Bonanno Crime Family Leadership Timeline

The Bonanno Crime Family is one of New York’s original Five Families — and in many ways the most turbulent. While other families endured waves of violence from outside, the Bonannos spent decades fighting themselves, with the bitter family war of the 1960s, the Galante power grab of the 1970s, and the catastrophic defection of Joseph Massino in 2004 each coming close to destroying the organisation entirely.

And yet it survives. Founded by Nicolo Schiro in 1912 and shaped into a major criminal enterprise by Joe Bonanno over three decades, the family has outlasted every attempt — from within and without — to finish it. Below is the complete leadership timeline from 1912 to the present day.

Nicolo Schiro — 1912 to 1930

Nicolo Schiro founded what would become the Bonanno Crime Family in 1912, building a criminal organisation rooted in extortion, loansharking, and bootlegging across Brooklyn and the Bronx. He was one of the most carefully low-profile bosses in New York Mafia history — in nearly two decades as boss he was never once arrested, and his name rarely appeared in newspaper accounts of organised crime.

Schiro’s influence extended beyond New York. Several senior members of his family went on to lead organised crime operations in other cities — Frank Lanza in San Francisco, Stefano Magaddino in Buffalo, and Gaspare Messina in New England — a testament to the reach of the organisation he built.

His reign ended not through arrest or assassination but through the political upheaval of the Castellammarese War. Facing pressure from Joe Masseria and unable to navigate the shifting alliances, Schiro stood aside in 1930, clearing the way for Salvatore Maranzano to take control.

Salvatore Maranzano — 1930 to 1931

Salvatore Maranzano took over the family at the height of the Castellammarese War and proved to be one of the most significant — if short-lived — figures in American Mafia history. A student of Julius Caesar who modelled his strategic thinking on the Roman general, Maranzano outmanoeuvred Joe Masseria with Lucky Luciano‘s assistance and declared himself Boss of Bosses of the entire American Mafia.

He reorganised New York’s criminal organisations into the five-family structure that still exists today, and established the hierarchical template — boss, underboss, consigliere, capos — that every American Mafia family has operated on ever since. His legacy as an organisational architect is profound, even if his personal reign lasted less than a year.

Maranzano was assassinated in September 1931 by men sent by Lucky Luciano, who had learned that Maranzano planned to have him killed. Joe Bonanno, Maranzano’s close ally, stepped up to lead the family.

Joe Bonanno — 1931 to 1965

Joe Bonanno was the defining figure of the family that bears his name — leading it for 34 years, building it into one of New York’s most stable crime organisations, and later writing the only genuine autobiography ever published by an American Mafia boss. He had emigrated illegally from Sicily in 1924, joining Schiro’s organisation as a young man, and rose steadily to take the top position at just 26 years old.

Under Bonanno the family ran loansharking, bookmaking, numbers running, prostitution, and narcotics with unusual internal discipline. Unlike other families the Bonannos suffered almost no internal dissension during this period — Bonanno ran a tight operation, commanded genuine loyalty, and maintained workable relationships with the Commission and the other New York families.

His downfall came from a conspiracy too ambitious even for him. In the early 1960s Bonanno and Joe Magliocco hatched a plot to assassinate Carlo Gambino, Tommy Lucchese, and other Commission members. The contract was given to Joe Colombo — who immediately reported everything to Gambino and Lucchese. In October 1964 Bonanno disappeared for two years, claiming he had been kidnapped. The Commission used his absence to strip him of his family. The Bonanno War that followed raged through the 1960s before Bonanno suffered a heart attack and retired permanently in 1968. He later wrote his memoir A Man of Honor and died peacefully in 2002 at the age of 97.

Gaspar DiGregorio — 1965 to 1968

With Bonanno effectively exiled, the Commission installed Gaspar DiGregorio as boss in 1965. It was a choice that immediately split the family — Bonanno loyalists, led by his son Bill Bonanno, refused to recognise DiGregorio’s authority. The resulting Bonanno War was one of the most chaotic periods in the family’s history.

DiGregorio’s most infamous moment came when he arranged a supposed peace meeting with the Bonanno faction at a house in Brooklyn. When the Bonanno men arrived, DiGregorio’s gunmen opened fire. Miraculously no one was killed. The ambush destroyed whatever remained of DiGregorio’s credibility. Despite having the full backing of Gambino, Lucchese, Colombo and Genovese on the Commission, he was removed for his inability to end the conflict. Paul Sciacca replaced him.

Paul Sciacca — 1966 to 1971

Paul Sciacca inherited a fractured family and spent five years attempting to rebuild it. His most significant move was a strategic one — promoting the leaders of the two most powerful rival factions within the family to the top positions beneath him. Natale Evola, the leader of the former Bonanno loyalists, became underboss. Philip Rastelli, the leader of the younger faction, became consigliere. By elevating both he hoped to bind the family back together.

The tactic worked well enough that the Bonanno War gradually wound down. Sciacca’s reign ended in 1971 when he was convicted of heroin trafficking and sentenced to prison. Natale Evola stepped up as boss.

Natale Evola — 1971 to 1973

Natale Evola had been a Bonanno family loyalist through the worst years of the internal war and had previously served ten years in prison after a 1959 narcotics conviction related to a Sicilian heroin importation network. By the time he became boss the family was slowly stabilising, and Evola continued Sciacca’s work of reunification.

His tenure was cut short not by law enforcement but by cancer. Evola died in 1973, having led the family for just two years. Philip Rastelli, the other faction leader Sciacca had elevated, was next in line.

Philip Rastelli — 1973 to 1991

Acting 1973–1979: Carmine Galante | Acting 1979–1983: Salvatore Farrugia | Acting 1987–1991: Anthony Spero

Philip Rastelli’s official reign as boss lasted 18 years, though much of it was spent in prison and much of the real power was exercised by others — most dramatically by Carmine Galante. Rastelli had been named boss in 1974 but was soon imprisoned on loansharking charges, at which point Galante seized de facto control of the family, running its lucrative heroin pipeline with total ruthlessness and refusing to share proceeds with the Commission.

From prison, Rastelli reportedly coordinated with the Commission to sanction Galante’s murder. Galante was shot dead in July 1979 while eating lunch in a Brooklyn restaurant, the cigar still in his mouth in the photograph that became the most iconic mob crime scene image in history. Rastelli remained official boss until his death from liver cancer in June 1991 at the age of 73.

Joseph Massino — 1991 to 2004

Acting 1991–1993: Anthony Spero | Acting 2003–2004: Anthony Urso | Acting 2004: Vincent Basciano | Acting 2004–2006: Michael Mancuso

Joseph Massino was the most capable boss the Bonanno family produced after Joe Bonanno himself, and his fall was the most dramatic in the family’s history. At the peak of his power around the turn of the millennium he was considered the most powerful Mafia leader in the United States — the only full-fledged New York boss not behind bars, earning himself the nickname The Last Don.

Massino ran an exceptionally tight security operation. Inspired by the Genovese boss Vincent Gigante, he banned his men from speaking his name aloud — they were to touch their ear when referring to him. He closed the family’s social clubs, held meetings in remote locations or foreign countries, and required prospective made men to have eight years of proven loyalty before initiation.

His conviction in 2004 on murder and racketeering charges was devastating enough. What followed was unprecedented — Massino became the first sitting boss of a New York crime family to turn government witness, testifying against his own associates including acting boss Vincent Basciano. He was re-sentenced to time served in 2013 but remains on supervised release for life.

Vincent Basciano — 2005 to 2013

Acting 2004–2006: Michael Mancuso | Acting 2006–2009: Salvatore Montagna | Acting 2010–2012: Vincent Badalamenti

Vincent Basciano took over following Massino’s cooperation with the government, a period of maximum instability for the family. His reign was cut short by his former boss — Massino’s testimony helped secure a murder conviction against Basciano in 2011. The jury rejected the prosecution’s request for the death penalty, sentencing Basciano instead to life in federal prison, where he remains.

Michael Mancuso — 2013 to Present

Acting: Thomas DiFiore

Michael Mancuso has been the official boss of the Bonanno Crime Family since 2013. He had previously served as acting boss during Massino’s legal troubles in 2004 before being implicated by Massino himself in the 1999 murder of Gerlando Sciascia. Mancuso was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in December 2008 and was released in 2019.

On his release he resumed control of the family through acting boss Thomas DiFiore, who handles day-to-day street operations. The Bonanno family continues to operate in New York, primarily through traditional rackets including gambling and loansharking, though its membership and influence are significantly reduced from the Massino era.

Frequently Asked Questions — Bonanno Crime Family

Who is the current boss of the Bonanno Crime Family?

Michael Mancuso is the official boss, released from federal prison in 2019 after serving a 15-year sentence. He directs the family through acting boss Thomas DiFiore. The family remains active in New York but is significantly smaller than at its peak.

Who was Joe Bonanno?

Joe Bonanno founded the family that bears his name and led it for 34 years from 1931 to 1965. He built it into one of New York’s most stable crime organisations and later wrote the only genuine autobiography by an American Mafia boss — A Man of Honor. He died peacefully in 2002 at the age of 97.

How did Carmine Galante die?

Galante was shot dead on July 12, 1979, while eating lunch in the garden of Joe and Mary’s Italian Restaurant in Brooklyn. Three masked gunmen entered and opened fire. The Commission had sanctioned his murder after growing tired of his refusal to share heroin profits. The crime scene photograph — Galante slumped with a cigar still in his mouth — became the most iconic mob image in history.

Who was Joseph Massino?

Joseph Massino was boss from 1991 to 2004 and was considered the most powerful Mafia leader in America at his peak. He was convicted of murder and racketeering in 2004 and became the first sitting New York boss to turn government witness, testifying against his own associates in exchange for a reduced sentence.

What was the Bonanno family war?

The Bonanno War was an internal conflict through the 1960s triggered by Joe Bonanno’s failed plot to assassinate rival Commission bosses. When the Commission removed Bonanno and installed DiGregorio in 1965, Bonanno loyalists refused to accept the decision. The war ended only when Joe Bonanno suffered a heart attack and permanently retired in 1968.