Cesare Bonventre
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Cesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre (January 1, 1951 – April 16, 1984) was a Sicilian mobster and caporegime for the New York City Bonanno crime family.


Biography


Early life

Born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Bonventre was a member of the
Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...
. During the 1960s, the New York crime families imported young Sicilian men from Sicily to the United States to work as drug traffickers and hitmen. American mobsters soon derisively dubbed the Sicilians " Zips" due to their fast speech. Bonanno acting boss (unofficial)
Carmine Galante Carmine Galante (; February 21, 1910 – July 12, 1979) was an American mobster. Galante was rarely seen without a cigar hanging from is mouth, leading to the nickname "The Cigar" and "Lilo" (a Sicilian term for cigar). Galante had a long career ...
brought Bonventre to New York to be his bodyguard. Bonventre soon became the unofficial underboss of the Bonanno family Sicilians. Bonventre's uncle was
John Bonventre John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
, a former Bonanno underboss. Bonventre was also a cousin of the first family boss Joseph Bonanno and Bonanno mobster Baldassare "Baldo" Amato. In 1979, Cesare and Baldassare were arrested for carrying illegal firearms in their car after being stopped by police at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, New York, shortly before the execution of
Carmine Galante Carmine Galante (; February 21, 1910 – July 12, 1979) was an American mobster. Galante was rarely seen without a cigar hanging from is mouth, leading to the nickname "The Cigar" and "Lilo" (a Sicilian term for cigar). Galante had a long career ...
. In April 1981, they were convicted and served two months. Ralph Blumenthal wrote in ''Last Days of the Sicilians: The FBI's War Against the Mafia'' that Cesare identified himself to law enforcement as "a pizza man from Brooklyn". He was a regular habituate of his cousin Baldassare Amato's deli run by his family located at Second Avenue and Eighty-fourth Street in Yorkville, New York. The deli had burned down not long before January 1984 but in its place the Amato family built an apartment building with a sleek Italian cafe and restaurant called Biffi. Bonventre's moniker was "The Tall Guy" because he was almost tall. Lean and handsome, Bonventre frequented clubs such as ''The Toyland Social Club'' and the
Knickerbocker Avenue The Knickerbocker Avenue station is a station on the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Myrtle and Knickerbocker Avenues in Bushwick, Brooklyn, it is served by the M train at all times. History T ...
area with other Sicilian mobsters. In the book ''King of the Godfathers'', Anthony M. Destefano wrote that there was something about Bonventre that made him stand out from the other ethnic Italians. His stylish clothing, aviator sunglasses and European man purses embodied Italian couture. Bonventre normally wore his shirt unbuttoned with a gold crucifix hanging from his neck.


Galante assassination

Galante was allegedly murdered for not sharing his drug trafficking profits with the family. The hit on Galante required
Philip "Rusty" Rastelli Philip "Rusty" Rastelli (January 31, 1918 – June 24, 1991) was an American mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family, he spent all but three years of his reign in prison. Biography Rastelli was born and raised in Maspeth, Queens. He h ...
to get approval from the Zips,
Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...
boss Paul Castellano and the other Commission bosses. It was later rumored that the Mafia Commission, which oversees all the crime families, had sanctioned Galante's murder and arranged for Bonventre and Baldo, Galante's bodyguards, to betray him. On July 12, 1979, Bonventre allegedly participated in the murders of Galante and two of his friends. He had been dropped off for lunch at Joe & Mary's, an Italian restaurant in the
Bushwick Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...
section of Brooklyn. After a short while, bodyguards Bonventre and Baldo Amato joined Galante. Although it was a hot summer day and they were dining on the patio, both Bonventre and Amato wore leather jackets, presumably to protect themselves from stray bullets and debris. Suddenly, three men in ski masks appeared on the patio and opened fire on Galante. Bonventre and Amato allegedly joined in the attack, then disappeared from the scene after the three hitmen. Galante and his two lunch companions died. A week after the Galante murders, Bonventre was arrested by federal agents, but he was soon released and was never charged with the crime.


Capo

Philip "Rusty" Rastelli succeeded Galante as boss of the family, even though he was
incarcerated A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
at the time and Joseph Massino became underboss, although some believed Massino was the real power in the family. After Galante's death, Bonventre was promoted from soldier to capo and joined Salvatore Catalano's Brooklyn crew. At 28, Bonventre became the youngest capo in Bonanno family history. Bonventre became involved in the importation and drug trafficking of heroin from Sicily into New York pizza parlors, known as the "Pizza Connection". Bonventre had been on the side of the three capos
Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato Alphonse "Al" Indelicato (February 25, 1931 – May 5, 1981), also known as Sonny Red, was a powerful American caporegime in New York City's Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone for planning to overth ...
,
Philip Giaccone Philip Giaccone (July 12, 1932 – May 5, 1981), also known as "Philly Lucky", was an American mobster in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Al Indelicato for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli. ...
and
Dominick Trinchera Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera (December 20, 1936 – May 5, 1981) 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. Early ...
, a family faction who were planning a coup to take over the family. However, Bonventre switched sides, joining Rastelli's faction. If Bonventre and the Zips had stayed loyal to Indelicato, he would have probably taken over the Bonanno family. The ascension of Rastelli as boss triggered a period of discontent and rivalry in the Bonanno family. As a result, Rastelli and Massino started purging their opponents in the family. In 1984, Massino decided to eliminate Bonventre. Bonventre's pedigree, increasing wealth and fearsome reputation had made him into a threat to Massino's leadership. Bonventre controlled the Sicilians, the most fearsome and reliable killers in the family. Bonventre was prone to outbursts of sadistic violence and was suspected of over 20 murders. Massino warned, "He's a very sharp guy. You have to be careful."


Death

In April 1984, Bonanno mobsters Salvatore Vitale and
Louis Attanasio Louis "Louie HaHa" Attanasio Jr. (born 1944) is an American mobster and reputed captain in the Bonanno crime family. He is the brother of Bonanno mobster Robert Attanasio. Attanasio earned the nickname "HaHa" because he laughed whenever he ki ...
picked up Bonventre to bring him to a meeting with Rastelli at a glue factory in
Wallington, New Jersey Wallington is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,335,Garfield, New Jersey Garfield is a city (New Jersey), city in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 30,487, On April 9, 1984, unaware that Bonventre was dead, a federal grand jury indicted him and 12 other men on charges of distributing narcotics through the pizza restaurants, in the so-called " Pizza Connection" case. On April 16, 1984, the remains were discovered, in a warehouse in
Garfield, New Jersey Garfield is a city (New Jersey), city in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 30,487, Bonventre is buried at Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. Bonventre's widow gave birth to their only son after the murder.


Aftermath

Soon after the murder, a government informant later claimed that one of Bonventre's killers was Bonanno mobster Cosimo Aiello. However, in October 1984, Aiello was shot to death in the parking lot of a Clifton, New Jersey restaurant. In January 2004, nearly 20 years after the Bonventre murder, federal authorities arrested Louis Attanasio, Peter Calabrese and Louis's brother, Robert Attanasio. Now a government witness, Vitale testified against them. On September 20, 2006, after being convicted of murder, Louis Attanasio and Calabrese were sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. Robert Attanasio, who had cleaned up the murder car, received 10 years' imprisonment.


References


Further reading

*Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). ''Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business'', Running Press. . *Pistone, Joseph D.; & Woodley, Richard (1999) '' Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia'', Hodder & Stoughton. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonventre, Cesare 1951 births 1984 deaths Bonanno crime family Sicilian mafiosi Murdered American gangsters of Sicilian descent People murdered by the Bonanno crime family People from Castellammare del Golfo Deaths by firearm in New Jersey People murdered in New Jersey