Anthony A. Graziano (November 12, 1940 – May 25, 2019) was an American mobster and

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a ...

in 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 ...

Bonanno crime family

Captain

In 1990, Graziano pleaded guilty to federal

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...

. He had failed to pay $100,000 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and had hidden some personal assets under the names of relatives. Graziano was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $250,000. In 1994, Graziano ordered his crew to find and kill John Pappa and Calvin Hennigar, both mobsters with the

Colombo crime family The Colombo crime family (, ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was duri ...

. On one occasion, the two men had fired shots inside a

topless bar A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. Am ...

in Staten Island owned by Graziano, wounding one patron. An enraged Graziano had sent his Brooklyn crew hunting for them. However, Graziano later met with Colombo family representatives and agreed on a settlement to the problem. Graziano called off the murder order, but in 2002 he would be indicted on two counts of murder conspiracy due to this episode.

Consigliere

In March 2002, Graziano was indicted on separate racketeering charges in New York, Arizona and Florida. In September 2012, Graziano was indicted on federal racketeering and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

charges,

bookmaking A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

, and murder based on recorded conversations with his son-in-law Hector Pagan (Junior) Jr. and conspiracy to commit murder. On June 20, 2018, he was indicted again in Arizona on charges ranging from

illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...

to investment fraud. His investment scams, carefully disguised by the once successful Bulls and Bears Fund, defrauded customers out of $11.7 million. On July 18, 2003, Graziano was sentenced to 11 years in prison on the Florida charges. On November 13, 2003, Graziano was sentenced to nine years in prison on the New York charges. At the New York sentencing, Graziano's lawyer asked for leniency, saying that his client had

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and had survived two episodes of

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become ma ...

. In August 2011, Graziano was released from prison. On May 25, 2019, Graziano died.

Personal life

Graziano's daughter

Renee Graziano Renee Graziano (born July 12, 1968) is an American reality television personality and author. She is known for being the daughter of Anthony Graziano, a former consigliere of the Bonanno crime family and her roles in two reality television show ...

participated in the reality television program ''

Mob Wives ''Mob Wives'' is an American reality television series that premiered on VH1 on April 17, 2011. The show focuses on the lives of several women residing in the New York City borough of Staten Island, whose family members and husbands have been arr ...

''. The show was created and produced by another daughter of Graziano, Renee's sister Jennifer Graziano. As a result, he did not speak to either of them for a few years. According to Renee Graziano during an interview on

Dr. Drew David Drew Pinsky (born September 4, 1958), commonly known as Dr. Drew, is an American media personality, internist, and addiction medicine specialist. He hosted the nationally syndicated radio talk show ''Loveline'' from the show's incepti ...

's Podcast on April 24, 2013, she revealed that she and her father were speaking again. Renee also participated in the UK series ''

Celebrity Big Brother 18 ''Celebrity Big Brother 18'' was the eighteenth series of the British reality television series ''Celebrity Big Brother'', hosted by Emma Willis and narrated by Marcus Bentley. The series launched on 28 July 2016, just two days after the conclus ...

'', as well as WEtv's ''

Marriage Boot Camp ''Marriage Boot Camp'' (also known as ''Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas'', ''Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars'' and ''Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars Family Edition'') is an American reality television series which debuted on May 31, 2013, on W ...

''.

References

External links

Bonanno Consigliere: Anthony Graziano
(November 26, 2010) Gangsters Inc.

(Decided: March 24, 1988) IPSN.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Graziano, Anthony 1940 births 2019 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Bonanno crime family Consiglieri American people convicted of tax crimes American drug traffickers American people convicted of murder Place of death missing People convicted of murder by the United States federal government