Michael Zaffarano
Encyclopedia
Michael Zaffarano also known as "Mickey", was a capo
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...

 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 ....

 who worked in the adult entertainment industry.

Biography

Zaffarano owned adult theatres and handled the national pornographic film distribution for the Bonanno family. He owned several pornographic movie theatres in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...

 in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 and around the country. Zaffarano's office was in Times Square on the upper floor of the Pussycat Theatre. Zaffarano was a heavyset, tall (6'2") and handsome man with a brooding face.

He had dark brown, piercing eyes, a broken nose, and a scar on his forehead. Bonanno boss Natale Evola
Natale Evola
Natale "Joe Diamond" Evola was a New York mobster who briefly became boss of the Bonanno crime family.Born in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn to parents Filippo and Francesca, who was natives of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. He was the brother of Paul, Joseph and Anna...

 in 1972 chose Zaffarano to initiate 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...

 organized crime arbitration efforts with Paolo Violi in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Zaffarano had a long history of dealing with disputes and internal mob hostilities. Zaffarano survived the turbulent 1960s and after his death in 1980, his son John (aka Johnnie) took over operations of the businesses.

Death

On February 14, 1980, Zaffarano died of a heart attack while evading FBI agents trying to arrest him.
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