Dominick Napolitano

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Dominick Napolitano
Napolitano c. 1980
Born	(1930-06-16)June 16, 1930 New York City, U.S.
Disappeared	August 17, 1981
Died	August 17, 1981(1981-08-17) (aged 51) New York City, U.S.
Cause of death	Gunshot Wound
Body discovered	August 12, 1982 Arlington, Staten Island, U.S.
Other names	Sonny Black
Occupation	Mobster
Allegiance	Bonanno crime family

Dominick Napolitano (June 16, 1930 – August 17, 1981), also known as Sonny Black, was an American Mafia caporegime in the Bonanno crime family. He is known for unwittingly allowing FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone to become an associate in his crew and nearly getting him made. ^[1]

Contents

• Early life
• Caporegime
• Operation Donnie Brasco
• Death
• In popular culture
• See also
• References
• Further reading
• External links

Early life

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Napolitano's grandparents were immigrants from Naples, Italy. Napolitano was born with blond hair, but by his forties it had turned a gunmetal white-silver color. To hide the color, he dyed it black, earning him the nickname "Sonny Black". He was a close friend of future Bonanno crime family boss Joseph Massino; incarcerated boss Philip Rastelli knew Napolitano before he went to prison. He was close to Carmine Napolitano (May 30, 1943 – February 15, 1999), a cousin and fellow Bonanno mobster. Like his sons Peter Napolitano (November 17, 1957 – June 29, 1994), Aniello Napolitano and Rocco Napolitano who were born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; he was also raised there. ^{[2] [ additional citation(s) needed ]}

Napolitano controlled Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and from 1979–80, he operated in Pasco County, Florida, and from Holiday, Florida, after negotiating control of the territory with Santo Trafficante, Jr. At that time, Napolitano set his sights on operating a major bookmaking operation in Orlando.^{[ citation needed ]}

Caporegime

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Napolitano rose to prominence in 1973 as a soldier for Michael Sabella and was promoted to capo, replacing his mentor after the gangland execution of the powerful rival capo Carmine "The Cigar" Galante. Sabella was demoted and Napolitano took over the crew. He became a trusted confidant of the imprisoned mobster Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli who took over leadership permanently again. But when Rastelli took over, it caused the Bonannos to split into two factions, one loyal to Rastelli, the other attempting to overthrow him in favor of the Sicilian faction, led by Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato.

Napolitano owned the Wither's Italian-American Veterans of Foreign Wars Club at 415 Graham Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and also The Motion Lounge at 420 Graham Avenue. He later ran an illegal casino in Pasco County, Florida, and owned a tennis club and night club called The King's Court Bottle Club in Holiday, Florida.

Napolitano's headquarters were in the heart of Williamsburg's Italian neighborhood. His crew, involved in burglary, extortion, robbery, bank robbery, loansharking, hijacking, bookmaking, casino operations and drug trafficking, were one of the most successful crews in the Bonanno family. Napolitano's crew included Bonanno street soldiers Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, Nicholas Santora, Louis Attanasio, John Cersani, Jerome Asaro, Anthony Francomano, Sandro Asaro, John Faraci, Daniel Mangelli, Robert Lino, Frank Lino, Richard Riccardi, Joseph Grimaldi, Nicholas Accardi, Peter Rosa, Patrick DeFilippo, Michael Mancuso, Vito Grimaldi, Anthony Urso, James Tartaglione, Joseph Cammarano, John Zancocchio, Edward Barberra, Frankie Fish, Bobby Badheart, Bobby Smash and his previous capo Michael Sabella, Joseph Puma, Steven Maruca, Salvatore Farrugia, Anthony Pesiri, Antonio Tomasulo, Anthony Rabito, Raymond Wean, Frank DiStefano, Salvatore D'Ottavio, James Episcopa and Donnie Brasco.

Operation Donnie Brasco

Napolitano assigned associate Donnie Brasco in September 1981^{[ citation needed ]}, whom he hoped to make a made man, to kill Bruno Indelicato, who had previously evaded death when he missed the meeting when the three capos were killed in May 1981. ^{[3] [4]} "Brasco", however, was in fact an undercover FBI agent named Joseph Pistone; shortly after the hit was ordered, Pistone's assignment was ended, and Napolitano was informed of their infiltration. In 1981, Napolitano and Joseph Massino, who were loyal to Rastelli, were chiefly responsible for helping to end the struggle by killing three capos opposed to Rastelli: Alphonse Indelicato, Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone. Already skeptical of Napolitano's support of "Brasco", ^[5] Massino was deeply disturbed by the breach of security when he learned of the agent's true identity. Salvatore Vitale would later testify that this was the reason Massino subsequently decided to murder Napolitano as well; as he would later quote Massino, "I have to give him a receipt for the Donnie Brasco situation." ^{[6] [7]}

Death

On August 17, 1981, Napolitano was summoned to a meeting in Bonanno associate Ron Filocomo's home in Eltingville, Staten Island, which was the home of Filocomo's parents. Anticipating that he would be killed, Napolitano gave his jewelry to his favorite bartender, who worked below his apartment at the Motion Lounge, along with the keys to his apartment so that his pet pigeons could be cared for. Bonanno capo Frank Lino and Steven Canone drove Napolitano to the Filocomo's house. The three men were greeted at the door by Frank Coppa, who told them the conference was to be held in the basement. As Napolitano descended the basement stairs, Coppa slammed the basement door shut, signaling for Lino to shove Napolitano down the stairs, as two killers; Robert Lino Sr (Frank Lino's cousin) and Filocomo were waiting at the foot of the stairwell. Napolitano was pushed down the staircase and was shot and grazed by Lino Sr. ^[8] When his gun failed to fire a subsequent shot, Napolitano told them "Hit me one more time and make it good", to which Filocomo responded by firing several .38 caliber rounds, killing him. ^[9]

Napolitano's girlfriend Judy later contacted Pistone and told him that, shortly before his death, Napolitano had told her that he bore no ill will towards Pistone, knowing that Pistone was only doing his job, and that if anyone was responsible for taking him down, he was glad it was Pistone. She said that Napolitano really loved Pistone and was upset when he found out he was an agent. Napolitano could not believe that Pistone was an agent because of the "things we had done together, the conversations we'd had, the feelings we'd had." ^[10]

In August, FBI surveillance noticed workmen dismantling Napolitano's pigeon coops atop the Motion Lounge. On August 12, 1982, a body was found at South Avenue and Bridge Street in Arlington, Staten Island; the corpse's hands were severed and the face was so badly decomposed that dental records were required to verify the identity. The FBI announced that it had found the corpse of Napolitano. In 2000, however, they publicly revealed doubts about whether the corpse was correctly identified. ^[11]

In 2003, Bonanno boss Joseph Massino was arrested and charged with a variety of crimes, with the case centering on the murder of Napolitano. At Massino's trial, prosecutors claimed that Napolitano was killed by his associates for allowing his crew to be compromised, and that his hands had been removed as a warning to other mobsters to follow the rule about proper introductions (the implication being the association between shaking hands and being introduced to someone). Massino was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to life imprisonment. ^{[12] [13]}

In 2006, Frank Lino and Frank Coppa turned state's evidence, providing authorities with the details of Napolitano's murder. ^[14] Although the FBI were reasonably sure that the body found in Staten Island was Napolitano's, one discrepancy existed: Lino claimed that he and Filocomo shot Napolitano with .38 caliber revolvers and that he himself had fired more than once. But the corpse had only one bullet wound, apparently made by a .45 caliber pistol. Coppa later said that Napolitano "died like a man". ^[15] Napolitano was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens. About Napolitano's fate, Pistone had stated, "My intention in all of this was to put people in jail, not get them killed", ^[16] and that he was sorry for Napolitano's murder. ^[17]

In popular culture

• In the 1997 film Donnie Brasco , Dominick Napolitano was portrayed by Michael Madsen.

See also

• List of solved missing person cases

Related Research Articles

Alphonse "Al" Indelicato, also known as Sonny Red, was an American mobster and caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli.

Joseph Charles Massino was an American 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 turn state's evidence.

Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale 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 testify against his brother-in-law, boss Joseph Massino, and in July 2004, Massino was convicted in a RICO case. Vitale had admitted to 11 murders, however, in October 2010, was sentenced to time served due to his cooperation, and entered the witness protection program.

Joseph Dominick Pistone 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 extent the Colombo crime family, two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City. Pistone was an FBI agent for 17 years, from 1969 until he resigned in 1986. The evidence collected by Pistone led to over 200 indictments and over 100 convictions of Mafia members, and some responsible for his infiltration were also killed by other mobsters.

Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero was an American mobster in the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for his friendship and mentorship of FBI undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone, who Ruggiero knew as Donnie Brasco. When Pistone's operation was ended on July 26, 1981, the FBI intercepted and arrested Ruggiero on August 29, 1981. In November 1982, Ruggiero was sentenced to 15 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy; he was released in April 1993 before his death from cancer.

Alfred "Al Walker" Embarrato, also known as "Alfred Scalisi" a.k.a." Aldo Elvorado", was an American mobster who became a caporegime of the Bonanno crime family and a powerful labor figure at The New York Post distribution plant.

Cesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre was a Sicilian mobster who served as a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family, operating out of Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick. Bonventre alongside Salvatore “Toto” Catalano led the Sicilian “Zips” faction of the family and was a key member of the Pizza Connection until his assassination on April 16, 1984 on orders of Joe Massino and Philip “Rusty” Rastelli.

Anthony Indelicato, also known as "Bruno" and "Whack-Whack", is an American mobster and high ranking caporegime in the Bonanno crime family of New York City.

Anthony "Tony" Mirra was an American mobster, soldier and later caporegime for the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for being the individual who introduced FBI Special Agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone into the Bonanno family.

Michael "Mikey Cigars" Sabella (1911–1989) was a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and a relative of Philadelphia crime family mob boss Salvatore Sabella.

Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera 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.

Philip Giaccone, also known as "Philly Lucky", was an American mobster and caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Al Indelicato for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli.

Frank "Curly" Lino was an American former caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who later became an informant.

Frank Coppa Sr. is a Sicilian-American gangster in the Bonanno crime family who was a close friend of Joseph Massino and Frank Lino and made large sums of money in stock fraud schemes. In 2002, Coppa became the first Bonanno made man to turn state's evidence.

Antonio Tomasulo, also known as "Bootsie", was an Italian-American mobster who served in the New York Bonanno crime family running a highly lucrative illegal slot machine gambling operation.

Raymond J. Wean a.k.a. "Big Ray" was a Bonanno crime family associate who worked under capo Joe Massino and Dominick Napolitano.

Nicholas Angelo "Nicky Mouth" Santora was the reputed underboss of the Bonanno crime family.

Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia is a 1988 autobiographical crime book written by Joseph D. Pistone about his story as an FBI agent going undercover and infiltrating the Mafia. In 1997, the book was made into a feature film titled Donnie Brasco, starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino.

Philip "Rusty" Rastelli was an American mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family; he spent all but three years of his reign in prison.

The Bonanno crime family 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 the American Mafia.

References

Further reading

• Crittle, Simon, The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino Berkley (March 7, 2006) ISBN   978-0-425-20939-4
• DeStefano, Anthony. The Last Godfather: Joey Massino & the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family. California: Citadel, 2006.
• Morton, James, East End Gangland & Gangland International Omnibus Chapter: "Florida"
• Pistone, Joseph, Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia . Random House Value Publishing (February 1990) ISBN   978-5-552-53129-5
• Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Press. ISBN   978-0-7624-2707-9.
• Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN   978-0-312-30094-4

External links

• An Archetypal Mob Trial: It's Just Like in the Movies , The New York Times , May 23, 2004.
• Dominick (Sonny Black) Napolitano at Find a Grave