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The Bananas War Casulties #990615
05/05/20 05:01 PM
05/05/20 05:01 PM
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Posts: 615
Dob_Peppino Offline OP
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Dob_Peppino  Offline OP
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Does anyone have a definitive list of the guys who got clipped during the Infamous Bananas War of the 1960s?
Second, can anyone name the businesses/rackets the Bonnanos lost to the other Families?


"Joe Bananas went after Carlo Gambino, the war went on for seven years..... When guys go to the mattresses, they're not out earning" -Tony Soprano
Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #990616
05/05/20 05:50 PM
05/05/20 05:50 PM
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NYMafia Offline
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Funny enough, we will be posting the entire Banana War story within the next week or so. Pretty comprehensive. Will let you guys know when it goes live (as usual)

Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #990631
05/05/20 08:28 PM
05/05/20 08:28 PM
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Some of the guys who were killed during the Banana Wars:

-February 10, 1965: DiGregorio-Sciacca soldier Joe Badalamonte is shot to death in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn.
-Thomas "Smitty" D'Angelo, his brother James, and Frank "Frankie 500" Telleri on the DiGregorio side. Gunned down by Bonanno loyalists while dining out at the Cypress Garden Restaurant in Queens on November 10, 1967.
-Michael "Mike Bruno" Consolo. A DiGregorio faction member, Consolo's men caught him speaking to Bill Bonanno cordially outside a courthouse, and interpreted it as a sign he was defecting to the Bonanno faction. Killed outside his home on April 2, 1968.
-Samuel "Big Hank" Perrone. Bill Bonanno's bodyguard. Murdered on March 11, 1968 by Sciacca's gunmen. Frank Mari, a DiGregorio loyalist, was the likely shooter. Possible catalyst for Bonanno's side to call for a truce.
-Frank "Frankie T" Mari and Michael Adamo mysteriously disappear from Brooklyn on September 18, 1968. It's implied they were taken for a "one-way ride" for plotting to kill Paul Sciacca. Earlier in July 13, 1966, Mari was shot in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, but survives.
-Thomas Zummo, an enforcer for Frank Mari, is killed by Joe Massino on February 6, 1969 for unknown reasons. Likely to be personal. Zummo is the last victim of the Banana Split. The Zummo hit attracted the ire of Phil "Rusty" Rastelli, but Rusty never finds out that his protege was the one who killed Zummo.

Other people who were injured or clipped:

-October 25, 1967: Bonanno faction loyalists Vince "Jimmy Lefty" Cassese & Vincent "Vinnie Carroll" Garofalo are shot in front of a Brooklyn bakery. Vincent Garofalo’s older brother was Frank Garofalo, who was Bonanno's underboss in the 1950s and was exiled in Italy at the time.
-On March 4, 1968, DiGregorio loyalist Pietro "Skinny Pete" Crociata is shot getting out of his car on a Manhattan street corner.
-April 17, 1968: Skinny Pete's brother Franceso "Frank Coffee" Crociata is shot inside the Rossini Democratic Social Club in Brooklyn while sipping an espresso.
-April 5, 1968: Bonanno camp associate Billy Gonzales, Hank Perrone’s best friend, is shot in the Bronx walking towards his front door after a night out on the town.

Last edited by Njein; 05/05/20 11:13 PM.
Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #990632
05/05/20 08:49 PM
05/05/20 08:49 PM
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Dob_Peppino Offline OP
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Were there any guys from other Families who participated or got clipped in this struggle???
And if not, would seem strange if Bonanno put a hit (which I never believed this theory) on Gambino and Lucchese, that nobody in those Families were effected. I know Stefano Maggadino had some defectors to Bonanno's cause, but we never here about the other Families..... Maybe the article by NYmafia will elaborate on this.....


"Joe Bananas went after Carlo Gambino, the war went on for seven years..... When guys go to the mattresses, they're not out earning" -Tony Soprano
Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #990636
05/05/20 10:38 PM
05/05/20 10:38 PM
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Giovanni "Johnny Futto" Biello was with the Genovese family's Miami crew and a one-time ally of Bonanno. Apparently, Biello and Colombo spilled the beans about Bonanno's attempted plot to Gambino and Lucchese. As a result, Bonanno was ticked off about this and allegedly ordered Biello's death. On March 17, 1967, Biello was shot several times while entering his car on a parking lot in Miami Beach by George Barone. Bonanno's plot to have Biello whacked was allegedly backed by Pasquale Erra.

Another theory states that it was Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, not Bonanno, who ordered Biello's death. Fat Tony ordered Matthew "the Horse" Ianiello to have Biello whacked.


Last edited by Njein; 05/05/20 10:41 PM.
Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #990643
05/06/20 07:51 AM
05/06/20 07:51 AM
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Dob_Peppino Offline OP
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I'm more inclined to believe the second theory but anything is possible. My reasoning is, it seems from my research that Tommy Eboli (Genovese acting boss) sided with the Gambino/Lucchese alliance but he was just going along for the ride and not necessarily gunning for Bonanno's head per se. Ordering a hit on Biello surely would've lit more fire under the Genoveses. I could be wrong though.

Last edited by Dob_Peppino; 05/06/20 07:52 AM.

"Joe Bananas went after Carlo Gambino, the war went on for seven years..... When guys go to the mattresses, they're not out earning" -Tony Soprano
Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #990645
05/06/20 08:17 AM
05/06/20 08:17 AM
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naples,italy
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https://gangsterreport.com/going-bananas-in-the-bonannos-the-banana-mob-war-timeline-1964-1969/

October 21, 1964 — Bonanno soldier Carlo Simari is shot to death in Brooklyn outside his home.

February 10, 1965 — DiGregorio-Sciacca soldier Joe Badalamonte is shot to death in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn.

*Little Joe Notaro dies of a sudden heart attack during Bonanno’s brief return to New York in the spring and early summer of 1966

March 17, 1967 – Genovese crime family capo John (Johnny Futto) Biello is killed on Bonanno’s orders for being one of those who tipped off The Commission about his plans to assassinate its members. Biello, the former owner of the famous Peppermint Lounge in Times Square, ran a Genovese crew in Florida and was shot to death in Miami.

October 25, 1967 – Bonanno faction loyalists Vince (Jimmy Lefty) Cassese & Vince (Vinnie Carroll) Garofalo are shot in front of a Brooklyn bakery. Garofalo’s older brother was a trusted advisor for Joe Bananas named Frank (Frankie Carroll) Garofalo, who was one of the American mob’s biggest narcotics chiefs.

November 10, 1967: The Cypress Gardens Massacre – DiGregorio-Sciacca faction captains Gaetano (Smitty) D’Angelo, James (Jimmy D) D’Angelo and Frank (Frankie 500) Telleri are machine gunned to death inside the Cypress Gardens restaurant in Ridgewood, Queens. Telleri was the crime family’s policy lottery boss and Smitty D’Angelo was angling for an administrative post in the DiGregorio-Sciacca regime.

March 4, 1968 – DiGregorio-Sciacca faction underboss Pietro (Skinny Pete) Crociata is shot getting out of his car on a Manhattan street corner. Skinny Pete Crociata was the conduit to all the crime family’s “old timers” and the shooting pushed him into retirement.

March 11, 1968 –Bill Bonanno’s bodyguard, Salvatore (Big Hank) Perrone, is killed, gunned down as he was purchasing a carton of cigarettes at a candy store in Brooklyn across the street from his cartage company.

April 1, 1968 – DiGregorio-Sciacca camp soldier Mike (Bruno) Consolo is killed after a court appearance in Brooklyn related to the Troutman Street Ambush two years prior. Consolo was shot to death as he went to get into his car a few blocks away from the courthouse. Some people speculate he was slain by his own side of the war for considering switching allegiances back to the Bonanno contingent.

April 5, 1968 – Bonanno camp associate Billy Gonzales, Big Hank Perrone’s best friend, is shot in the Bronx walking towards his front door after a night out on the town.

April 17, 1968 – DiGregorio-Sciacca soldier Francisco (Frank Coffee) Crociata, Skinny Pete’s brother, is shot inside the Rossini Democratic Social Club in Brooklyn while sipping an espresso.

September 18, 1968 – Newly-minted DiGregorio-Sciacca faction underboss Frank (Frankie T) Mari & consigliere Michael (Mikey Adams) Adamo are murdered. They vanished from The 19th Hole Bar in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn.

February 6, 1969 – DiGregorio-Sciacca soldier Tommy Zummo is the last casualty of the war, shot to death in the lobby of his girlfriend’s Queens apartment building by up-and-coming wiseguy Joseph (Big Joey) Massino, who went on to become boss of the Bonanno crime family in the 1990s. Today, Massino, once the most powerful mob chief in America at the height of his reign, lives under assumed identity in the Witness Protection Program. He “made his bones” with the Zummo hit which officially ended the Banana War.

*Gaspare Magaddino’s murder in 1970 could have been residual violence from the war and remains unsolved. Magaddino had family ties on both sides of the squabble and was one of the shooters in the Cypress Gardens Massacre.

Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #1034901
05/22/22 11:44 AM
05/22/22 11:44 AM
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Njein Offline
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Which faction were Rusty Rastelli, Nick Marangello and Michael Sabella in during the Banana Wars?

Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Njein] #1034904
05/22/22 01:58 PM
05/22/22 01:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Njein
Which faction were Rusty Rastelli, Nick Marangello and Michael Sabella in during the Banana Wars?


Rusty was with Gaspare DiGregorio and Paul Sciacca. Nick Marangello and Mike Sabella were originally with Bonanno I think and later switched alliance to Di Gregorio (like most everyone else).

Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #1034929
05/23/22 10:50 AM
05/23/22 10:50 AM
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Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NYC
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Did Bonnano have a full crew out in AZ?

Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: BensonHURST] #1034931
05/23/22 11:38 AM
05/23/22 11:38 AM
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Originally Posted by BensonHURST
Did Bonnano have a full crew out in AZ?


When he and his son Bill first relocated out there full-time after the war, almost two dozen of their men relocated out there with him. Most were considered made men, there were a few associates too. But most of them were older and semi-retired from the life by that time. They migrated out there with him and either retired or ran small legit businesses. The vast majority of them never committed any future crimes.

Last edited by NYMafia; 05/23/22 11:38 AM.
Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #1034939
05/23/22 03:47 PM
05/23/22 03:47 PM
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GangstersInc Offline
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The Shoot-Out on Troutman Street: The Mafia at War
By Thom L. Jones
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-shoot-out-on-troutman-street-the-mafia-at-war


The best website about global organized crime & the Mafia: http://www.gangstersinc.org - Since 2001 - Want to write for us? Drop me a DM/mail!
Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: BensonHURST] #1034941
05/23/22 04:24 PM
05/23/22 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by BensonHURST
Did Bonnano have a full crew out in AZ?


BH, these sixteen men were the known or suspected to be "made" Bonanno members who joined Joe Bonanno in exile out in Arizona;

Russell Andaloro
Antonio Badalamenti
Charles Battaglia
Salvatore Bonanno
Salvatore Bruno
Antonio Cacioppo
Peter Cinquemani
Michael Cosenza
Dr. Gregory Genovese (lived in California)
Peter Magaddino
Natale Mule (and his son)
Peter Notaro
Giuseppe Pizzo (lived in California)
Peter Sciortino
Carl Simari
Giuseppe Titone

There were a few other stragglers, but this was the core membership who followed Joe out there.






Last edited by NYMafia; 05/23/22 04:25 PM.
Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: NYMafia] #1035147
05/28/22 04:03 AM
05/28/22 04:03 AM
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Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NYC
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Originally Posted by NYMafia
[quote=BensonHURST]Did Bonnano have a full crew out in AZ?


BH, these sixteen men were the known or suspected to be "made" Bonanno members who joined Joe Bonanno in exile out in Arizona;

Russell Andaloro
Antonio Badalamenti
Charles Battaglia
Salvatore Bonanno
Salvatore Bruno
Antonio Cacioppo
Peter Cinquemani
Michael Cosenza
Dr. Gregory Genovese (lived in California)
Peter Magaddino
Natale Mule (and his son)
Peter Notaro
Giuseppe Pizzo (lived in California)
Peter Sciortino
Carl Simari
Giuseppe Titone

There were a few other stragglers, but this was the core membership who followed Joe out there.

WOW…..

So they all left their rackets behind and took their families and moved to AZ

Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #1035148
05/28/22 04:04 AM
05/28/22 04:04 AM
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Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NYC
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Peter Magidino?

Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: BensonHURST] #1035153
05/28/22 06:42 AM
05/28/22 06:42 AM
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Originally Posted by BensonHURST
Peter Magidino?





Yes, I believe Peter Magaddino was a kid cousin to Joe Bonanno who joined him in Arizona after the Bonanno's migrated there.

Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: Dob_Peppino] #1035200
05/29/22 06:55 PM
05/29/22 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Dob_Peppino
Does anyone have a definitive list of the guys who got clipped during the Infamous Bananas War of the 1960s?
Second, can anyone name the businesses/rackets the Bonnanos lost to the other Families?


Don Pep, make sure to watch our newest Mob Fireside Chat video on the "Banana War" and Smitty D'Angelo's murder in the Cypress Gardens Restaurant. You will definitely enjoy it since I know you follow the Bonanno Family.

Re: The Bananas War Casulties [Re: NYMafia] #1035234
05/31/22 10:51 AM
05/31/22 10:51 AM
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Dob_Peppino Offline OP
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Originally Posted by NYMafia
Originally Posted by BensonHURST
Peter Magidino?





Yes, I believe Peter Magaddino was a kid cousin to Joe Bonanno who joined him in Arizona after the Bonanno's migrated there.

There was two Peter Magaddinos (of note). Peter A. Was a son of Stefano.
The one you're referring to is Peter J. who was the brother of Hitman Gaspare Magaddino. He was Stefano's and Joe's distant cousin. He was a member of the Buffalo Family but changed allegiance to Bonanno because he believed that Stefano was betraying their "blood" Family by supporting the Commission outcasting Bonanno


"Joe Bananas went after Carlo Gambino, the war went on for seven years..... When guys go to the mattresses, they're not out earning" -Tony Soprano

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