Patrick "Patty from the Bronx" DeFilippo (1939 — November 24, 2013) was an American mobster who was a captain 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 ...

. He operated from the Bronx and controlled a large illegal gambling ring.

Bonanno member

DeFilippo became 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 ...

sometime in the 1970s, though his involvement with the family dates back much farther. His father Vito was a high-ranking Sicilian-born member of the family and a close associate of

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 ...

. During the war of the 1960s, Patty served as a driver and bodyguard to Joe's son,

Salvatore Bonanno Salvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno (November 5, 1932 – January 1, 2008) was an American mobster who served as consigliere of the Bonanno crime family, and son of crime boss Joseph Bonanno. Later in life, he became a writer and produced films f ...

. During this time, the younger Bonanno was detained in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, Canada along with both Patty and Vito DeFilippo and several other associates. The group was alleged to have met with the family's powerful Canadian faction and attended the wedding of

Vito Rizzuto Vito Rizzuto (; February 21, 1946 – December 23, 2013), also known as "Montreal's Teflon Don", was an Italian-Canadian crime boss alleged to be the leader of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada. He headed the notorious Rizzuto crime family based ...

. He was an acting capo during the induction ceremony of Vincent Basciano because capo Charles Musillo was incarcerated at the time. In the 1980s, Patty was promoted to

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 ...

under reputed family leaders Philip "Rusty" Rastelli and Joseph "Big Joe" Massino. DeFilippo's early criminal activities included labor and construction racketeering,

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, ...

loansharking A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

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, ...

, and

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 ...

Bonanno rivalry

Reportedly a

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 ...

faction leader of the Bonanno crime family since the 1980s, DeFilippo was also an associate of capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, whom he supported during the Bonanno internal rivalries. In 1981, Napolitano and Massino gained control of the family by murdering renegade capos Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato,

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. Earl ...

. During this turmoil, DeFilippo maintained good relations with both Napolitano and Massino. While in the 1990s operating illegal poker machines in the Bronx faction along with reputed soldier Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano, Massino became the absolute powerhouse in the Bonanno crime family and reportedly brought the family back in the Commission.

Murdering Sciascia

In 1999, DeFilippo murdered Bonanno capo

Gerlando Sciascia Gerlando "George from Canada" Sciascia (; February 15, 1934 – March 18, 1999), was a New York City mobster, and a caporegime of the Bonanno crime family, who was also the Sixth Family's representative from New York, and was a major narcotics traf ...

. Over the past few years, Massino had grown tired of Sciascia's constant complaints about Massino's leadership and about capo Anthony "T.G." Graziano, a close associate. Massino finally ordered DeFilippo and soldier John Spirito to kill Sciascia. Massino ordered Sciascia to meet with DeFilippo in the

to discuss Graziano. On March 18, 1999, at the dinner, DeFilippo told Sciascia that they were driving to a different location and the three men entered Spirito's

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...

. As Spirito drove the vehicle, DeFilippo shot Sciascia four times with a silenced gun. The gunmen then drove to a deserted Bronx street, where they left the body on the road. A passerby saw the dumping and immediately called the police.

Indictments and prison

In 2000, New York Police Department (NYPD) agents infiltrated DeFilippo's crew and started gathering evidence on its illegal gambling and loansharking operations as part of a two-year investigation. On November 12, 2002, DeFilippo and 20 crew members were arrested on numerous state charges. One of those arrested was Margaret Frascone , the

legally blind Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

83-year-old mother of Bonanno soldier Anthony "The Hat" Frascone and DeFilippo's godmother. She was charged with a misdemeanor for helping the crew collect gambling profits. On August 14, 2003, Massino, underboss

Salvatore Vitale Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale (born September 22, 1947) is an American former underboss of the Bonanno crime family before he became a government informant. After his arrest in 2003, Vitale agreed to cooperate with the government and testif ...

, and many other Bonanno members were indicted on charges ranging from labor and construction racketeering, to extortion and loansharking, to murder and conspiracy. DeFilippo was charged with conspiracy in ordering the 1999 Sciascia murder, racketeering, extortion, loansharking, and illegal gambling. Soon, both Massino's and Vitale agreed to become government witnesses. On one occasion while in prison, Massino received a visit from mob lawyer Thomas Lee with a message from acting boss Basciano. According to Lee, Basciano wanted permission to "jocko", or kill, DeFilippo. However, neither Lee or Basciano knew that Massino was recording the conversation for the government. Basciano was later indicted on charges of murder and conspiracy, and Lee with conspiracy to commit murder. Acting capo Salvatore "Sal the Ironworker" Montagna became the new acting boss of the Bonanno crime family. In 2006, DeFilippo was convicted of racketeering, but exonerated of murder. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. DeFilippo was incarcerated at the

Federal Correctional Institution The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correctio ...

(FCI) in

Terre Haute 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 ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

with a projected release-date of June 25, 2038, effectively a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

. DeFilippo died on November 24, 2013, at age 74.Bonanno Crime Family
by Anthony M. DeStefano

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Defilippo, Patrick 1939 births American gangsters of Italian descent Bonanno crime family People convicted of racketeering American extortionists People acquitted of murder 2013 deaths