Benjamin Ruggiero
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Ruggiero, also known as "Lefty," "Lefty Guns," "Lefty Two Guns" (April 19, 1926 - November 24, 1994), was a soldier
in the Bonanno crime family
. He is well known for his friendship and mentorship
of FBI undercover agent
Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone. Ruggiero was an old school Cosa Nostra mobster who knew how Mafia politics worked. Ruggiero allegedly murdered around 26 people and refused to break omertà
when arrested.
private housing development in Little Italy, Manhattan
. Ruggiero joined the Bonanno family as a young man, serving as a street soldier under caporegime
Michael Sabella
. Ruggiero soon became successful in bookmaking, extortion
and loansharking rackets. Ruggiero was a 6 feet (1.8 m), lean-bodied man with a narrow face, intense eyes, slightly stooped shoulders and a cigarette-raspy voice (likely due to chain-smoking English Ovals cigarettes).
He lived in an apartment on Monroe Street in Manhattan in the same building as his 'friend' and Bonanno soldier Anthony Mirra
. Ruggiero reportedly owned a cigarette boat
that he kept docked on the East River
in New York. Ruggiero became good friends with future family boss Philip "Rusty" Rastelli
and Mirra. Ruggiero became the part-owner of a fishery in the Fulton Fish Market
in Manhattan. As a part-owner, Ruggiero was able to put himself on the company payroll with a $5,000-a-month "no-show" job. During the 1970s, he purchased a social club in Little Italy. Ruggiero loved animals and his apartment had several tanks with tropical fish
. He also had a pet lion cub
, which he had to let go once it got too big.
Ruggiero had an estranged brother who changed his surname to 'Reggero' to avoid association with the rest of the family. Ruggiero had three daughters and one son, Thomas Sbano, with his first wife. In the late 1950s, Ruggiero left his first wife, eventually moving in with his second wife, Louise. In September 1977, Ruggiero married Louise in a small ceremony at New York City Hall
. Ruggiero's son Thomas struggled with a heroin dependency until he checked into a drug rehabilitation center in 1979. Ruggiero's younger daughter worked at a New York hospital and managed a booth at the Feast of San Gennaro
, in Little Italy. Two of Ruggiero's daughters reportedly married mobsters. The Bonanno family allegedly discovered that Ruggiero's son-in-law Marco was cheating the family and told Ruggiero to eliminate him. Marco disappeared and his body was never recovered.
rings. However, the friendships Pistone developed with Mirra and Ruggiero gave the FBI the chance to infiltrate the Mafia. Brasco started working for Ruggiero, placing bets and helping him make collections for the bookmaking operation in Ruggiero's social club.
Ruggiero mentored Brasco and eventually sponsored him for membership in the family. Ruggiero developed a close friendship with Brasco, which caused friction with his old friend Mirra, who originally introduced Brasco to Ruggiero. Brasco served as best man at Ruggiero's 1977 wedding and frequently advised Ruggiero on handling his son Tommy's heroin addiction. Brasco became close with Ruggiero's kids who would all come to him with their problems. Ruggiero was a great cook and Pistone would go to his house and eat dinner several times a week. Pistone said that Ruggiero talked a lot and was excitable. Outside of New York
, Pistone said that Ruggiero was a small-town guy, unsophisticated and ignorant about the rest of the world.
Ruggiero once nearly discovered Brasco's true identity. Ruggiero and Brasco were in a Miami Beach, Florida
restaurant as Ruggiero read a Time magazine containing an article about the infamous Abscam
scandal and detailing how FBI agents posed as rich Arab
businessmen to catch U.S. Congressmen taking bribes. What caught Ruggiero's eye was a picture of a white yacht that the FBI used to entertain the congressmen. Ruggiero recognized the boat, the "Left Hand," as the same boat Brasco provided several months before for a party. Fortunately for Brasco, he convinced Ruggiero that he did not know the boat's owner was related to the FBI.
During a later criminal enterprise Ruggiero met the Mafia boss of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, Frank Balistrieri
. Ruggiero admitted to Pistone that he felt threatened while in the presence of Balistrieri. In 1979, Ruggiero converted his social club into a candy store and gave it to one of his daughters to manage. At the same time, Ruggiero and Brasco started a bookmaking operation out of the store. However, Ruggiero was soon dropped from the partnership because he was unable to provide the initial required investment of $2,500.
was murdered, creating a power vacuum in the family. After Galante's murder, Philip Rastelli
took over, running the organization from prison. However, one faction, led by Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, rebelled at Rastelli's leadership. At this time, Ruggiero joined the crew of Dominic "Sonny Black" Napolitano, a strong Rastelli supporter. On May 5, 1981, three rebel capos were lured to a meeting and murdered.
After the deaths of the three capos, the rebellion against Rastelli was quashed. According to Pistone, the murderers were Napolitano, John Cersani, Joe Massino, Sal Vitale, Joseph DeSimone, Nicholas Santora
, Vito Rizzuto
, Louis Giongetti, Santo Giordano and Gerlando Sciascia
. Ruggiero and Cersani were lookouts, and were sent in after to clean up the massacre and dispose of the bodies along with Napolitano, James Episcopia and Robert Capazzio.
. He got the nickname "Two Guns" because when he went out on a hit
, he liked to use two guns.
By the 1970s, Ruggiero had acquired a gambling dependency. He was betting and losing heavily on horse races. Soon he was borrowing money from Nicholas Marangello
to cover losing bets. By 1977, Ruggiero owed Marangello $160,000. The Bonanno family told Ruggiero that he would have to repay Marangello before he could become a made man
. By 1977, Ruggiero had paid most of his debt to Marangello and the family accepted his membership. However, by 1978, Ruggiero was back in debt again to Marangello. To settle the debt this time, the family arranged to transfer the revenues from part of Ruggiero's criminal operations directly to Marangello. Due to his gambling problem, Ruggiero was always trying to hide his few assets from his creditors Marangello and Sabella.
. FBI agent Louis Vernazzo jumped out of a car carrying a shotgun and said, "FBI, freeze!", and arrested Ruggiero on racketeering and gun charges. Ruggiero would surely have been murdered if he had attended the meeting.
After the FBI put Ruggiero in protective custody, they tried several times to persuade him to become a government witness and join the Witness Protection Program. However, Ruggiero refused to cooperate with the FBI and even tried to bail himself out of jail. The Mafia in turn canceled the contract on his life and gave him a "pass." In 1982, Ruggiero was charged with violations of the RICO
act in both New York and Florida
. The specific charges included conspiring to murder the three capos in New York, distributing methaqualone
in New York, committing extortion, the planning of a bank robbery and the running of illegal gambling operations in Florida.
Ruggiero was convicted in both New York and Florida and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Ruggiero could not believe that Donnie Brasco was a special agent in the FBI and not his partner in the Mafia. Ruggiero told his lawyer "He'll never go against us." After Pistone testified against him, he later said, "I'll get that motherfucker Donnie if it's the last thing I do." In 1992, Ruggiero was released from prison after serving 11 years and sick with lung
and testicular cancer
. On November 24, 1994, Benjamin Ruggiero died of lung cancer
at age 68.
in the 1997 film Donnie Brasco
. In the film, it is implied that Lefty was killed by fellow Bonanno members for allowing Pistone to infiltrate the family. However, Dominic "Sonny Black" Napolitano was the one murdered. In reality the FBI picked him up before the Mob could kill him.
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...
in 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 his friendship and mentorship
Mentorship
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
of FBI undercover agent
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone. Ruggiero was an old school Cosa Nostra mobster who knew how Mafia politics worked. Ruggiero allegedly murdered around 26 people and refused to break omertà
Omertà
Omertà is a popular attitude and code of honour and a common definition is the "code of silence". It is common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations defined as Mafia such as the Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and...
when arrested.
Biography
Born in the Fourth Ward neighborhood of Manhattan, Ruggiero grew up in the Knickerbocker VillageKnickerbocker Village
Knickerbocker Village Limited is a lower-middle class housing development located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City.-Location:...
private housing development 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:...
. Ruggiero joined the Bonanno family as a young man, serving as a street soldier under 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...
Michael Sabella
Michael Sabella
Michael "Mimi" Sabella was a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and a relative of Philadelphia crime family mob boss Salvatore Sabella.-Early years:...
. Ruggiero soon became successful in bookmaking, 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...
and loansharking rackets. Ruggiero was a 6 feet (1.8 m), lean-bodied man with a narrow face, intense eyes, slightly stooped shoulders and a cigarette-raspy voice (likely due to chain-smoking English Ovals cigarettes).
He lived in an apartment on Monroe Street in Manhattan in the same building as his 'friend' and Bonanno soldier Anthony Mirra
Anthony Mirra
Anthony "Tony" Mirra was an Italian-American mobster and soldier for the Bonanno crime family...
. Ruggiero reportedly owned a cigarette boat
Go-fast boat
A go-fast boat, or cigarette boat, is a small, fast boat designed with a long narrow platform and a planing hull to enable it to reach high speeds....
that he kept docked on the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
in New York. Ruggiero became good friends with future family boss Philip "Rusty" Rastelli
Philip Rastelli
Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:...
and Mirra. Ruggiero became the part-owner of a fishery in the Fulton Fish Market
Fulton Fish Market
The Fulton Fish Market is a fish market in The Bronx, New York, United States. It was originally a wing of the Fulton Market, established in 1822 to sell a variety of foodstuffs and produce...
in Manhattan. As a part-owner, Ruggiero was able to put himself on the company payroll with a $5,000-a-month "no-show" job. During the 1970s, he purchased a social club in Little Italy. Ruggiero loved animals and his apartment had several tanks with tropical fish
Tropical fish
Tropical fish include fish found in tropical environments around the world, including both freshwater and salt water species.Tropical fish are popular as aquarium fish, due to their often bright coloration...
. He also had a pet lion cub
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
, which he had to let go once it got too big.
Ruggiero had an estranged brother who changed his surname to 'Reggero' to avoid association with the rest of the family. Ruggiero had three daughters and one son, Thomas Sbano, with his first wife. In the late 1950s, Ruggiero left his first wife, eventually moving in with his second wife, Louise. In September 1977, Ruggiero married Louise in a small ceremony at New York City Hall
New York City Hall
New York City Hall is located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. The building is the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as...
. Ruggiero's son Thomas struggled with a heroin dependency until he checked into a drug rehabilitation center in 1979. Ruggiero's younger daughter worked at a New York hospital and managed a booth at the Feast of San Gennaro
Feast of San Gennaro
The Feast of San Gennaro, originally a one-day religious commemoration, began in September 1926 when newly arrived immigrants from Naples congregated along Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of New York City, to continue the tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate San Gennaro as...
, in Little Italy. Two of Ruggiero's daughters reportedly married mobsters. The Bonanno family allegedly discovered that Ruggiero's son-in-law Marco was cheating the family and told Ruggiero to eliminate him. Marco disappeared and his body was never recovered.
Operation Donnie Brasco
Around the time Ruggiero became a member of the Bonanno family, he met Mafia associate Donnie Brasco. Anthony Mirra introduced Brasco, an expert jewel thief, to Ruggiero. Joseph Pistone's original mission had been to infiltrate truck hijacking and fencingFence (criminal)
A fence is an individual who knowingly buys stolen property for later resale, sometimes in a legitimate market. The fence thus acts as a middleman between thieves and the eventual buyers of stolen goods who may or may not be aware that the goods are stolen. As a verb, the word describes the...
rings. However, the friendships Pistone developed with Mirra and Ruggiero gave the FBI the chance to infiltrate the Mafia. Brasco started working for Ruggiero, placing bets and helping him make collections for the bookmaking operation in Ruggiero's social club.
Ruggiero mentored Brasco and eventually sponsored him for membership in the family. Ruggiero developed a close friendship with Brasco, which caused friction with his old friend Mirra, who originally introduced Brasco to Ruggiero. Brasco served as best man at Ruggiero's 1977 wedding and frequently advised Ruggiero on handling his son Tommy's heroin addiction. Brasco became close with Ruggiero's kids who would all come to him with their problems. Ruggiero was a great cook and Pistone would go to his house and eat dinner several times a week. Pistone said that Ruggiero talked a lot and was excitable. Outside of 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...
, Pistone said that Ruggiero was a small-town guy, unsophisticated and ignorant about the rest of the world.
Ruggiero once nearly discovered Brasco's true identity. Ruggiero and Brasco were in a Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
restaurant as Ruggiero read a Time magazine containing an article about the infamous Abscam
Abscam
Abscam was a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation run from the FBI's Hauppauge, Long Island, office in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
scandal and detailing how FBI agents posed as rich Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
businessmen to catch U.S. Congressmen taking bribes. What caught Ruggiero's eye was a picture of a white yacht that the FBI used to entertain the congressmen. Ruggiero recognized the boat, the "Left Hand," as the same boat Brasco provided several months before for a party. Fortunately for Brasco, he convinced Ruggiero that he did not know the boat's owner was related to the FBI.
During a later criminal enterprise Ruggiero met the Mafia boss of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, Frank Balistrieri
Frank Balistrieri
Frank Peter Balistrieri , also known as "Mr. Big", "Frankie Bal", "Mr. Slick", and "Mad Bomber", was a Milwaukee Mafia boss who was a central figure in skimming during the 1980s.-Early years:...
. Ruggiero admitted to Pistone that he felt threatened while in the presence of Balistrieri. In 1979, Ruggiero converted his social club into a candy store and gave it to one of his daughters to manage. At the same time, Ruggiero and Brasco started a bookmaking operation out of the store. However, Ruggiero was soon dropped from the partnership because he was unable to provide the initial required investment of $2,500.
The three capos murder
In 1979, Bonanno boss Carmine GalanteCarmine Galante
Carmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
was murdered, creating a power vacuum in the family. After Galante's murder, Philip Rastelli
Philip Rastelli
Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:...
took over, running the organization from prison. However, one faction, led by Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, rebelled at Rastelli's leadership. At this time, Ruggiero joined the crew of Dominic "Sonny Black" Napolitano, a strong Rastelli supporter. On May 5, 1981, three rebel capos were lured to a meeting and murdered.
After the deaths of the three capos, the rebellion against Rastelli was quashed. According to Pistone, the murderers were Napolitano, John Cersani, Joe Massino, Sal Vitale, Joseph DeSimone, Nicholas Santora
Nicholas Santora
Nicholas Angelo "Nicky Mouth" Santora is the reputed underboss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:Nicholas Santora was born on June 21, 1942, and became known in his teens as a tough mobster from New York City...
, Vito Rizzuto
Vito Rizzuto
Vito Rizzuto , known as Montreal's Teflon Don, was alleged to be the leading Mafia boss of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada and heads the Rizzuto crime family.-Family:...
, Louis Giongetti, Santo Giordano and Gerlando Sciascia
Gerlando Sciascia
Gerlando Sciascia , also known as "George from Canada", was a New York mobster and a caporegime for the Bonanno crime family, also the Sixth family's Rep for New York, who was a major narcotics trafficker in Canada.-Background:...
. Ruggiero and Cersani were lookouts, and were sent in after to clean up the massacre and dispose of the bodies along with Napolitano, James Episcopia and Robert Capazzio.
Reputation
Ruggiero relished life as a mobster. He explained to Donnie Brasco: "Donnie, as a wiseguy you can lie, you can cheat, you can steal, you can kill people - legitimately. You can do any goddamn thing you want and nobody can say anything about it. Who wouldn't want to be a wiseguy?". Ruggiero was the epitome of a wiseguy and had the respect of other mobsters. He had a reputation as a killer but on a daily basis was not prone to violence. Ruggiero had never served time in prison; he had been arrested but never jailed. Ruggiero earned his nickname "Lefty" from tossing dice left-handed while playing crapsCraps
Craps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank...
. He got the nickname "Two Guns" because when he went out on a hit
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
, he liked to use two guns.
By the 1970s, Ruggiero had acquired a gambling dependency. He was betting and losing heavily on horse races. Soon he was borrowing money from 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...
to cover losing bets. By 1977, Ruggiero owed Marangello $160,000. The Bonanno family told Ruggiero that he would have to repay Marangello before he could become a made man
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...
. By 1977, Ruggiero had paid most of his debt to Marangello and the family accepted his membership. However, by 1978, Ruggiero was back in debt again to Marangello. To settle the debt this time, the family arranged to transfer the revenues from part of Ruggiero's criminal operations directly to Marangello. Due to his gambling problem, Ruggiero was always trying to hide his few assets from his creditors Marangello and Sabella.
Aftermath and death
In 1981, the FBI decided to end Pistone's operation. FBI agents visited Ruggiero and Napolitano at a social club and informed them of Brasco's true identity. After the Bonanno leadership learned the truth, they immediately went after the men who brought Brasco into their midst. Mirra and Napolitano were murdered and a contract was put out on Ruggiero. On August 30, 1981, the FBI intercepted Ruggiero as he was going to a meeting at Marangello's social club and placed Ruggiero under protective custodyProtective custody
Protective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisoners, is a chief factor causing the need for PC units...
. FBI agent Louis Vernazzo jumped out of a car carrying a shotgun and said, "FBI, freeze!", and arrested Ruggiero on racketeering and gun charges. Ruggiero would surely have been murdered if he had attended the meeting.
After the FBI put Ruggiero in protective custody, they tried several times to persuade him to become a government witness and join the Witness Protection Program. However, Ruggiero refused to cooperate with the FBI and even tried to bail himself out of jail. The Mafia in turn canceled the contract on his life and gave him a "pass." In 1982, Ruggiero was charged with violations of the RICO
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
act in both New York and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The specific charges included conspiring to murder the three capos in New York, distributing methaqualone
Methaqualone
Methaqualone is a sedative-hypnotic drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general central nervous system depressant. The sedative-hypnotic activity was first noted by Indian researchers in the 1950s and in 1962 methaqualone itself was patented in the US by Wallace and Tiernan...
in New York, committing extortion, the planning of a bank robbery and the running of illegal gambling operations in Florida.
Ruggiero was convicted in both New York and Florida and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Ruggiero could not believe that Donnie Brasco was a special agent in the FBI and not his partner in the Mafia. Ruggiero told his lawyer "He'll never go against us." After Pistone testified against him, he later said, "I'll get that motherfucker Donnie if it's the last thing I do." In 1992, Ruggiero was released from prison after serving 11 years and sick with lung
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
and testicular cancer
Testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system.In the United States, between 7,500 and 8,000 diagnoses of testicular cancer are made each year. In the UK, approximately 2,000 men are diagnosed each year. Over his lifetime, a man's risk of...
. On November 24, 1994, Benjamin Ruggiero died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at age 68.
Popular culture
Ruggiero was portrayed by Al PacinoAl Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
in the 1997 film Donnie Brasco
Donnie Brasco (film)
Donnie Brasco is a 1997 crime drama film directed by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Michael Madsen. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based in New York City...
. In the film, it is implied that Lefty was killed by fellow Bonanno members for allowing Pistone to infiltrate the family. However, Dominic "Sonny Black" Napolitano was the one murdered. In reality the FBI picked him up before the Mob could kill him.
Further reading
- Pistone, Joseph D.; & Woodley, Richard (1999 ) Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the MafiaDonnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the MafiaDonnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia is a non-fiction crime book written by Joseph D. Pistone. It is the true story of FBI agent Joseph Pistone going undercover and infiltrating the Mafia...
, p. 402, Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-66637-4. - Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-2707-8.
- Crittle, Simon, The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino Berkley (March 7, 2006) ISBN 0425209393
- DeStefano, Anthony. The Last Godfather: Joey Massino & the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family. California: Citadel, 2006.
- Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families: The Rise, Decline & Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empire. New York: St. Martins Press, 2005.
External links
- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BENJAMIN RUGGIERO
- Justia.com UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BENJAMIN RUGGIERO
- Time Magazine: Strife And Death in the Family by DAVID BRAND