Anthony Indelicato (born 1955), also known as "Bruno" and "Whack-Whack", is an American

Caporegime A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a '' made member'' of an Italian crime family who he ...

with 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 ...

of New York City.

Early life

Anthony Indelicato is the son of

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 ...

, a powerful capo in the Bonanno family. Anthony Indelicato's wife is Catherine Burke, a daughter of

Lucchese crime family The Lucchese 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, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon know ...

associate Jimmy Burke. In 1979, Anthony Indelicato participated in the murder of Bonanno boss

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 caree ...

. With the official Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli in prison, Galante had taken effective control of the family in the early 1970s. His ruthlessness and ambition created many enemies within the Bonanno family and in the other New York families. The Mafia Commission finally allowed several Bonanno capos to plot Galante's assassination. On July 12, 1979, Galante entered Joe and Mary's Italian-American Restaurant in

Bushwick, Brooklyn 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 ...

, for lunch. Three gunmen murdered Galante at his table as he was eating lunch on the patio of the restaurant. Two other men who were sitting with him were killed as well. As a reward for his involvement in killing Galante, Indelicato was promoted to capo.

Three capos murder

After Galante's murder, a power struggle erupted between two factions of the Bonanno family. One faction included capos Dominick Napolitano and

Joseph Massino Joseph Charles Massino (born January 10, 1943) is an American former mobster. He was a member of the Mafia and boss of the Bonanno crime family from 1991 until 2004, when he became the first boss of one of the Five Families in New York City to tu ...

, who were loyal to Rastelli. The second faction, which included Indelicato's father Alphonse, Philip Giaccone and Dominick Trinchera, wanted to murder the leaders of the Massino faction and assume power for themselves. After receiving permission from the Mafia Commission, Massino set up a plot to murder the rival captains first. Napolitano later contacted undercover agent

Donnie Brasco Joseph Dominick Pistone (born September 17, 1939), is an American former FBI agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family, and to a lesser ...

, whom he hoped to make a

made man In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oa ...

,DeStefano 2007, pp. 112, 117 to murder Indelicato, who had previously evaded death after missing a meeting which left his father, Giaccone, and Trinchera dead on May 5, 1981. After his father's murder, Indelicato went into hiding in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...

. Massino wanted to kill him also, but he had missed the meeting. His father brought Lino instead, who was the sole survivor of the massacre. Lino, who had escaped, was quickly won over to Massino's side. Napolitano assigned associate Donnie Brasco, whom he hoped to make a

, to kill Indelicato. "Brasco", however, was in fact an undercover FBI agent named

Joseph Pistone Joseph Dominick Pistone (born September 17, 1939), is an American former FBI agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family, and to a lesser ...

; shortly after the hit was ordered, Pistone's assignment was ended and Napolitano was informed of their infiltration.DeStefano 2007, pp. 118–120

Mafia Commission Trial and prison

On November 19, 1986, Indelicato was convicted of the 1979 Galante murder during the historic

Mafia Commission Trial The Mafia Commission Trial (in full, ''United States v. Anthony Salerno, et al'') was a criminal trial before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City, United States, that lasted from February 25, 19 ...

. On January 13, 1987, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined $50,000. Soon after being sent to prison in

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,1 ...

, Indelicato met Catherine Burke while she was visiting her incarcerated friend John Carneglia. In 1992, Indelicato and Catherine Burke were married at the federal prison in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

. In 1998, Indelicato was released from prison on parole.

Santoro murder

In 2001, Indelicato participated in the murder of Bonanno associate Frank Santoro, who had threatened to kidnap one of the sons of then Bonanno capo, Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano. In July 2001, Indelicato was arrested for parole violations after he was videotaped and photographed by investigators associating with men including Basciano. In February 2006, Indelicato was charged with murder and racketeering for the 2001 Santoro murder.Rashbaum, William K. (February 17, 2006)
"Mob Figure Is Charged in Plot to Kill a Rival Gangster"
''The New York Times''. In August 2008, Indelicato pleaded guilty to murder, and on December 16, 2008, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Indelicato was imprisoned at the

Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury The Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury (FCI Danbury) is a low-security United States federal prison for male and female inmates in Danbury, Connecticut. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Depar ...

. He was released on May 20, 2022.Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
/ref>

In popular culture

* In the 1997 film ''

'', Anthony Indelicato was portrayed by

Brian Tarantina Brian Tarantina (March 27, 1959 – November 2, 2019) was an American stage, screen, and television character actor born in New York City. He was known for his roles on such shows as '' One Life to Live'', ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'', and ''G ...

References

External links

''Anthony Indelicato, Petitioner vs. United States of America''
In the Supreme Court of the United States: On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit * Magnuson, Ed (June 24, 2001)

''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Indelicato, Anthony American gangsters of Sicilian descent Bonanno crime family Living people American people convicted of murder Date of birth missing (living people) 1955 births