OK, I remember where I read that. It was inside the book jacket of Bill Bononno's book: Bound By Honor: A Mafioso's Story.

It says: If Joe Bonanno was the inspiration for Don Vito Corleone, then Bill Bonanno was the role model for son Michael -- and with this book, a man who grew up in the world of Organized Crime tells all.

So my question is this, has anyone heard that Don Vito Corleone was modeled after Joe Bonanno? I've read countless other posts on this site that state many other people Vito was modeled after.