted mafiosi.

Vitale first met Joseph Massino, future boss of the Bonanno family, as a child.

He therefore decided to go after Massino with a rear-guard action.

He created a A side effect of these reforms was the reduction of Vitale, in his own words, to "a figurehead.

Massino had backed Gotti in his plot to take over the Gambino family,The Bonanno family had been in decline for the better part of the last quarter century since Joe Bonanno's ouster in the 1960s, and it was kicked off the Commission altogether following Pistone's infiltration.According to Capeci, the murder of Sciascia soured relations between the Bonanno and Rizzuto families.At the beginning of his reign as boss, Massino enjoyed the benefit of limited FBI attention. Joseph Massino was convicted for seven murders in 2004, shortly after this he became the first boss of a crime family to become an informant. Massino and Napolitano arranged a sit-down with the three capos for May 5, 1981 to ambush them. On June 14, 1977, Massino was inducted into the Bonanno family along with By the beginning of the 1980s Massino ran his crew from the J&S Cake social club, a property just behind J&J Catering. The one-time Bonanno boss was expected to be moved and to receive a new identity as part of the government's witness protection program. Joseph Massino was born on January 10, 1943, in New York City.Massino first met his future wife Josephine Vitale in 1956,After he turned state's evidence, Massino claimed his first murder victim was a By the late 1960s, Massino was a Bonanno associate.In 1975, Massino and Vitale participated in the murder of Vito Borelli, who Massino claimed was primarily executed by Gotti at the behest of In March 1975, Massino was arrested along with of one of his hijackers, On June 14, 1977, Massino was inducted into the Bonanno family along with By the beginning of the 1980s, Massino ran his crew from the J&S Cake Following the Galante hit, Massino began jockeying for power with Already skeptical of Napolitano's support of "Brasco",On November 23, 1981, based on information gained by Pistone's infiltration, six Bonanno mobsters, including the then-missing Napolitano, were indicted on racketeering charges and conspiracy in "the three capos" hit.In March 1982, Massino was tipped off by a Colombo-associated FBI insider that he was about to be indicted and went into hiding in Pennsylvania with Leisenheimer.In April 1984, Bonventre was called to a meeting with Rastelli in For his part in the hit, Massino had Vitale initiated into the Bonanno family.In 1985, Massino was indicted twice more, first as a co-conspirator with Rastelli in a labor racketeering case for controlling the In April 1987, Massino and Vitale went on trial for truck hijacking and conspiracy to commit the triple murder, defended by Samuel H. Dawson and During his meetings with Massino in prison, Vitale, on behalf of the Bonannos' capos, urged his brother-in-law to become boss in name as well as in fact.Massino was granted two years' supervised release on November 13, 1992. Raised in Maspeth, Queens, Massino would admit to being a juvenile delinquent by the age of 12 and would claim at 14 he ran away from home to Florida. He would instead create a new committee that would relay his orders to the crews. In 1995, consigliere Until 2002, no made member of the Bonannos had turned state's evidence, and Massino used this as a point of pride to rally his crime family.

Another dedicated Bonanno squad would be established in 1996.

Massino was scheduled to go on trial in 1977, but the charges were dropped after he successfully argued that he had not been properly mirandized, disqualifying statements Massino gave to police from being used in trial.

While athletic in youth, [2] Massino was an avid cook, [8] and grew overweight in adulthood. 10.Gabriel Infanti/Capo/Bonanno Crime Family/1987/Ordered It/ Massino had Infanti murdered because he suspected that Infanti was an informant. The killing gained the ire of a Maspeth-based Bonanno caporegime (captain, abbreviated capo), By the late 1960s Massino was a Bonanno associate. When the three capos arrived with Already skeptical of Napolitano's support of 'Brasco', Massino was deeply disturbed by the breach of security when he learned of the agent's true identity.

3.Joseph Pastore/Associate/Bonanno Crime Family/1976/Ordered It/ Massino had Pastore murdered to cover his tracks and prevent himself being linked to truck hijacking. Mob authors and journalists Anthony D. DeStefano and Selwyn Raab both consider the turning of so many made men as a factor in disillusioning Massino with Cosa Nostra, the former also assuming Massino had decided to flip "long before the verdict". That year On January 9, 2003, Massino was arrested and indicted, alongside Three more Bonanno made men would choose to cooperate before Massino came to trial.