It seems that two more Bonanno Family mobsters, one a "Acting Caporegime" no less, have been playing footsie with the FBI and Federal Prosecutors for more than five years already!

New York-based Bonanno Family capo Damiano (Danny) Zummo, and his mobbed-up cousin, Bonanno Family associate and drug trafficker Salvatore Russo, both rolled over like dogs shortly after they were nailed back in 2017 for trafficking in kilo quantities of cocaine.

These revelations were revealed in today's edition of Gangland News.

It seems their cooperation was fallout from an incident that occurred several years earlier, in 2015, when Damiano and another goodfella drove directly up to Canada to conduct a Bonanno Family "induction ceremony" during which they initiated another hoodlum into the Family, who, by the way, was yet another "rodent" working undercover for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as an informant.

During that embarrassing underworld debacle, former Queens, New York resident, mob associate Vincenzo (Enzo) Morena, actually tape-recorded his own so-called "making" ceremony...

Nowadays, ya really gotta ask yourself, "where does it all end folks?" Lol (or doesn't it?)

And I think the correct answer to that question is...that it doesn't!

So much for the Sicilians being more loyal.

The Sicilian faction of the Bonannos is sadder than a gang of two white teenagers from Beverly Hills

I guess we'll have a few more turncoat YouTubers before long. When does it ever end? I hate to say it, but the only way this would ever stop is for someone who's willing to risk it all to blow one of these guy's heads off right on set while they're storytelling lol. That's what it's come to.

These making ceremonies, they need to make everyone leave all watches, phones, jewelry in another room, and make them all wear tank tops, shorts and crocs to really try and defeat the potential recording of the ceremony.
Yes its not as lavish as the suited up bosses and captains and newly made guys of years past during their ceremony, but those guys didnt have to deal with recorders in watches, phones, rings, sport coat collars, shoes, etc.

They can get dressed up afterwards and go for a fancy dinner.

The Genoveses sometimes had meetings in a swimming pool.

They are american with sicilian surnames! The true zip is the guy that was caught selling coke from an Ice cream shop that kept his mouth shout despite was risking to get 40 y for drug trafficking.

Thats incorrect Furio. The guys in this case WERE born in Italy/Sicily!

In fact, I believe that some of these guys, when they were kids, used to hang around Cafe Giannini in Queens, and were close to Baldassare (Baldo) Amato and that zip crew around Knickerbocker Ave.

I did hear once that the Westside were making guys on "Walk/Talks"

Let me tell you a coupla three things:

Damiano Zummo has no respect for this thing. He's never gone viral, not really. They post anyone and anything over there. Guys don't get their YouTube channels uploaded, there's no TikTok or Instagram updates on the table...

Either it has subscribers, or no subscribers. Five fucking social media platforms - and we've got this MySpace thing going on! There's no scraps in my Facebook.

From gangland news

Bonanno Mobster Who Conducted A Videotaped Induction Ceremony In Canada Has Been A Secret Government Snitch For Five Years

More than five years after an acting Bonanno capo was arrested on kingpin drug charges and accused of conducting a much ballyhooed videotaped induction ceremony in Canada, he has spent a scant two months behind bars and is a cooperating witness who has done quite well for himself and his family since his arrest in November of 2017, Gang Land has learned.

Sources say Damiano (Danny) Zummo, and the snitch he inducted into the Bonanno clan back in November of 2015, have each tape recorded conversations with Bonanno and Genovese crime family gangsters who were charged last year with running a "lucrative illegal gambling operation" out of a Lynbrook ice cream parlor for 10 years.

Zummo, who was released on bail in January of 2018 two months after his arrest, can be seen conducting the induction ceremony in a Hamilton Ontario hotel room that could pass for a morning-after a wild Spring Break snapshot in an official Royal Canadian Mounted Police photo that was obtained by Gang Land.

The face of the inducted RCMP informer, Vincent (Enzo) Morena, is blocked out, but you can see the balding Zummo's left hand on Morena's shoulder and the forehead of the mysterious Bonanno soldier named "John" facing Zummo as he administers the oath of omerta in the decidedly no-frills ceremony that took place on November 21, 2015, according to court filings.

Sources say that at thet time, Zummo was serving as an acting capo for Anthony (Little Anthony) Pipitone. His name was blacked out of the brief transcript of the session that was included in the detention memo that prosecutors filed in seeking to jail Zummo without bail as a danger to the community. Gang Land has included Pipitone in the excerpt below:

"The reason why we're here is from this day forward," Zummo told Morena, is that "you’re gonna be an official member of the Bonanno family. It's already (decided and approved) from this guy, this guy, this guy, everybody approved it, so from this day forward, you're a member of the Bonanno family. Congratulations."
Morena: "Thank you."
Zummo: And now I want to introduce you to John. John, friend of ours with the Bonanno. John, (Vincenzo) friend of ours with the Bonanno. Now, your captain is (Anthony Pipitone.)
Morena: Okay.
Zummo: He's our skipper.
Morena: Okay.
Zummo: You're gonna be in our regime.
Morena: Okay.
Zummo: Official is (Anthony.) You only answer to the Bonanno family.

According to Stephen Metelsky, a former Halton, Ontario cop who worked with the RCMP during the investigation that led to arrests of Zummo and three other gangsters in New York, and more than a dozen in Canada, Morena was "greeted with hugs and a ceremonial kiss on each cheek" from Zummo and John LNU (Last Name Unknown) when they entered the room about 12:40 PM on November 21, 2015.

Following the brief no-frills ceremony — there was no pin pricking or burning of a holy card, Metelsky told Gang Land — the two New York "mobsters shook (Morena's) hand, kissed him on each cheek and promptly returned to New York," Metelsky wrote in an account of the induction that appeared on the Inside Halton website last week.

"For two guys to drive eight or nine hours non stop from New York for a 15 minute session to take care of business and get it done and then drive back to New York was viewed here as a very critical and significant event," said Metelsky.

"He became the eyes and ears of the RCMP for a couple of years and helped them arrest quite a few guys who all pleaded guilty," said Metelsky, who is a professor in the Business School at Mohawk College in Hamilton.

That is similar to what happened in Brooklyn, where Zummo and his cousin, Salvatore Russo, were arrested and pleaded guilty to major drug trafficking charge, and Gambino mobster Paul Semplice and mob associate Paul Ragusa each pleaded guilty, and completed their prison terms, Semplice for loansharking and Ragusa for weapons charges.

As a bonus to the guilty pleas by all four defendants indicted in 2017, albeit a limited one that hasn't reaped any convictions or major indictments, the sources say that in addition to Morena, Zummo, as well as Russo, agreed to cooperate with the feds.

Zummo and Russo, each copped plea deals to kingpin drug charges carrying maximum prison terms of 40 years in prison for conspiring to distribute multi-kilogram loads of cocaine in New York between July and October of 2017, according to their publicly filed plea agreements.

Russo's agreement, signed by his lawyer and federal prosecutors Tanja Hajjar and Drew Rolle and supervising AUSA Nadia Shihata in September of 2019 calls for sentencing guidelines between 87 and 108 months and a mandatory minimum prison term of five years. Zummo's plea agreement signed by his lawyer and the same two prosecutors, and approved by supervising AUSA Kristin Mace in December of 2018, calls for a fixed prison term of five years in prison. Both are awaiting sentencing according to court filings in their case. Gang land expects that those plea agreements will be superseded by later ones, if they haven't been already.

Lawyers for Zummo, who was released on a $2 million bond, and his cousin Salvatore, who was released on a $500,000, as well as the government, declined to discuss their cases with Gang Land.

But they are each doing quite well for themselves as they await sentencing for drug trafficking and money laundering charges before Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Eric Vitaliano, according to court filings in case, especially Zummo.

With the agreement of the government, he no longer wears an ankle bracelet monitor and last year, Judge Vitaliano granted Zummo, who has long been involved in the construction industry, permission to travel to Florida "for the purpose of investing in and developing property" in the Sunshine State.

Sources say that both Morena and Zummo have each provided intelligence and tape recorded conversation with several of the nine defendants who were arrested and charged a year ago with racketeering and running gambling rings run by two crime families at the Gran Caffe in Lynbrook between 2012 and 2022.

The indicted mobsters include Bonanno capo Anthony Pipitone, whom Zummo identified as Morena's skipper during the induction ceremony and his brother Vito Pipitone, who are charged with an associate of running four illegal gambling businesses, including the one they shared with the Genoveses in Lynbrook. A former Nassau County detective is charged with obstruction of justice for agreeing to arrange police raid on competing gambling operations.

In a separate indictment, Genovese wiseguys Carmelo (Carmine Pizza) Polito and Joseph (Joe Fish) Macario and three associates are charged with operating four gambling rings, including the one they shared with the Bonannos at the Gran Caffe.

Plea negotiations are ongoing in both cases, although at the last status confernce, the attorney for Polito and Macario has asked Judge Vitaliano, who is handling both Gran Caffe cases, to schedule a trial date in the year old case. Vitaliano declined, ruling that the case was not ready for trial.

LOL, you tell em Eastside!

Another myth there are more turncoats in Sicily than the USA.

Bingo! 100% Hollander - the so-called "Pentiti"

As youngsters they were all part of the Giannini Crew I think.

I must be the only one who sees this: The rats were selling drugs and weapons. They go free by giving up Pepitone and Polito for running poker games. Those two are out on over a million dollars bail each, for poker games. The rats will go free, for drugs and gun charges. Justice?

I have been saying this for many years .

The consigliere need to have a crew that gets kicked up to from rest of the family. This crew lead by the consigliere their sole job is to watch the other crews .

Several members in this crew need to be professionally trained on lie detector machine amongst other things .

If this crew doesn’t have to hustle and scam their time is spent just like the feds learning and keeping track of what every member says is correct and this wil make the money flow up . Mostly because guys will have everything on record and they will know that they are being watched by someone other then feds.

Now this sounds crazy but something like this has to happen if not already happening .

If not you will see the end of this very soon.

Serpiente - its a good idea, but I think your second point is more likely - that we are seeing the relative end of this very soon - it will probably limp along and even continue to punch above its' weight as they'll survive somewhat on the reputation that decades of Hollywood has given them.

But the more YouTube channels that pop up and throw in their two cents the more the reputation of this will continue to suffer. Tough to recruit serious talent when that would-be talent knows that they're going to be rolled over by Dominick Cicale and then get trashed by him every time he uploads a video while they spend their life in prison, if they don't just roll themselves.

It will continue on in Italy and in Canada owing to its weak justice system.

Italy DOES NOT have a weak justice system, in fact sometimes I think they're even tougher on the Mafia than America. There are tons and tons of rats over there, and 41 bis is no joke. Of course the Mafia is more powerful over there because that's the motherland. And in certain select cities in America, the Mafia will always be here, in some form or another. It's a pathetic criminal organization, but unfortunately we will still be here 30 years from now watching the same shit show.

Exactly. Many pentiti talked for avoid the 41 bis but the fact that the South Italy is very poor is the reason why the mafias have always a large recruitment pool.

But the Mafia is also powerful in the North and in Rome. It's a myth that they're only big in the South.

+1

In fact, with their close relation to the Albanian clans, the Italian mob already owns many lucrative restaurants around Rome and the Albanians usually act as frontmen. Ill never forget one funny statement which was made by one Albanian frontman in Rome regarding the Italian Mafia and it went something like "We work all day while the Mafiiosi always sleep and dont do anything! No Mafia here!" Lol

They were recruited in the south and if they are excellent soldiers they are sent to the north and to Europe. There differences: the ndrangheta are have more presence in the world,while the sicilian mafia lost part of its power and most of the Camorra clans are simply street gangs.

I’m not even sure what any of this means

Furio, a lot of what you're saying doesn't line up with the busts I've read about in recent years. I read about all 3 major groups, Camorra, Ndrangheta, a Cosa Nostra having quite a presence in the North and in the capital. Hell, even the Stidda has a major presence. Maybe at the time those articles were written, that was the case. But things are constantly changing.

As for the Camorra, you can take the lowest, least powerful Camorra clan and compare them to any street gang in America and it will still outdo them in terms of organization, wealth, and power. I don't call that merely street gangs.

Indeed the most visible are the violent "baby gangs" but to reduce them to streetgangs you don't do the Camorra justice.


The Camorra and Politics

The Camorra's influence extends to Italian politics at all levels, from local to national. According to Behan, the Camorra has historically engaged in vote-buying, intimidation, and other forms of corruption to secure political power and influence decision-making. The Camorra's involvement in politics has also extended to the judiciary, with judges and prosecutors being targeted for assassination or intimidation. The "Clean Hands" investigation in the 1990s was a significant turning point in the fight against political corruption, resulting in the arrest of hundreds of politicians and businesspeople.

The Camorra and the Economy

The Camorra's role in the Italian economy is significant, with estimates suggesting that organized crime accounts for around 10% of the country's GDP. The Camorra has been involved in a variety of illegal activities, including drug trafficking, extortion, and money laundering. The Camorra's control over certain areas of Naples has allowed it to exert influence over legitimate businesses, with some businesses forced to pay protection money to the Camorra in order to operate.

The Camorra and Society

The Camorra's impact on Neapolitan society is pervasive, with some neighborhoods effectively controlled by the organization. The Camorra has been known to provide social services in areas underserved by the government, further entrenching its power and influence. The organization's activities have also contributed to the perpetuation of poverty and social inequality in Naples. According to Saviano, the Camorra has played a role in shaping Neapolitan culture and identity, with its influence extending to music, fashion, and other forms of popular culture.

If you read the news staying here,you will understand that there are big and organized clans with presence in North italy and in Rome so in Europe and clans that born and die in fw years.
Poor neighborhoods are controlled by small clans that fight everyday for a street or a alle where sell drugs.
Its a complex situation.

well none of this is surprising...not that in some past thread or post i predicted as much because i didnt...crystal ball must have been foggy. but for the bonannos who have had every single possible position and rank flip from boss on down including acting positions this revelation is not a surprise. some info to come out which had taken a little while to rise to the top is: zummo was acting capo for anthony pipitone. some on here had said as much but these recent articles confirm that. from that perspective pipitone and those from genovese should right be worried now. now that his crew is confirmed the timing of induction ceremony now is very interesting from an internal bonanno family side of things. november 21 2015 is when said induction took place in hamilton,on. is this not also in the time period where cammarano jr. and allies were making there move to take over family from mancuso? i am not certain of date where it has been alleged that a vote took place to make cammarano official boss which as we know now never came to fruition. cammarano jr served as AB from 2015-2019 where after he was shelved by mancuso. from some articles on line i would not categorize pipitone as an allie of mancuso...but pipitone hasnt been mentioned as a cammarano jr. allie totally either. so i could assume that the reason for an induction ceremony so far from new york may have been to hide this from mancuso side? the meetings between bonanno members (of which even now we dont know whom) and leaders from castellamare del golfo ( francesco domingo) may also reveal a more concerted effort by the cammarano jr. side to drum up support for a move on mancuso. the now deceased vito grimaldi was oft mentioned as the #1 ranking member of the "sicilian faction." who else then aside from grimaldi, or better who from the side loyal to mancuso would have those connections to sicily? not here to debate existence of sicilian faction as that debate is ongoing. pipitone as well has been mentioned as belonging to the sicilian faction?

so i guess one side could have been making these moves without the others knowledge. if cammarano jr. was bold enough to hold a vote to be boss, he just as likely could have been behind the nov 2015 induction. the presence of paul semplice in the same 2017 indictment has always been intriguing as he is known to be in lorenzo maninnos crew. this may not be the case now, but all reports put him in that crew at least circa 2015-2017. maninno is a leader in gambinos and has connections back to sicily making this albeit small connection intriguing.

and what about this mysterious "john" no last name from the induction video? i am not familiar with the crew breakdowns in bonanno family so dont know if there is a john in the pipitone crew. that however wouldnt solve it as the possibility that this john was from another crew exists. also john could be from another family from ny or from another family or crew from hamilton? john most certainly is made or he would not have been permitted to attend ceremony so he has to have some importance.

i'm sure more will come of this very intriguing, very good posts so far thanks to all.