Anthony Mirra
Encyclopedia
Anthony "Tony" Mirra was an Italian-American mobster and soldier
for the Bonanno crime family
. He is well known for being the individual to introduce FBI Special Agent
Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone into the Bonanno family.
It is estimated that Mirra murder
ed 30-40 people, although he was never convicted of any. By age 50, Mirra had spent more than half of his life in and out of prisons. Mirra had a reputation of being a ruthless killer with unpredictable mood swings
and was a feared man because of the ease with which he committed murder.
in Lower East Side, Manhattan. He was the nephew of Bonanno family caporegime
Alfred Embarrato and uncle to street soldier Joseph D'Amico
. Mirra was a cousin of capo Richard Cantarella, capo Frank Cantarella, mob associate Joseph Padavano and Bonanno family capo Paul Cantarella.
Mirra was born in the poverty-stricken Lower East Side, Manhattan at Knickerbocker Village
where he lived in the same apartment building as Embarrato, Richard Cantarella and D'Amico. Mirra was once a good friend of Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero; Mirra owned the Lunchbox Lunchonette in Little Italy, Manhattan
not far from Ruggiero's bar
. His relatives D'Amico, Embarrato and Cantarella became involved in major racketeering schemes at The New York Post distribution center behind their housing complex, but Mirra moved on to more successful and prosperous racketeering endeavours.
, and was involved in extortion
, gambling
and drug trafficking. Mirra was the self-confessed assassin of Anthony Carfano
and comedian Allan Drake's wife, Janice Hansen in 1959, and was made
sometime in the 1970s. He stood at 6'3" and weighed 230 pounds; The New York Times
correspondent, Ralph Blumenthal, described Mirra's appearance as "Zorba
-like". Mirra never drank alcohol, only ginger ale
.
As a child and into his adolescence, he had never shown any interest in friendship or romantic relationships, and was bullied throughout his childhood by peers, which ended in violent fights and usually with the other person getting stabbed. Mirra displayed regularly that he was a womanizer who enjoyed group sex
. Women became attracted to him, even though he treated them poorly. Mirra never married but had many girlfriends who ranged from "bimbos to movie stars". When he wasn't "hustling
" them, he abused them physically and berated them with insults.
Mirra remained a recluse
from his fellow mobsters including his own relatives Richard Cantarella, Joseph Padavano and eventually even became estranged from his uncle Alfred. The only relative he was close to was his biological mother. Mirra would visit his mother regularly, every Sunday to drive her to mass
, Mother's Day
and her birthday. On the day of his visits to his mother, he would not commit any crimes the day before, the day of, or the day after.
Mirra was the first initial contact FBI agent Joseph Pistone made in his undercover operation, which led to his infiltration of the Bonanno family. Pistone was working as an associate for the Colombo family at the time. He introduced Pistone to "Lefty" Ruggiero and offered him a job handling his slot-machine route. Pistone went under the name "Donnie Brasco" and posed as a jewel thief expert.
Not long after their friendship sparked up in 1975, Mirra fled New York
after being indicted for drug trafficking. The FBI caught up with him three months later and he was sent to federal prison again for eight and a half years. When Mirra got out of jail, Brasco had since become close with Ruggiero and was working under him. Mirra argued that Brasco belonged to him, not Ruggiero. Mirra took the issue right to the top and had several sitdowns over the Donnie Brasco situation. In the end, Ruggiero won and Donnie Brasco belonged to him. At one of the sitdowns, Mirra accused Brasco of stealing $250,000 but Pistone was judged innocent.
After the sudden death of his capo Michael Zaffarano, Mirra took over the Bonanno family pornography
empire and worked under the powerful Sicilian capo Cesare Bonventre
. Mirra also muscled in on several Little Italy, Manhattan restaurants and bars. He was involved in a vending machine
operation that dealt in slot machine
s, peanut vending machines, video arcade
machines and pinball
machines that were distributed all over New York City
. He had them installed in stores, luncheonettes, social clubs and after-hours establishments.
The slot machines, since they were illegal, would be installed in the establishment's back room or basement. The coin collection route produced $2,000 a week, and he would open the machines with a key he carried and give the store owner his cut of the profits ($25 and up). Mirra was involved in "strong arm" schemes and extorted from several bars and restaurants. Each of the owners would pay him $5,000 a week in protection money and he would become angry if he did not receive the money.
He was known among fellow mobsters as a "knife man
". It was a common practice for mobsters to carry knives, because they were routinely rousted by police officers and did not want to be caught with illegal firearms. Mirra carried a folding knife with a long blade. Unlike Mirra, it was uncommon for mobsters to ever use their blade, preferring the use of a firearm. Pistone was warned by fellow mobsters that, "If you ever get into an argument with him, make sure you stay an arm's length apart, because he will stab you."
Mirra was moody and unpredictable and you never knew what might set him off. When he got angry his hand would go into his pocket and he would get ready for a stabbing
. At the time Pistone met him, he had no friends, as his obnoxious personality, violent mood swings, and penchant for unnecessary violence made him both unpleasant and a liability to have around. He was hated and feared and most people just tried to stay out of his way. Mirra was almost universally despised not only by law enforcement
officials but by fellow mobsters.
Regarded as a "psychopath", Mirra was kept alive only for his ability to generate vast sums of money. Mirra was a hard worker who was out on the street every day, from 8am to 3pm, making around $5,000 a day for the family. He once bragged to Pistone that since he had been out of prison, he had made over $200,000. He had a reputation for either cheating people out of money or outright stealing, demanding that goods and services be provided to him "on the arm".
He was known to be violent with women, physically abusing his mistresses and threatening to murder one when she confessed that she was a lesbian
. Ruggiero told Pistone that the problem with Mirra was that he was always abusing somebody. Mirra insulted everybody and was always in arguments. Mirra was so loathed by mobsters that when Donnie Brasco was revealed to be an undercover agent, he immediately went into hiding instead of attempting to negotiate for his own life, as he knew that countless mafiosi would be eager to take the opportunity to murder him.
and Phillip Giaccone and the "Black" Team led by Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano and Joseph Massino. The day before Giaccone, Trinchera and Indelicato were to be ambushed and executed, Mirra announced at the Toyland Social Club to Nicholas Marangello
that he was joining the opposition.
On May 5, 1981, the day of the executions, Napolitano called Mirra's uncle, Albert Embarrato, and told him to come down to The Motion Lounge
for a "sit down". At the sit down, Napolitano had two of his soldiers flank Embarrato on either side until Napolitano received confirmation that the executions were followed through. Napolitano would later tell Pistone, "When he (Albert) heard that, he turned ash white. He thought we were going to hit him too. But I just reamed at him about Tony, told him Tony was no good; and that he (Albert) better recognize that and act right himself." Embarrato agreed.
As Richard Cantarella and his uncle Alfred Embarrato kept watch outside, D'Amico climbed into Mirra's burgundy Mercedes Benz and repeatedly shot him in the head at point blank range. Mirra was discovered hours later by a beat officer from the NYPD, who believed Mirra was a vagrant
asleep in his car. Inspecting Mirra's right side revealed a stream of blood draining out of his head and into his jacket. So much blood had pooled inside of his clothing that when the coroner removed Mirra's clothes, his yellow boxer shorts at first appeared red.
Cantarella had been contracted to murder Mirra by Joseph Massino. The hit was in retaliation for the Donnie Brasco infiltration and rumors that he was an informant working for Brasco. After Massino had Napolitano murdered the year before, Mirra went into hiding, fearful he was next. Massino figured Mirra would trust members of his own family, which was why Massino gave Cantarella and Embarrato the assignment. "I was the only one who could get close to him", D'Amico later told investigators.
Soldato
A Soldato is the lowest level of the formal Mafia hierarchy, both in America and in Sicily. However, a soldier is much greater in rank and prestige than any ordinary associate of the crime family. In order to become a soldier, the primary requisite for an associate is to become a made man...
for the Bonanno crime family
Bonanno crime family
The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
. He is well known for being the individual to introduce FBI Special Agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone into the Bonanno family.
It is estimated that Mirra murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed 30-40 people, although he was never convicted of any. By age 50, Mirra had spent more than half of his life in and out of prisons. Mirra had a reputation of being a ruthless killer with unpredictable mood swings
Mood Swings
Mood Swings is an album by Koby Israelite released in 2005 on Tzadik.- Track listing :# "Dror Ikra" - 3:03# "Return of the Idiots" - 2:19# "It Is Not a War Here" - 7:05# "Ethnometalogy" - 5:08# "Europa?" - 2:49# "Hiriya On My Mind" - 4:53...
and was a feared man because of the ease with which he committed murder.
Early life
Mirra was born to Albert Mirra and Millie Embaratto; first generation immigrants from Mira, ItalyMira, Italy
Mira is a comune in the province of Venice, Veneto, Italy.It is crossed by SR11 Regional road. The main attraction are the Villa Foscari, designed by Andrea Palladio, and the Villa Widmann-Foscari....
in Lower East Side, Manhattan. He was the nephew of Bonanno family caporegime
Caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
Alfred Embarrato and uncle to street soldier Joseph D'Amico
Joseph D'Amico
Joseph D'Amico , also known as "Joey Moak" was a made man in the Bonanno crime family who later turned informant...
. Mirra was a cousin of capo Richard Cantarella, capo Frank Cantarella, mob associate Joseph Padavano and Bonanno family capo Paul Cantarella.
Mirra was born in the poverty-stricken Lower East Side, Manhattan at Knickerbocker Village
Knickerbocker Village
Knickerbocker Village Limited is a lower-middle class housing development located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City.-Location:...
where he lived in the same apartment building as Embarrato, Richard Cantarella and D'Amico. Mirra was once a good friend of Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero; Mirra owned the Lunchbox Lunchonette in Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians. Today the neighborhood of Little Italy consists of Italian stores and restaurants.-Historical area:...
not far from Ruggiero's bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
. His relatives D'Amico, Embarrato and Cantarella became involved in major racketeering schemes at The New York Post distribution center behind their housing complex, but Mirra moved on to more successful and prosperous racketeering endeavours.
Criminal career
Mirra worked for Bonanno capo Michael ZaffaranoMichael Zaffarano
Michael Zaffarano , also known as "Mickey", was a capo in the Bonanno crime family who worked in the adult entertainment industry.-Biography:...
, and was involved in extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
and drug trafficking. Mirra was the self-confessed assassin of Anthony Carfano
Anthony Carfano
Anthony Carfano , also known as "Little Augie Pisano", was a New York gangster who became a caporegime, or group leader, in the Luciano crime family under mob bosses Charles "Lucky" Luciano and Frank Costello....
and comedian Allan Drake's wife, Janice Hansen in 1959, and was made
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
sometime in the 1970s. He stood at 6'3" and weighed 230 pounds; The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
correspondent, Ralph Blumenthal, described Mirra's appearance as "Zorba
Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek is a 1964 film based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The film was directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and the title character was played by Anthony Quinn...
-like". Mirra never drank alcohol, only ginger ale
Ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger. Dr. Thomas Cantrell, an American apothecary and surgeon, claimed to have invented ginger ale and marketed it with beverage manufacturer Grattan and Company. Grattan embossed the slogan "The Original Makers of Ginger Ale" on its bottles...
.
As a child and into his adolescence, he had never shown any interest in friendship or romantic relationships, and was bullied throughout his childhood by peers, which ended in violent fights and usually with the other person getting stabbed. Mirra displayed regularly that he was a womanizer who enjoyed group sex
Group sex
Group sex is sexual behavior involving more than two participants. Group sex can occur amongst people of all sexual orientations and genders...
. Women became attracted to him, even though he treated them poorly. Mirra never married but had many girlfriends who ranged from "bimbos to movie stars". When he wasn't "hustling
Hustling
Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick...
" them, he abused them physically and berated them with insults.
Mirra remained a recluse
Recluse
A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society, often close to nature. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester." There are many potential reasons for becoming a recluse: a personal philosophy that rejects consumer society; a...
from his fellow mobsters including his own relatives Richard Cantarella, Joseph Padavano and eventually even became estranged from his uncle Alfred. The only relative he was close to was his biological mother. Mirra would visit his mother regularly, every Sunday to drive her to mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
, Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
and her birthday. On the day of his visits to his mother, he would not commit any crimes the day before, the day of, or the day after.
Mirra was the first initial contact FBI agent Joseph Pistone made in his undercover operation, which led to his infiltration of the Bonanno family. Pistone was working as an associate for the Colombo family at the time. He introduced Pistone to "Lefty" Ruggiero and offered him a job handling his slot-machine route. Pistone went under the name "Donnie Brasco" and posed as a jewel thief expert.
Not long after their friendship sparked up in 1975, Mirra fled New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
after being indicted for drug trafficking. The FBI caught up with him three months later and he was sent to federal prison again for eight and a half years. When Mirra got out of jail, Brasco had since become close with Ruggiero and was working under him. Mirra argued that Brasco belonged to him, not Ruggiero. Mirra took the issue right to the top and had several sitdowns over the Donnie Brasco situation. In the end, Ruggiero won and Donnie Brasco belonged to him. At one of the sitdowns, Mirra accused Brasco of stealing $250,000 but Pistone was judged innocent.
After the sudden death of his capo Michael Zaffarano, Mirra took over the Bonanno family pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
empire and worked under the powerful Sicilian capo Cesare Bonventre
Cesare Bonventre
Cesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre was a Sicilian mobster and caporegime for the New York Bonanno crime family.-Early life:...
. Mirra also muscled in on several Little Italy, Manhattan restaurants and bars. He was involved in a vending machine
Vending machine
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
operation that dealt in slot machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
s, peanut vending machines, video arcade
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
machines and pinball
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
machines that were distributed all over New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He had them installed in stores, luncheonettes, social clubs and after-hours establishments.
The slot machines, since they were illegal, would be installed in the establishment's back room or basement. The coin collection route produced $2,000 a week, and he would open the machines with a key he carried and give the store owner his cut of the profits ($25 and up). Mirra was involved in "strong arm" schemes and extorted from several bars and restaurants. Each of the owners would pay him $5,000 a week in protection money and he would become angry if he did not receive the money.
Reputation
Joseph Pistone said that Mirra was the nastiest and most intimidating man he had met during his seven years undercover. Due to Mirra's irrational behavior, nobody could ever build a close relationship with him. He would never talk about anything that did not involve criminal activities. Pistone said that, "One day you might ask him, 'How's your mother, Tony?' He might say, 'Okay.' Another day you ask him, and he might answer, 'What the fuck you so nosy about?' "He was known among fellow mobsters as a "knife man
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
". It was a common practice for mobsters to carry knives, because they were routinely rousted by police officers and did not want to be caught with illegal firearms. Mirra carried a folding knife with a long blade. Unlike Mirra, it was uncommon for mobsters to ever use their blade, preferring the use of a firearm. Pistone was warned by fellow mobsters that, "If you ever get into an argument with him, make sure you stay an arm's length apart, because he will stab you."
Mirra was moody and unpredictable and you never knew what might set him off. When he got angry his hand would go into his pocket and he would get ready for a stabbing
Stabbing
A stabbing is penetration with a sharp or pointed object at close range. Stab connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others.Stabbing differs from slashing or cutting in that the motion of the object used in a stabbing...
. At the time Pistone met him, he had no friends, as his obnoxious personality, violent mood swings, and penchant for unnecessary violence made him both unpleasant and a liability to have around. He was hated and feared and most people just tried to stay out of his way. Mirra was almost universally despised not only by law enforcement
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
officials but by fellow mobsters.
Regarded as a "psychopath", Mirra was kept alive only for his ability to generate vast sums of money. Mirra was a hard worker who was out on the street every day, from 8am to 3pm, making around $5,000 a day for the family. He once bragged to Pistone that since he had been out of prison, he had made over $200,000. He had a reputation for either cheating people out of money or outright stealing, demanding that goods and services be provided to him "on the arm".
He was known to be violent with women, physically abusing his mistresses and threatening to murder one when she confessed that she was a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
. Ruggiero told Pistone that the problem with Mirra was that he was always abusing somebody. Mirra insulted everybody and was always in arguments. Mirra was so loathed by mobsters that when Donnie Brasco was revealed to be an undercover agent, he immediately went into hiding instead of attempting to negotiate for his own life, as he knew that countless mafiosi would be eager to take the opportunity to murder him.
Bonanno civil war
In 1979 following the takeover of Phillip Rastelli as leader of the Bonanno family, the family divided into two rival factions. The "Red" Team led by capos Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, Dominick TrincheraDominick Trinchera
Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera was a Bonanno crime family capo who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Phillip Giaccone for planning the overthrow of aspiring Bonanno boss Phillip Rastelli.-Biography:Born in Rockland, New York, Trinchera was the son of an immigrant from Rome, Italy and an...
and Phillip Giaccone and the "Black" Team led by Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano and Joseph Massino. The day before Giaccone, Trinchera and Indelicato were to be ambushed and executed, Mirra announced at the Toyland Social Club to Nicholas Marangello
Nicholas Marangello
Nicholas Marangello , also known as "Nicky Glasses", "Nicky Cigars", "Nicky the Butler" and "Little Nicky", was the underboss of the Bonanno crime family under Phillip Rastelli, the father-in-law of Robert Perrino and grandfather of Nicola Langora.-Biography:Marangello was born on the Lower East...
that he was joining the opposition.
On May 5, 1981, the day of the executions, Napolitano called Mirra's uncle, Albert Embarrato, and told him to come down to The Motion Lounge
The Motion Lounge
The Motion Lounge was a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, nightclub owned by Bonanno crime family caporegime Dominick Napolitano which also was the capo's apartment away from his home. The lounge was located at 420 Graham Avenue, across the street from the Wither's Italian-American War Veterans Club. It was...
for a "sit down". At the sit down, Napolitano had two of his soldiers flank Embarrato on either side until Napolitano received confirmation that the executions were followed through. Napolitano would later tell Pistone, "When he (Albert) heard that, he turned ash white. He thought we were going to hit him too. But I just reamed at him about Tony, told him Tony was no good; and that he (Albert) better recognize that and act right himself." Embarrato agreed.
Operation Donnie Brasco and death
When Pistone was revealed as an FBI agent, "Sonny Black" Napolitano, "Lefty" Ruggiero, and Mirra were all on the firing line for initially allowing the infiltration. On February 18, 1982, his cousin Joseph D'Amico lured Mirra to a parking garage on North Moore Street and West Street in Lower Manhattan. Mirra, who had just recently been released from prison again, was keeping a low profile and was not meeting with anybody. D'Amico was the only person Mirra trusted.As Richard Cantarella and his uncle Alfred Embarrato kept watch outside, D'Amico climbed into Mirra's burgundy Mercedes Benz and repeatedly shot him in the head at point blank range. Mirra was discovered hours later by a beat officer from the NYPD, who believed Mirra was a vagrant
Vagrancy (people)
A vagrant is a person in poverty, who wanders from place to place without a home or regular employment or income.-Definition:A vagrant is "a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging;" vagrancy is the condition of such persons.-History:In...
asleep in his car. Inspecting Mirra's right side revealed a stream of blood draining out of his head and into his jacket. So much blood had pooled inside of his clothing that when the coroner removed Mirra's clothes, his yellow boxer shorts at first appeared red.
Cantarella had been contracted to murder Mirra by Joseph Massino. The hit was in retaliation for the Donnie Brasco infiltration and rumors that he was an informant working for Brasco. After Massino had Napolitano murdered the year before, Mirra went into hiding, fearful he was next. Massino figured Mirra would trust members of his own family, which was why Massino gave Cantarella and Embarrato the assignment. "I was the only one who could get close to him", D'Amico later told investigators.