Natale "Joe Diamond" Evola (February 22, 1907 – August 28, 1973) was a New York mobster who briefly became boss of the

Bonanno crime family The Bonanno 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, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as ...

who was succeeded by

Philip Rastelli Philip "Rusty" Rastelli (January 31, 1918 – June 24, 1991) was an American mobster and former crime boss, 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, Q ...

, and preceded

Paul Sciacca Paul Sciacca (June 15, 1909 – August 27, 1986) was a New York City mobster who succeeded Joseph Bonanno as boss of the Bonanno crime family in 1968. He was succeeded by Natale Evola in 1971. Bonanno family war In 1964, a rivalry in the Bo ...

as boss in 1971. Natale Evola was born in the

Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...

section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

to parents Filippo and Francesca Evola, natives of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. Natale Evola had two brothers (Paul and Joseph Evola) and three sisters (Anna Evola, Josephine DiBarloto, and Mamie Grazzo). Natale Evola never married and lived with his mother in Bay Ridge. Evola's arrest record would eventually include coercion, possession of gun, and federal narcotic law violations. Evola was heavily involved in

narcotics trafficking The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

and in labor racketeering in the Garment District of Manhattan. Evola was a close associate of

Joseph Bonanno Joseph Charles Bonanno (born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno; ; January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002), sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family, which he ran from 1931 to 1968. Bonanno was born i ...

, the original boss of the Bonanno crime family. In 1931, Evola served as an usher at Bonanno's wedding. In 1957, Evola was identified at the infamous Apalachin Meeting in

Apalachin, New York Apalachin ( ) is a census-designated place within the Town of Owego in Tioga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,131 in the 2010 census. The CDP is named after Apalachin Creek. ''Apalachin'' means "from where the messenger retur ...

and later charged, along with twenty other organized figures, with conspiracy. The case was later overturned. On April 17, 1959, Evola was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being convicted on conspiracy to distribute narcotics. Evola had helped manage a large organization that imported heroin from Sicily to the United States. Following family boss

Joe Bonanno Joseph Charles Bonanno (born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno; ; January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002), sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family, which he ran from 1931 to 1968. Bonanno was born ...

's retirement in 1968, Evola reportedly became the boss of the family. Heavily involved in the trucking industry in the Garment District, Evola cooperated with crime family leaders Genovese and Carlo Gambino of the Gambino crime family. On August 28, 1973, Natale Evola died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

at Columbus Hospital in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in the

Woodside, Queens Woodside is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the western portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside, and on the east by Elmhurst, ...

section of New York.

References

External links

The American "Mafia" - Natale Evola

By Mike La Sorte {{DEFAULTSORT:Evola, Natale 1907 births 1973 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent People from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Bosses of the Bonanno crime family Deaths from cancer in New York (state)