Mafia's Greatest Hits (2012–…): Season 2, Episode 4 - Joe Massino - full transcript
Joe Massino, the 'Last Don', crushes anyone who goes against the mafia code of omerta. Loyalty to his family, and obedience to their code of silence, is everything. But when the Feds take Massino down, Massino takes everyone down with him.
Narrator: JOSEPH MASSINO,
LEGENDARY GODFATHER
OF THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY
IS THE LAST OF A GENERATION.
[ GUNSHOT ]
JOE MASSINO IS CONSIDERED
"THE LAST DON"
BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY
THE LAST OF THE OLD GUARD.
Narrator:
THE LAST DON CRUSHES ANYONE
WHO GOES AGAINST
THE MAFIA'S CODE OF OMERTA.
HE WAS FEARED ABSOLUTELY,
AND HIS REPUTATION PRECEDED HIM.
Narrator: LOYALTY TO HIS FAMILY
AND OBEDIENCE
TO THEIR CODE OF SILENCE
IS EVERYTHING.
YET NO ONE WAS IMMUNE
TO THE LEGENDARY FBI MOLE,
DONNIE BRASCO.
HE WAS A PHENOMENAL
ASSET FOR THE FBI.
Narrator: BUT WHEN THE LAST DON
BOUNCES BACK,
THE FEDS HAVE A BIG PROBLEM.
JOE MASSINO THREATENED
PEOPLE WITH DEATH.
Narrator:
NO ONE DARES TO SPEAK.
Stubing: MASSINO
WAS THE KEY TO THE FAMILY.
SO WHAT I HAD TO DO WAS FIND
THE KEY TO MASSINO.
Narrator:
BUT THE FEDS REFUSED TO GIVE UP.
I NEVER THOUGHT JOE MASSINO
WOULD COOPERATE.
Narrator: AND WHEN MASSINO
GOES DOWN THIS TIME,
HE'LL TAKE EVERYONE WITH HIM.
[ GUNSHOT ]
[ GUNSHOTS ]
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
**
**
**
IN 1981, JOE MASSINO,
HEAD OF THE BONANNO
CRIME FAMILY,
IS TAKING OUT A CONTRACT
ON A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER
WHO HAS DESTROYED HIS TRUST.
ONE OF HIS LIEUTENANTS,
SONNY BLACK NAPOLITANO,
IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE OF
THE WORST BREACHES OF SECRECY
IN THE HISTORY
OF ORGANIZED CRIME.
JOE MASSINO MAKES SURE
HE PAYS THE ULTIMATE PRICE.
Destefano: SONNY BLACK WAS TAKEN
TO A HOUSE IN STATEN ISLAND,
WAS PUSHED INTO THE BASEMENT
AND WAS KILLED
AND SHOT SEVERAL TIMES,
AND HE KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
HIS LAST WORDS WERE, "IF YOU'RE
GONNA DO IT, MAKE IT GOOD."
[ GUNSHOTS ]
Narrator: SONNY BLACK'S MISTAKE
HAD BEEN TO FALL
FOR THE COVER STORY
OF SPECIAL AGENT, JOE PISTONE.
POSING UNDERCOVER
AS A LOWLIFE DIAMOND THIEF
CALLED DONNIE BRASCO.
DONNIE BRASCO WAS
THE STAGE NAME
FOR SPECIAL AGENT
JOSEPH PISTONE OF THE FBI.
PISTONE PENETRATED
THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY
BY POSING AS DONNIE BRASCO,
A SORT OF TWO-BIT THIEF GUY
WHO DEALT IN STOLEN
PROPERTY AND JEWELS
AND INGRATIATED HIMSELF
WITH THE CRIME FAMILY.
Narrator: SONNY BLACK
WAS THE MOST SENIOR MEMBER
TO FALL FOR THE ROUSE,
AND FOR A REMARKABLE
PERIOD OF SIX YEARS,
HE ALLOWED DONNIE BRASCO ACCESS
TO MANY OF THE BONANNO
FAMILY'S DIRTIEST SECRETS.
HE GATHERED TREMENDOUS
INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION
BY JUST BEING ABLE TO TRANSFER
WHAT HE WAS LEARNING
TO HIS CONTACTS IN THE FBI.
HE WAS A PHENOMENAL
ASSET FOR THE FBI.
Narrator: SONNY BLACK AND BRASCO
BECAME CLOSE FRIENDS.
SONNY BLACK EVEN RECOMMENDS
BRASCO FOR INDUCTION
INTO THE BONANNO FAMILY
AS A MADE MAN.
NAPOLITANO HAD TAKEN PISTONE
IN ALMOST AS ONE OF HIS
RIGHT-HAND MEN,
AND HE WANTED HIM TO BE MADE,
INDUCTED AS A MADE SOLDIER.
Narrator:
AN INFILTRATION THIS DEEP
AND FOR THIS LONG
IS UNHEARD OF
IN THE HISTORY
OF NEW YORK'S CRIME FAMILIES.
Raab: THE IDEA THAT AN FBI AGENT
COULD INFILTRATE
AND ALMOST BECOME A MADE
MEMBER WAS UNBELIEVABLE.
Narrator: MASSINO KNOWS THAT
DONNIE BRASCO'S INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
IS POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS
AND COULD BRING DOWN HIS HIGHLY
SECRETIVE BONANNO ORGANIZATION.
THIS DISASTER RESTS SQUARELY
ON SONNY BLACK'S SHOULDERS.
THIS WAS AN UNBELIEVABLE SIN.
Narrator: JOE MASSINO HAD BUILT
A SUCCESSFUL FAMILY
ON THE FOUNDATIONS
OF SECRECY AND LOYALTY.
BY TRUSTING PISTONE
AND LETTING HIM GET SO CLOSE,
SONNY BLACK HAD
UNDONE EVERYTHING.
[ GUNSHOTS ]
**
BUT THE MESSAGE
DOESN'T STOP THERE.
MASSINO NEXT ORDERS
THE DEATH OF THE MAN
WHO INTRODUCED BRASCO
TO SONNY BLACK, ANTHONY MIRRA.
TO DRIVE HOME THE POINT
THAT LOYALTY TO THE MAFIA
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BLOOD,
HE ORDERS THE EXECUTION
TO BE CARRIED OUT
BY MIRRA'S OWN COUSIN.
[ GUNSHOT ]
THERE WAS A CLEANING
OF THE HOUSE, AS IT WERE,
FOR THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY,
AN INDICATION OF HOW RUTHLESS
AND BUSINESS-LIKE
MASSINO COULD BE.
Narrator: BUT THE DAMAGE
HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE.
BRASCO'S INFORMATION TAKES DOWN
THE BONANNO FAMILY,
INCLUDING ITS BOSS.
JOE MASSINO IS CONVICTED
FOR RACKETEERING
AND SENTENCED
TO 10 YEARS IN JAIL.
PISTONE'S INFILTRATION
ALMOST COMPLETELY DESTROYED
THE BONANNO FAMILY.
IT LED TO SCORES OF INDICTMENT,
SCORES OF PROSECUTIONS,
SCORES OF CONVICTIONS.
Narrator: WORSE FOR MASSINO,
THE INFORMATION BRASCO LEARNED
INSIDE THE BONANNO FAMILY
LEADS TO THE INDICTMENT
OF 50 OTHER MOBSTERS...
...INCLUDING SENIOR MEMBERS
OF NEW YORK'S
OTHER FOUR MAFIA FAMILIES.
THE BONANNO FAMILY,
BUILT ON THE REPUTATION
OF WATERTIGHT SECRECY,
IS LEAKING LIKE A SIEVE.
THE REPERCUSSIONS OF THE
REVELATION THAT DONNIE BRASCO
HAD INFILTRATED THE FAMILY
WERE STAGGERING.
THE OTHER FOUR FAMILIES
TREATED THE BONANNOS
LIKE THEY WERE RADIOACTIVE.
Narrator: THE MAFIA'S GOVERNING
BODY CALLED "THE COMMISSION"
CUT THE BONANNOS OUT OF ALL
THEIR SYNDICATED RACKETS.
IT'S A DEVASTATING
BLOW TO MASSINO.
HIS REPUTATION AND HIS FAMILY'S
MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR INCOME
ARE IN THE GUTTER.
THE BONANNO FAMILY IS LOOKED
UPON AS UNDESIRABLES
BY EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE
NEW YORK AND NATIONAL MAFIA.
NOBODY WANTED TO DEAL
WITH THEM ANYMORE.
THEY WERE SO UNTRUSTWORTHY.
Narrator: FOR THE FBI TO WIPE
OUT THE BONANNO FAMILY
SO COMPLETELY IS A TRIUMPH.
FBI AGENT PAT COLGAN
WAS ON THE BONANNO SQUAD.
IT WAS VERY SATISFYING
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
TO SEE THE CONVICTIONS COME IN.
Destefano:
THEY HAD GAMBLING.
THEY HAD EXTORTION,
AND THEY HAD LOAN SHARKING.
THE FEDS DID A REALLY BIG JOB
IN DECIMATING THE CRIME FAMILY.
Narrator: YET THERE WAS ONE BIG
FISH THAT ALLUDED THEIR NET.
SOMEHOW, MASSINO'S
SECOND-IN-COMMAND,
SALVATORE VITALE,
HAD ESCAPED INDICTMENT
AND IS STILL ON THE OUTSIDE.
SUSPECTING THAT VITALE IS STILL
ENGAGED IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES,
THE FBI STAKE OUT HIS HQ.
OVER A PERIOD OF WEEKS,
THE FEDS RECORD ENOUGH
EVIDENCE OF RACKETEERING
TO CONVICT SEVERAL
MEMBERS OF VITALE'S CREW.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, THE FBI FALLS
SHORT OF CATCHING VITALE.
JACK STUBING, WHO HEADED
THE TEAM, REMEMBERS IT WELL.
WE INDICTED SEVERAL MEMBERS
AND ASSOCIATES
OF THE BONANNO FAMILY,
BUT SAL VITALE
WASN'T ONE OF THEM.
VITALE WAS NOT CAUGHT
IN THE ACT
OF COMMITTING ANY CRIMINAL ACTS,
AND SO HE WAS NEVER INDICTED
AS PART OF THAT INVESTIGATION.
Narrator: BUT WITH JOE MASSINO
AND HIS TOP MEN BEHIND BARS,
WITH OR WITHOUT VITALE,
IT LOOKS LIKE THE BONANNO
FAMILY IS FINISHED.
SO THE FBI SHUTS THE BONANNO
SQUAD DOWN AND REASSIGNS AGENTS
TO GO AFTER THE BOSSES OF
THE OTHER FOUR MAFIA FAMILIES.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
HAS LIMITED RESOURCES.
THEY CAN ONLY ADDRESS SO
MANY PROBLEMS AT THE SAME TIME.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH JOE MASSINO
IS LOCKED UP,
HE'S DETERMINED
NOT TO BE STOPPED
AND BEGINS REBUILDING
HIS FAMILY AND HIS REPUTATION.
JOE WAS STILL
EFFECTIVELY THE HEAD
OF THE BONANNO
ORGANIZED CRIME FAMILY,
EVEN THOUGH HE WAS IN JAIL.
Narrator: AFTER DONNIE BRASCO'S
DEVASTATING INFILTRATION
OF THE FAMILY, LOYALTY IS MORE
IMPORTANT THAN EVER,
SO HE CHOOSES SAL VITALE
TO REPRESENT HIM ON THE OUTSIDE,
THE ONE MAN HE KNOWS
HE CAN RELY ON IMPLICITLY.
Stubing: MASSINO AND VITALE
WERE BROTHERS-IN-LAW,
AND THEY HAD A VERY CLOSE
RELATIONSHIP GROWING UP
BECAUSE OF THEIR CLOSE
FAMILIAL TIES.
Narrator: AND AS MASSINO'S
BROTHER-IN-LAW,
SAL VITALE
IS ALLOWED TO VISIT HIS BOSS.
Stubing: VITALE WAS A VERY
TRUSTED MEMBER
OF MASSINO'S INNER CIRCLE.
Colgan: JOE MASSINO
AND SAL VITALE
WERE THE BEST OF FRIENDS.
JOE MASSINO TRUSTED
SAL VITALE TO THE NTH DEGREE,
NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
Narrator: IN EFFECT, PRISON
VISITS BECOME MOB MEETINGS.
Colgan:
SAL VITALE WAS DEFINITELY
RUNNING THE BONANNO
ORGANIZED CRIME FAMILY
AT JOE MASSINO'S REQUEST.
Narrator: TAKING DIRECTIONS
DIRECTLY FROM HIS GODFATHER,
SLOWLY BUT SURELY, VITALE STARTS
REBUILDING MASSINO'S EMPIRE,
BUT IT ISN'T EASY.
THE EXCLUSION OF
BONANNO'S FAMILY
FROM LARGE SYNDICATED MAFIA
RACKETS HITS PROFITS HARD.
VITALE HAS TO START AGAIN.
Stubing: THE BONANNOS NOT
BEING REPRESENTED
ON THE COMMISSION ANYMORE
WERE FORCED TO LOOK
INTO OTHER THINGS.
Narrator: THEY INCREASINGLY TURN
TO DEALING HARD DRUGS
TO RAISE CASH.
THERE WERE ALWAYS CREWS
IN THE BONANNO FAMILY
THAT WERE INVOLVED
IN NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING,
BUT THEY BECAME A LITTLE
MORE BLATANT ABOUT IT.
Narrator: AS DRUG USE SURGES,
IT BECOMES
A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS,
AND THE BONANNO
FAMILY CASH IN.
THEIR REBIRTH BLINDSIDES
THE FBI WHO, BY NOW,
ARE FOCUSED ON TAKING DOWN
THE OTHER FOUR MAFIA FAMILIES.
IT WAS VERY LIMITED INTELLIGENCE
ON THE BONANNO FAMILY
WHILE JOE MASSINO WAS IN JAIL.
THE FBI LOST CONTACT
AND REALLY HAD NO INFORMATION
ABOUT THE BONANNO FAMILY.
Narrator: WITH THEIR ATTENTION
DIVERTED ELSEWHERE,
THE FBI HAVE NO IDEA THAT
WHEN HE'S EVENTUALLY RELEASED,
MASSINO WILL BE MORE
POWERFUL THAN EVER.
AND IN A SHOCKING TWIST,
IT WILL BE DONNIE BRASCO
THAT HE'LL HAVE TO THANK FOR IT.
Narrator: IN NOVEMBER 1992,
AT THE END
OF HIS RACKETEERING SENTENCE,
JOSEPH MASSINO IS
RELEASED FROM PRISON.
AS FAR AS THE FBI ARE CONCERNED,
THE CRIME BOSS IS A HAS-BEEN,
BUT THANKS TO SAL VITALE,
MASSINO IS ONCE AGAIN
THE BOSS OF A THRIVING BONANNO
CRIME FAMILY.
DESPITE PRISON,
THE TWO MEN HAVE MADE
THE ORGANIZATION
STRONGER THAN EVER.
JOE MASSINO BROUGHT THEM
BACK INTO STARDOM.
THEY BECAME PROBABLY THE MOST
IMPORTANT FAMILY IN NEW YORK.
Narrator: AND ALL THE WHILE,
THE FBI HAS BEEN
COMPLETELY UNAWARE
OF MASSINO'S EXPANDING EMPIRE.
WE HAD VERY POOR
INFORMANT COVERAGE.
Narrator:
WITH MASSINO NOW ON THE OUTSIDE,
IT ISN'T LONG BEFORE
THE FBI HEAR RUMORS
THAT HE'S BACK RUNNING THE SHOW.
REALIZING THEIR MISTAKE,
JACK STUBING
REOPENS INVESTIGATIONS
IN BONANNO ACTIVITIES,
GATHERING AS MUCH
NEW INTELLIGENCE AS HE CAN.
Stubing: MASSINO IS THE KEY
TO THE FAMILY.
SO WHAT I HAD TO DO
WAS FIND THE KEY TO MASSINO.
Narrator: STUBING'S SQUAD
FOCUSED NOT ON MASSINO
BUT ON HIS SOLDIERS
LOOKING FOR A WEAKNESS.
Stubing: ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT I'VE ALWAYS PREACHED
IS THAT YOU DON'T GO
HEAD-ON FOR THE MAIN GUY.
YOU START PROBING AROUND FOR WHO
THE WEAK SPOTS ARE AROUND HIM
BECAUSE THE GUY WHO'S AT THE TOP
OF THE PYRAMID GOT THERE
BECAUSE HE'S GOT
HIS WITS ABOUT HIM.
AND SO YOU'RE LOOKING
FOR SOMEBODY
WHO'S MAYBE NOT SO SHARP.
Narrator:
BUT STUBING'S SQUAD GET NOWHERE.
**
IT SEEMS MASSINO HAS LEARNED
A VALUABLE LESSON.
IT'S NO GOOD HOPING FOR LOYALTY.
YOU HAVE TO ENSURE IT.
BONANNO'S SOLDIERS ARE TERRIFIED
TO SAY A WORD AGAINST HIM.
NO ONE WOULD TALK TO US
ABOUT JOE MASSINO
BECAUSE THEY FEARED HIM.
HE WAS FEARED ABSOLUTELY
BECAUSE HE WAS A VIOLENT MAN,
AND HIS REPUTATION PRECEDED HIM.
JOE MASSINO THREATENED
PEOPLE WITH DEATH.
**
Narrator: DESPITE
ROUND-THE-CLOCK SURVEILLANCE
OF MASSINO'S HQ,
STUBING FINDS IT IMPOSSIBLE
TO GET ANYTHING USEFUL.
HE BUILT THESE PROTECTIVE WALLS.
HE COMMUNICATED FACE-TO-FACE.
HE WAS VERY SELECTIVE
IN WHO HE DID MEET.
HE WOULDN'T JUST MEET TOM,
DICK AND HARRY OFF THE STREET.
HE HAD TO KNOW THEM
OR BE ASSURED
BY SOMEBODY ELSE THAT
THIS WAS A TRUSTED PERSON.
Destefano:
MASSINO WAS CAGEY AND CANNY,
SO HE WASN'T GONNA MAKE
SOME SORT OF STUPID MISTAKE
TO GET CAUGHT.
HE WOULD WALK AROUND THE BLOCK.
HE WOULD PUT HIS HANDS
OVER HIS LIPS
TO AVOID ANY TYPE
OF, UH, RECORDING
THAT A LIP-READER
COULD POSSIBLY TRANSLATE.
HE KNEW ABOUT BUGGING
AND WIRETAPPING,
AND, IN THAT SENSE, NOBODY
REALLY SPOKE ON THE PHONE.
Narrator: WITH THE SURVEILLANCE
AND WIRETAPS FAILING,
STUBING DECIDES TO PUT
HIS OWN LIFE IN DANGER.
I DECIDED TO GO OUT AND
VISIT HIM AT HIS BUSINESS
AND SEE WHAT
HE WAS ALL ABOUT.
HE HAD A CATERING BUSINESS
OUT ON LONG ISLAND
CALLED KING CATERERS,
WHICH WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT
WERE KNOWN AS ROACH COACHES,
THESE TRUCKS THAT VISIT
CONSTRUCTION SITES
AND SELL SANDWICHES
AND COFFEE TO WORKERS,
AND HIS TRUCKS REPORTEDLY
ALSO PROVIDED SERVICES
SUCH AS LOAN-SHARK LOANS
AND TAKING BETS.
Narrator:
TURNING UP UNANNOUNCED,
STUBING HEADS INSIDE.
HE HAS NO IDEA
HOW THE UNPREDICTABLE
AND SOMETIMES BRUTAL
CRIME BOSS MIGHT REACT.
HE WAS BACK IN THE KITCHEN
MAKING SAUCE OR SOMETHING,
AND I ENGAGED HIM
IN CONVERSATION,
AND THE APPROACH THAT
I HAD TAKEN WAS THAT, YOU KNOW,
"I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING
TO GO STRAIGHT
AND YOU'RE NOT IN
THE LIFE ANYMORE,"
AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND HE KNEW I DIDN'T BELIEVE IT,
AND HE DIDN'T BELIEVE
I BELIEVED IT.
BUT IT GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY
TO HAVE A CONVERSATION BECAUSE,
AS MUCH AS I WANTED TO SEE
WHAT HE WAS ALL ABOUT,
HE WANTED TO SEE WHAT I WAS
ALL ABOUT AND WHAT I KNEW.
Narrator: STUBING REALIZES
THAT MASSINO'S MEN
HAVE BEEN WATCHING HIS AGENTS
AS MUCH AS HIS AGENTS
HAVE BEEN WATCHING MASSINO.
Stubing:
DURING THAT CONVERSATION,
HE TOLD ME ABOUT HIS DIFFERENT
EXPERIENCES WITH THE FBI,
AND HE TOLD ME
ABOUT SURVEILLANCES
THAT HE HAD BEEN
THE SUBJECT OF.
I'VE BEEN ON SOME OF
THOSE SURVEILLANCES.
HE COULD PHYSICALLY
DESCRIBE AGENTS.
HE KNEW WHAT CARS WE DROVE.
HE HAD PARTIAL LICENSE
PLATE NUMBERS.
HE KNEW PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING
THAT WAS IN OUR BAG OF TRICKS
UP TO THAT TIME AND
INVESTIGATING ORGANIZED CRIME
AND WHAT HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL
AND WHAT HADN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
IT WAS CLEAR THAT
HE WAS SOMEBODY
THAT HAD HIS WITS ABOUT HIM
AND WAS A MASTER OF HIS CRAFT.
Narrator: STUBING MAY HAVE
LOOKED HIS ENEMY IN THE EYE,
BUT THE RESULT IS THAT MASSINO
NOW HAS THE MEASURE OF STUBING,
AND THE CRIME BOSS TIGHTENS
HIS SECURITY EVEN FURTHER.
HE ABOLISHED THE IDEA THAT THEY
WOULD MEET IN SOCIAL CLUBS,
EASY PLACES TO INFILTRATE
AND TO CONDUCT
SURVEILLANCES BY THE FBI.
MASSINO SAW THE SOCIAL CLUBS
AS BEING A LIABILITY
BECAUSE THEY GAVE
THE FBI A FORUM
FOR WHICH THEY COULD SIT OUT
OUTSIDE THE SOCIAL CLUB
AND PHOTOGRAPH
EVERYBODY GOING IN.
Narrator:
WITH THE FBI GETTING NOTHING
AND HIS SOLDIERS
REMAINING LOYAL AND SILENT,
MASSINO'S CRIME EMPIRE
CONTINUES TO EXPAND.
THEY GOT NO SIGNIFICANT
SURVEILLANCE OF JOE MASSINO
AT ALL IN THOSE INVESTIGATIONS.
Narrator: STUBING MAY BE GETTING
NOWHERE WITH MASSINO,
BUT FBI INVESTIGATIONS
INTO THE OTHER FAMILIES
ARE REAPING REWARDS AS LAWYERS
PREPARE FOR WHAT BECOMES
KNOWN AS
"THE COMMISSION TRIALS."
THESE TRIALS PROVE PARTICIPATION
IN HUGE SYNDICATED RACKETS
WORTH TENS OF
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS,
AND THE BOSSES OF ALL FOUR
OF THE OTHER NEW YORK MAFIA
FAMILIES ARE SENT TO PRISON.
IT'S A DEVASTATING BLOW
FOR THE MAFIA,
BUT FOR JOE MASSINO,
IT CLEARS THE FIELD.
HE'S THE LAST MAN STANDING,
AND THE FBI NICKNAME HIM
"THE LAST DON."
JOE MASSINO WAS CONSIDERED
"THE LAST DON"
BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY
THE LAST OF THE OLD GUARD.
HE WAS THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT
PLAYER LEFT ON THE STREET.
Narrator:
THANKS TO DONNIE BRASCO,
THE MAFIA COMMISSION
BANNED THE BONANNOS
FROM ITS SYNDICATED RACKETS
AND SAVED MASSINO
FROM THE LATER INDICTMENTS.
BRASCO AND THE FEDS
HAVE PRACTICALLY GIVEN MASSINO
THE ENTIRE UNDERWORLD
TO HIMSELF.
IN A WAY, PISTONE DID
THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY A FAVOR
BECAUSE THE IMPACT WAS TO SHIELD
THE FAMILY FROM INVOLVEMENT
IN ANY OF THE OTHER
MAJOR MAFIA RACKETS
BECAUSE THE FAMILY WAS SHUNNED.
WHAT PISTONE DID INDIRECTLY,
HE TOOK THE SPOTLIGHT FOR YEARS,
ALMOST A DECADE,
OFF THE BONANNO FAMILY.
Narrator: BY THE MID 1990s,
THERE IS STILL A COMPLETE WALL
OF SILENCE SURROUNDING
MASSINO'S SOLDIERS.
TO THE FBI, THE LAST DON
SEEMS UNTOUCHABLE.
BUT THEN STUBING
GETS HIS BREAK,
AND IT WILL TIE JOE MASSINO
TO NEARLY A DECADE
OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES.
Narrator: BY THE MID '90s,
FOUR OF NEW YORK'S
MAJOR CRIME BOSSES
HAVE BEEN THROWN BEHIND BARS
FOR THEIR INVOLVEMENT
IN HUGE RACKETEERING
OPERATIONS WORTH MILLIONS.
JACK STUBING AND HIS TEAM
OF FBI AGENTS
ARE INVESTIGATING
THE LAST DON, JOSEPH MASSINO,
HEAD OF THE MAFIA'S
BONANNO FAMILY.
WITH NO CRIMINAL OPPOSITION,
MASSINO IS CLEANING UP,
AND HE CONTINUES TO BE PROTECTED
BY HIS LOYAL SOLDIERS'
WALL OF SILENCE.
DESPITE INTENSE INVESTIGATION,
MASSINO HAS FRUSTRATED ALL
EFFORTS BY THE FBI TO NAIL HIM.
BUT THEN JACK STUBING
GETS LUCKY.
A SECRET INFORMANT SQUEALS
NOT ON MASSINO
BUT HIS LOYAL NUMBER
TWO, SAL VITALE.
IT'S THE BREAKTHROUGH
THEY'VE BEEN WAITING FOR.
THE SOURCE ISN'T FROM
WITHIN MASSINO'S OPERATION
BUT FROM SOMEONE
ASSOCIATED TO IT.
**
HE TELLS THEM THAT SAL VITALE
HAS BEEN USING A BANK
IN LONG ISLAND
TO LAUNDER CASH
AND TO EXTORT GAMBLING
AND LOAN-SHARKING DEBTS.
HIS REGULAR CUSTOMERS WENT
IN THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING
TO DO THEIR NORMAL
BANKING BUSINESS.
ROUND THE BACK, SAL VITALE
WORKED OVER HIS OWN LATE PAYERS.
**
HE BASICALLY TURNED IT INTO
THE PERSONAL BANK OF SAL VITALE.
**
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Narrator: THE FBI MOVES FAST,
INDICTING VITALE ALONG
WITH SIX OF HIS ASSOCIATES
AND THE BANK'S MANAGER
FOR RACKETEERING.
ALTHOUGH JACK STUBING CAN'T
TIE THE ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
TO JOE MASSINO,
THEY DO PUT VITALE BEHIND BARS,
BUT INEXPLICABLY,
VITALE GETS AN UNUSUALLY
SHORT PRISON SENTENCE.
WHEN THE BONANNOS HEAR THE
NEWS, THERE'S NERVOUSNESS.
VITALE'S TROUBLE WITH THE BANK
CASE ON LONG ISLAND
WAS SOMETHING THAT
CREATED SUSPICION
AMONG OTHER MEMBERS
OF THE CRIME FAMILY
THAT SAL MIGHT BE COOPERATING
BECAUSE HE GOT A RELATIVELY
LIGHT SENTENCE.
Narrator:
GRIPPED BY PARANOIA,
MASSINO DOESN'T KNOW
WHAT TO DO NEXT.
VITALE WOULD BE MORE
DANGEROUS THAN DONNIE BRASCO,
SO DANGEROUS THAT MASSINO
EVEN CONSIDERS
HAVING HIS
BROTHER-IN-LAW KILLED.
WHILE VITALE'S LIFE
HANGS IN THE BALANCE,
MASSINO CUTS VITALE
OUT OF THE FAMILY.
JOE BEGAN TO VIEW SAL WITH
A LITTLE BIT OF SUSPICION.
HE BECAME A LIABILITY,
AND JOE, YOU KNOW,
PUT HIM ON THE SHELF AS IT WERE,
TOOK AWAY HIS RACKETS
AND TOOK AWAY HIS EARNING POWER.
Narrator: KNOWING HOW ONE RAT
QUICKLY BECOMES MANY,
MASSINO LOOKS FOR ANYONE
ELSE IN HIS ORGANIZATION
WHO MIGHT POSE A THREAT.
Destefano: MASSINO HAD THAT
BRUTAL SIDE TO HIM.
HE COULD BE VERY RUTHLESS.
HE'D BE RUTHLESS TO
PROTECT HIMSELF.
HE COULD BE RUTHLESS IN
POLICING THE CRIME FAMILY.
Narrator: ONE GLARING, WEAK LINK
IS GERLANDO SCIASCIA.
Destefano: SCIASCIA WAS A PRETTY
SIGNIFICANT CAPTAIN
OUT OF THE CANADIAN WING
OF THE BONANNO FAMILY.
Narrator:
MANY YEARS EARLIER,
SCIASCIA HAD MURDERED THREE MEN
ON MASSINO'S ORDERS,
BUT RECENTLY, SCIASCIA
HAS BECOME POWERFUL
AND SHOWING SIGNS
OF BECOMING GREEDY.
IN THE WRONG HANDS,
KNOWLEDGE OF THE MURDERS
COULD DO MASSINO
A LOT OF DAMAGE.
MASSINO DOESN'T HESITATE.
HE HAS HIM KILLED, TOO.
**
[ GUNSHOT ]
**
MASSINO'S CRACKDOWN WORKS.
STUBING'S INVESTIGATION
DRAWS NOTHING BUT BLANKS.
I BECAME CONVINCED MORE
THAN EVER THAT HE KNEW SO MUCH
ABOUT HOW WE OPERATED
THAT WE WERE GONNA
HAVE TO TRY SOMETHING
THAT WE HADN'T TRIED BEFORE.
HE WAS CERTAINLY WELL AWARE
OF OUR SURVEILLANCE TECHNIQUES,
AND IT WAS TIME
FOR A NEW APPROACH.
Narrator: SO STUBING TURNS
TO HISTORY FOR INSPIRATION.
IN THE 1930s,
DETECTIVE ELIOT NESS FOLLOWED
AL CAPONE'S MONEY TRAIL.
CAPONE'S ACCOUNTS TURNED OUT
TO BE HIS ACHILLES HEEL.
COULD THE SAME APPROACH
WORK WITH MASSINO?
STUBING DRAFTS IN TWO
YOUNG AGENTS,
JEFFREY SALLET
AND KIMBERLY McCAFFREY,
SPECIALISTS IN
FORENSIC ACCOUNTING.
THE FBI HAS ALWAYS ACTIVELY
RECRUITED ACCOUNTANTS,
BUT THEY'VE USED THEM PRIMARILY
FOR WHITE-COLLAR INVESTIGATIONS.
IT SEEMED TO ME THAT IF WE COULD
PRY A COUPLE OF ACCOUNTANTS
LOOSE FROM
THE WHITE-COLLAR PROGRAM,
MAYBE WE WOULD BE ABLE
TO UNCOVER THINGS
THAT WE HADN'T UNCOVERED BEFORE.
Sallet: THIS WAS SOMETHING
THAT HAD NOT BEEN APPLIED
IN THE MODERN FIGHT
AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME.
THE BEAUTIFUL PART ABOUT MONEY
IS, THE TRAIL NEVER LEAVES.
SO TIME IS ON OUR SIDE
WHEN IT COMES TO INVESTIGATING
THE FINANCES.
Narrator: SALLET AND McCAFFREY
GET STRAIGHT TO WORK,
AND SUBPOENA
JOE MASSINO'S ACCOUNTANT
TO GET HIS FINANCIAL RECORDS
DATING BACK 10 YEARS.
Sallet: THE GREAT PART
ABOUT ACCOUNTANTS
IS THEY SAVE EVERYTHING.
THEY SAVE BANK RECORDS.
THEY SAVE
CREDIT-CARD STATEMENTS,
SO WE SUBPOENAED ANY AND ALL
DOCUMENTS RELATED TO MASSINO,
VITALE OR ANY OF
THEIR CORPORATIONS
THAT WERE LISTED
IN THEIR NAMES.
McCaffrey:
IT WAS A LOT OF PAPER.
WE WERE DEALING WITH
A LOT OF SPREADSHEETS.
BASICALLY, WE'RE LOOKING
FOR A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK.
IT WAS ACTUALLY REALLY FUN.
I DON'T WANT TO SAY WE'RE
A LITTLE BIT NERDY AT TIMES,
BUT I LOVE RECORDS.
IT WAS LIKE PUTTING
TOGETHER A PUZZLE.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH IT'S
LABORIOUS, SALLET AND McCAFFREY
EXAMINE EVERY SINGLE DOCUMENT
LINE BY LINE BY LINE.
THE WAY THAT WE VIEW
FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS AT THE TIME
WAS THAT EVERY PIECE
OF INFORMATION IN THERE
WAS INTELLIGENCE.
THERE IS A STORY BEHIND
EVERY TRANSACTION.
IF YOU TAKE A BANK STATEMENT,
AND YOU CUT OFF THE NUMBERS,
YOU HAVE A SERIES OF LEADS.
Narrator: IT ISN'T LONG
BEFORE SOMETHING UNUSUAL
CATCHES THEIR EYE.
THEY NOTICE A SERIES OF CHECKS
EACH MADE OUT FOR $25,000
TO A BARRY WEINBERG.
THE FIRST QUESTION JEFF AND I
BOTH HAD AT THE TIME WAS,
"WHO IS BARRY WEINBERG?"
Narrator: PUTTING WEINBERG
UNDER INVESTIGATION,
THEY DISCOVER THAT HE'S
A WEALTHY ENTREPRENEUR
AND THE OWNER OF SEVERAL
MANHATTAN PARKING LOTS.
McCaffrey:
WHAT WE EVENTUALLY FIGURED OUT
WAS MOST PARKING LOTS
IN NEW YORK CITY ARE...
YOU DON'T ACTUALLY
OWN THE PROPERTY.
YOU OWN THE LEASE, AND
THE LEASES ARE VERY VALUABLE.
Narrator: AND THEY'RE ESPECIALLY
VALUABLE TO JOE MASSINO.
BY LEASING WEINBERG'S
PARKING LOTS,
MASSINO CAN CREATE
FALSE PARKING RECEIPTS,
A PERFECT WAY TO ACCOUNT
FOR THE MOUNTAIN OF CASH
FLOODING IN FROM DRUGS
AND OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES.
[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]
McCaffrey: SO THAT'S
WHAT THE CHECKS WERE FOR,
TO, AGAIN,
LEGITIMIZE INCOME FOR HIM.
Narrator: COULD WEINBERG BE
MASSINO'S ACHILLES HEEL?
IF THE FBI APPLY PRESSURE
ON THE SHADY BUSINESSMAN,
HE MIGHT DIVULGE VALUABLE
INFORMATION ON THE CRIME BOSS.
WEINBERG WAS A VERY NERVOUS GUY.
WE DID NOT THINK THAT
HE WOULD BE CAPABLE
OF SPENDING ANY TIME IN JAIL,
AND WE FIGURED,
IF WE ARRESTED HIM,
THAT HE WOULD COOPERATE WITH US
AND GIVE US AN INSIDE LOOK
INTO THE BONANNO
ORGANIZED CRIME FAMILY.
WE KNEW THAT BARRY WEINBERG
MIGHT BE SOMEONE
WHO WE COULD GET
TO WORK FOR US.
Narrator: SALLET AND McCAFFREY
SUBPOENA WEINBERG'S IRS RETURNS.
THEY DISCOVER THAT,
ALTHOUGH HE'S EARNING
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EACH YEAR,
HE PAYS HARDLY ANY TAX.
IT'S EXACTLY WHAT
THEY NEED FOR LEVERAGE.
BARRY WEINBERG HAD EVADED
ABOUT $14 MILLION IN TAXES,
SO WE KNEW THERE WAS
SOME GOOD MOTIVATION
FOR HIM TO COOPERATE WITH US.
Narrator: FEARFUL OF ALERTING
ANYONE CLOSE TO MASSINO
THAT THEY'RE ON TO WEINBERG,
SALLET AND McCAFFREY
GO FOR A LOW-PROFILE ARREST.
THE NYPD PULLED HIM OVER.
THEY PULLED HIM OUT OF THE CAR.
WE PULL UP IN A VAN
NEXT TO THE CAR.
THE VAN'S DOOR OPENED.
WEINBERG IS HUSTLED IN.
AND WE HAD WEINBERG
IN THE BACK SEAT,
AND HE IS WITH MYSELF AND
MY PARTNER, WHERE WE SAY TO HIM,
"MR. WEINBERG, YOU HAVE 15
MINUTES TO MAKE A LIFE DECISION.
WE CAN EITHER BRING YOU DOWN TO
THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
AND PROCESS YOU
FOR YOUR TAX EVASION,
OR YOU CAN WEAR A WIRE
AND WORK FOR US RIGHT NOW."
FORTUNATELY FOR US,
HE WAS READY TO COOPERATE.
WE DEBRIEFED HIM,
AND THEN, AFTER,
WE SENT HIM RIGHT BACK OUT
ON THE STREET WITH A WIRE ON.
**
Narrator: WEINBERG KNOWS THAT,
IF HIS WIRE IS DISCOVERED,
HE'S A DEAD MAN.
BUT, OVER THE COMING MONTHS,
HE RECORDS OVER 100
INCRIMINATING CONVERSATIONS.
THE TAPES LEAD TO RACKETEERING
CHARGES AGAINST 20 MOBSTERS,
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT IS ONE
OF MASSINO'S CLOSEST HENCHMEN,
FRANK COPPER.
ALREADY IN PRISON FOR A 5-YEAR
SENTENCE FOR STOCK FRAUD,
COPPER REALIZES THESE
NEW RACKETEERING CHARGES
COULD PUT AN EXTRA
20 YEARS ON HIS SENTENCE.
HE TELLS THE FEDS
HE'S READY TO FLIP.
IT'S THE FIRST TIME
ONE OF MASSINO'S SOLDIERS
HAS BEEN PREPARED TO BREAK
HIS CODE OF SILENCE.
SALLET AND McCAFFREY CAN'T WAIT
TO FIND OUT WHAT HE'S GOT.
HE SAYS, "I'M GONNA MAKE
HEROES OUT OF ALL OF YOU.
I'M GONNA TELL YOU EVERYTHING."
Narrator:
LATE 2002, FRANK COPPER,
A BONANNO HENCHMAN,
BREAKS THE MAFIA CODE OF SILENCE
AND BETRAYS HIS BOSS,
THE INTENSELY
SECRETIVE JOE MASSINO.
FBI AGENTS SALLET AND McCAFFREY
CAN'T BELIEVE THEIR LUCK.
COPPER DOESN'T HOLD BACK.
AFTER YEARS OF EVADING THE FBI,
THE LAST DON NOW
FACES A MORTAL THREAT.
COPPER CONFESSES TO KILLING
SONNY BLACK NAPOLITANO
AND TO THE FACT THAT
HIS MURDER WAS COMMISSIONED
BY JOE MASSINO HIMSELF.
WE WERE ALL FAIRLY BLOWN AWAY
BECAUSE WE DID NOT KNOW
THAT HE WAS GONNA COME IN
AND TALK ABOUT THAT.
[ SIRENS WAILING ]
Narrator: IT'S ENOUGH
TO FINALLY MOVE ON MASSINO.
AND ON JANUARY 9, 2003,
SALLET AND McCAFFREY
RACE TO ARREST HIM.
WE WERE CONCERNED THAT IF WE DID
NOT ACT QUICKLY, HE WOULD FLEE.
WE WERE TAKING DOWN A CRIME BOSS
THAT, YOU KNOW,
MANY HAD CONSIDERED UNTOUCHABLE.
IT WAS REALLY A COMBINATION
OF A LOT OF EFFORT,
BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS.
WE WENT TO THE FRONT DOOR.
KIM AND I WENT FIRST.
WE KNOCK ON THE FRONT DOOR.
AND THERE'S JOE.
Narrator: INCREDIBLY,
MASSINO IS EXPECTING THEM.
Sallet: AND HE SAYS,
"YOU MUST BE KIMBERLY.
YOU MUST BE JEFFREY.
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU."
Narrator: SALLET AND McCAFFREY
THROW ON THE CUFFS.
AFTER AN INVESTIGATION
LASTING YEARS,
THE LAST DON IS
FINALLY IN CUSTODY.
McCaffrey:
IT WAS HUGE NEWS AT THE TIME.
HIS REPUTATION WAS THAT HE WAS
AN UNTOUCHABLE CRIME BOSS.
WE WEREN'T LOOKING FOR JOE
TO TALK WHEN WE ARRESTED HIM.
WE WERE LOOKING TO
PUT HIM IN JAIL.
HE WAS AT THE TOP
OF THE FOOD CHAIN.
Narrator: WITH MASSINO
BEHIND BARS AWAITING TRIAL,
STUBING WORKS TO ENSURE THAT THE
CASE AGAINST HIM IS WATERTIGHT.
HE SENDS SALLET AND McCAFFREY
TO SEE SAL VITALE,
HOPING THEY CAN CONVINCE HIM
TO FLIP LIKE FRANK COPPER.
Stubing: VITALE WAS A PERSON
WHO LITERALLY KNEW
WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED,
AND HE WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT
INTELLIGENCE
TO SPECIFIC CRIMES
AND TO FUTURE PLANS THAT MASSINO
MAY HAVE HAD FOR THE FAMILY.
Narrator:
WITH VITALE WORKING SO CLOSELY
WITH MASSINO FOR SO LONG,
SALLET AND McCAFFREY KNOW
HIS TESTIMONY WOULD BE DAMNING.
WE SAID TO HIM, "WE'D LIKE
YOU TO COOPERATE WITH US.
SEE THE FOUR WALLS
THAT YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY?
THIS IS WHAT
YOU'RE GONNA LOOK AT
FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE."
Narrator:
MASSINO'S CLOSEST ALLY
HOLDS TO THE CODE OF SILENCE
AND REFUSES TO SAY A WORD.
BUT SALLET AND McCAFFREY
HAVE AN ACE UP THEIR SLEEVE
AND REVEAL TO VITALE
THAT MASSINO
HAD PREVIOUSLY
WANTED HIM DEAD,
BELIEVING HE'D COOPERATED
WITH THE FEDS.
WE HAVE WITH US
THE DETENTION MEMO
THAT WAS WRITTEN
BY OUR PROSECUTOR,
AND, IN THAT,
IT TALKED ABOUT
HOW MASSINO WANTED
TO KILL VITALE.
HE SAYS, "PROVE IT TO ME."
MY PARTNER, KIM, LOOKS HIM
IN THE EYE AND SAYS,
"WE DON'T HAVE TO PROVE IT
TO YOU. YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE."
AND HE SHAKES HIS HEAD
UP AND DOWN, AND HE SAYS,
"YEAH, I DO.
I DO KNOW IT'S TRUE."
Narrator: WITH THAT,
VITALE DECIDES TO FLIP.
WHAT HE TELLS THEM IS
NOTHING SHORT OF DEVASTATING.
SAL WAS INVOLVED IN
ORCHESTRATING 11 MURDERS
FOR THE FAMILY.
[ GUNSHOTS ]
Narrator: OTHER CRIMES
INCLUDE EXTORTION, GAMBLING,
LOAN SHARKING, NARCOTICS.
INCREDIBLY, VITALE LISTS
EVERY CRIME
THAT HE AND MASSINO
HAD EVER BEEN INVOLVED IN.
SAL VITALE DESTROYED
THE BONANNO FAMILY
WHEN HE DECIDED TO TALK.
**
Narrator: ON MAY 24, 2004,
THE TRIAL AGAINST
JOE MASSINO BEGINS.
THE LIST OF ACCUSATIONS
AGAINST HIM IS OVERWHELMING,
11 COUNTS OF CONSPIRACY,
16 RACKETEERING CHARGES,
EXTORTION, GAMBLING, LOAN
SHARKING AND SEVEN HOMICIDES,
INCLUDING THE MURDER
OF SONNY BLACK NAPOLITANO.
DESPITE ALL HIS EFFORTS
TO ENFORCE SECRECY
WITH THE BONANNO FAMILY,
SEVEN OF MASSINO'S
CLOSEST CONFIDANTS
TESTIFY AGAINST HIM.
BUT THE PROSECUTION'S
STAR WITNESS
IS HIS OWN BROTHER-IN-LAW,
SAL VITALE.
Sallet:
SAL'S TESTIMONY WAS DEVASTATING.
I MEAN, THE CASE
WAS AIRTIGHT ON MASSINO.
Destefano:
SAL VITALE'S TESTIFYING
WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY
MOMENT IN THAT TRIAL.
VITALE KNEW SO MUCH THAT IT
REALLY WAS CURTAINS FOR JOE.
AND IT WAS AN AMAZING BETRAYAL.
Narrator: THE EVIDENCE IS
COMPLETELY OVERWHELMING,
AND MASSINO IS FOUND
GUILTY ON EVERY COUNT.
THERE'S NO QUESTION
SAL VITALE'S TESTIMONY
WAS TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE
FOR MASSINO'S CONVICTION.
Narrator: MASSINO HAD OUTWITTED
FBI INVESTIGATIONS FOR DECADES.
JACK STUBING TAKES
SATISFACTION IN THE FACT
THAT HIS TEAM LAID
THE GROUNDWORK
FOR HIS EVENTUAL CONVICTION.
Stubing:
WHEN MASSINO WAS CONVICTED,
I TOOK A PERSONAL PRIDE
IN THE FACT
THAT THE TEAM THAT I HAD
ORIGINALLY ASSEMBLED
HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL
IN CARRYING THIS FORWARD,
AND I WAS VERY PROUD OF HOW
THEY HAD WRAPPED THE CASE UP.
McCaffrey: ON THE DAY
THAT MASSINO WAS CONVICTED,
YOU KNOW, WE FELT LIKE
WE DID OUR JOBS.
WE HAD AGENTS FROM BACK
IN THE 1980s THAT CALLED US
AND WERE LIKE, "THANK YOU."
LIKE, THEY HAD
SURVEILLED HIM FOR SO LONG.
THEY HAD WIRETAPS.
THEY HAD ALL DIFFERENT
KINDS OF THINGS
IN VARIOUS SOCIAL CLUBS
BACK IN THE '80s,
AND THEY COULD NEVER GET HIM.
Narrator: BUT, FOR MASSINO,
THINGS WERE ABOUT
TO GET EVEN WORSE.
Narrator: WHEN A PACK
OF MAFIA MOBSTERS
BECOME FEDERAL INFORMANTS,
JOSEPH MASSINO, BOSS OF
THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY,
IS FOUND GUILTY OF RACKETEERING,
EXTORTION AND MURDER.
BUT THE FEDS KNOW IT'S NOT OVER.
AND, FEARFUL THAT MASSINO
MIGHT CONTINUE
TO RUN HIS FAMILY'S
OPERATIONS FROM BEHIND BARS,
THEY PULL A TRUMP CARD
AND HIT HIM AGAIN,
THIS TIME WITH
THE ULTIMATE PUNISHMENT.
EVEN BEFORE THE INK IS DRY
ON HIS VERDICT SHEET,
HE'S SERVED FOR YET
ANOTHER MURDER,
WHICH, THIS TIME, THREATENS TO
SEND HIM TO THE ELECTRIC CHAIR.
JOE MASSINO WAS
THE FIRST OFFICIAL BOSS
TO FACE THE DEATH PENALTY.
HE WAS CHARGED WITH
THE 1999 MURDER
OF GEORGE GERLANDO SCIASCIA,
WHO HAD BEEN KIND
OF THE LIAISON
BETWEEN THE MONTREAL FACTION
OF THE BONANNO FAMILY
AND THE NEW YORK FACTION
OF THE BONANNO FAMILY.
Narrator: THREATENED BY
SCIASCIA'S EMERGING POWER,
MASSINO HAD HAD HIM KILLED.
BUT, IN 1994, CONGRESS
HAD PASSED A LAW
WHICH MEANT THAT
A CONVICTION FOR HOMICIDE
IN AID OF RACKETEERING COULD BE
PUNISHED WITH A DEATH PENALTY.
SUDDENLY, THE STAKES FOR MASSINO
GET MUCH, MUCH HIGHER.
JOE MASSINO HAD NOWHERE TO GO.
Narrator: AFTER DECADES
OF OUTSMARTING THE LAW,
MASSINO IS IN A CORNER.
THE FATE OF AN ENTIRE GENERATION
OF THE AMERICAN MAFIA
TURNS ON WHAT MASSINO DOES NEXT.
FOR DECADES, JOE MASSINO HAD
METED OUT SAVAGE PUNISHMENTS,
EVEN DEATH, TO ANYONE WHO BROKE
THE MAFIA'S UNBREAKABLE
CODE OF OMERTA.
NOW, FACING DEATH HIMSELF,
MASSINO DOES SOMETHING
NO ONE WAS EXPECTING.
HE FLIPS.
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME
AN OFFICIAL BOSS
OF THE NEW YORK FIVE FAMILIES
COOPERATED
WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
IT WAS UNPRECEDENTED.
Narrator: OUT OF OPTIONS,
MASSINO DOES EXACTLY WHAT
SO MANY BEFORE HIM HAD DONE.
YOU HAD HAD OTHER ACTING BOSSES
DECIDE TO BECOME WITNESSES.
YOU HAD OTHER GANGSTERS
DECIDE TO BECOME WITNESSES.
BUT THIS WAS THE FIRST
OFFICIAL BOSS
OF ONE OF THE FIVE FAMILIES
DECIDING TO COOPERATE.
THAT WAS A BIG DEAL.
IN THE HISTORY OF THE MAFIA,
THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST DEALS.
Colgan: THE MERE FACT
THAT HE WAS WILLING TO TALK
TO LAW ENFORCEMENT
WAS A COMPLETE SHOCK TO ME.
**
Stubing: THAT WAS
QUINTESSENTIALLY JOE MASSINO.
MASSINO WAS ALWAYS ABOUT
MAKING THE SMART MOVE
AND ENSURING HIS SURVIVAL.
Narrator: IN EXCHANGE FOR
EVADING THE DEATH PENALTY,
MASSINO PLEADS GUILTY
TO THE MURDER OF SCIASCIA,
HANDS THE FEDS $10 MILLION,
BUT, MOST IMPORTANTLY,
HE TELLS THEM EVERYTHING.
HE DECIDES, IF HE'S GOING DOWN,
THEY ALL ARE.
HE BECAME THE CONSUMMATE RAT.
HE GAVE UP EVERYBODY
TO SAVE HIS OWN SKIN.
IT WAS A DEVASTATING BLOW.
I MEAN, HE TURNED OUT TO BE
THE WORST KIND OF ALL,
NOT JUST A BLABBER,
BUT A COMPLETE TRAITOR.
THIS REALLY WAS A MILESTONE
IN THE GOVERNMENT'S FIGHT
AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME.
Stubing:
IT CHANGED EVERYTHING.
IT SEEMED THAT ANYTHING
WAS POSSIBLE, THAT, REALLY,
ANYBODY COULD TURN
AND THAT NO ONE
COULD BE TRUSTED.
**
Narrator: MASSINO'S COOPERATION
WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
LEADS TO 15 INDICTMENTS
AGAINST FELLOW MOBSTERS.
Raab:
WHEN IT CAME DOWN TO THE END,
HE BECAME THE DESTROYER,
THE GREAT DESTROYER.
HE UNDID EVERYTHING THAT HE
HAD CREATED OVER 20 YEARS.
TO SAVE HIS OWN SKIN,
HE WAS WILLING TO GIVE UP
EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE FAMILY.
HE HAD NO MERCY FOR ANYONE ELSE.
Narrator: WITH MASSINO'S DEMISE
COMES THE END OF THE OLD GUARD.
YOU GOT TO REALIZE HE WAS
ONE OF THE OLD SCHOOL,
THE LAST OF THE OLD SCHOOL.
Narrator:
BUT DESPITE HIS DOWNFALL,
LIKE A HYDRA,
THE MAFIA NEVER REALLY DIES.
[ GUNSHOT ]
IT SIMPLY GROWS ANOTHER HEAD.
Raab: THE BONANNO FAMILY IS
STILL ALIVE, STILL FUNCTIONING,
AND IS REINVENTING ITSELF.
IT'S EASY TO SAY,
"WE'VE KILLED THEM ALL.
WE'VE KNOCKED THEM ALL.
WE PROSECUTED THEM ALL."
BUT SOMEHOW THE MAFIA
CONTINUES TO THRIVE.
SO THEY'VE BEEN HURT
BUT NOT FATALLY.
IT'S WAITING IN THE WINGS
TO COME BACK
AS POWERFULLY
AS IT ONCE WAS.
LEGENDARY GODFATHER
OF THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY
IS THE LAST OF A GENERATION.
[ GUNSHOT ]
JOE MASSINO IS CONSIDERED
"THE LAST DON"
BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY
THE LAST OF THE OLD GUARD.
Narrator:
THE LAST DON CRUSHES ANYONE
WHO GOES AGAINST
THE MAFIA'S CODE OF OMERTA.
HE WAS FEARED ABSOLUTELY,
AND HIS REPUTATION PRECEDED HIM.
Narrator: LOYALTY TO HIS FAMILY
AND OBEDIENCE
TO THEIR CODE OF SILENCE
IS EVERYTHING.
YET NO ONE WAS IMMUNE
TO THE LEGENDARY FBI MOLE,
DONNIE BRASCO.
HE WAS A PHENOMENAL
ASSET FOR THE FBI.
Narrator: BUT WHEN THE LAST DON
BOUNCES BACK,
THE FEDS HAVE A BIG PROBLEM.
JOE MASSINO THREATENED
PEOPLE WITH DEATH.
Narrator:
NO ONE DARES TO SPEAK.
Stubing: MASSINO
WAS THE KEY TO THE FAMILY.
SO WHAT I HAD TO DO WAS FIND
THE KEY TO MASSINO.
Narrator:
BUT THE FEDS REFUSED TO GIVE UP.
I NEVER THOUGHT JOE MASSINO
WOULD COOPERATE.
Narrator: AND WHEN MASSINO
GOES DOWN THIS TIME,
HE'LL TAKE EVERYONE WITH HIM.
[ GUNSHOT ]
[ GUNSHOTS ]
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
**
**
**
IN 1981, JOE MASSINO,
HEAD OF THE BONANNO
CRIME FAMILY,
IS TAKING OUT A CONTRACT
ON A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER
WHO HAS DESTROYED HIS TRUST.
ONE OF HIS LIEUTENANTS,
SONNY BLACK NAPOLITANO,
IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE OF
THE WORST BREACHES OF SECRECY
IN THE HISTORY
OF ORGANIZED CRIME.
JOE MASSINO MAKES SURE
HE PAYS THE ULTIMATE PRICE.
Destefano: SONNY BLACK WAS TAKEN
TO A HOUSE IN STATEN ISLAND,
WAS PUSHED INTO THE BASEMENT
AND WAS KILLED
AND SHOT SEVERAL TIMES,
AND HE KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
HIS LAST WORDS WERE, "IF YOU'RE
GONNA DO IT, MAKE IT GOOD."
[ GUNSHOTS ]
Narrator: SONNY BLACK'S MISTAKE
HAD BEEN TO FALL
FOR THE COVER STORY
OF SPECIAL AGENT, JOE PISTONE.
POSING UNDERCOVER
AS A LOWLIFE DIAMOND THIEF
CALLED DONNIE BRASCO.
DONNIE BRASCO WAS
THE STAGE NAME
FOR SPECIAL AGENT
JOSEPH PISTONE OF THE FBI.
PISTONE PENETRATED
THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY
BY POSING AS DONNIE BRASCO,
A SORT OF TWO-BIT THIEF GUY
WHO DEALT IN STOLEN
PROPERTY AND JEWELS
AND INGRATIATED HIMSELF
WITH THE CRIME FAMILY.
Narrator: SONNY BLACK
WAS THE MOST SENIOR MEMBER
TO FALL FOR THE ROUSE,
AND FOR A REMARKABLE
PERIOD OF SIX YEARS,
HE ALLOWED DONNIE BRASCO ACCESS
TO MANY OF THE BONANNO
FAMILY'S DIRTIEST SECRETS.
HE GATHERED TREMENDOUS
INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION
BY JUST BEING ABLE TO TRANSFER
WHAT HE WAS LEARNING
TO HIS CONTACTS IN THE FBI.
HE WAS A PHENOMENAL
ASSET FOR THE FBI.
Narrator: SONNY BLACK AND BRASCO
BECAME CLOSE FRIENDS.
SONNY BLACK EVEN RECOMMENDS
BRASCO FOR INDUCTION
INTO THE BONANNO FAMILY
AS A MADE MAN.
NAPOLITANO HAD TAKEN PISTONE
IN ALMOST AS ONE OF HIS
RIGHT-HAND MEN,
AND HE WANTED HIM TO BE MADE,
INDUCTED AS A MADE SOLDIER.
Narrator:
AN INFILTRATION THIS DEEP
AND FOR THIS LONG
IS UNHEARD OF
IN THE HISTORY
OF NEW YORK'S CRIME FAMILIES.
Raab: THE IDEA THAT AN FBI AGENT
COULD INFILTRATE
AND ALMOST BECOME A MADE
MEMBER WAS UNBELIEVABLE.
Narrator: MASSINO KNOWS THAT
DONNIE BRASCO'S INSIDE KNOWLEDGE
IS POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS
AND COULD BRING DOWN HIS HIGHLY
SECRETIVE BONANNO ORGANIZATION.
THIS DISASTER RESTS SQUARELY
ON SONNY BLACK'S SHOULDERS.
THIS WAS AN UNBELIEVABLE SIN.
Narrator: JOE MASSINO HAD BUILT
A SUCCESSFUL FAMILY
ON THE FOUNDATIONS
OF SECRECY AND LOYALTY.
BY TRUSTING PISTONE
AND LETTING HIM GET SO CLOSE,
SONNY BLACK HAD
UNDONE EVERYTHING.
[ GUNSHOTS ]
**
BUT THE MESSAGE
DOESN'T STOP THERE.
MASSINO NEXT ORDERS
THE DEATH OF THE MAN
WHO INTRODUCED BRASCO
TO SONNY BLACK, ANTHONY MIRRA.
TO DRIVE HOME THE POINT
THAT LOYALTY TO THE MAFIA
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BLOOD,
HE ORDERS THE EXECUTION
TO BE CARRIED OUT
BY MIRRA'S OWN COUSIN.
[ GUNSHOT ]
THERE WAS A CLEANING
OF THE HOUSE, AS IT WERE,
FOR THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY,
AN INDICATION OF HOW RUTHLESS
AND BUSINESS-LIKE
MASSINO COULD BE.
Narrator: BUT THE DAMAGE
HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE.
BRASCO'S INFORMATION TAKES DOWN
THE BONANNO FAMILY,
INCLUDING ITS BOSS.
JOE MASSINO IS CONVICTED
FOR RACKETEERING
AND SENTENCED
TO 10 YEARS IN JAIL.
PISTONE'S INFILTRATION
ALMOST COMPLETELY DESTROYED
THE BONANNO FAMILY.
IT LED TO SCORES OF INDICTMENT,
SCORES OF PROSECUTIONS,
SCORES OF CONVICTIONS.
Narrator: WORSE FOR MASSINO,
THE INFORMATION BRASCO LEARNED
INSIDE THE BONANNO FAMILY
LEADS TO THE INDICTMENT
OF 50 OTHER MOBSTERS...
...INCLUDING SENIOR MEMBERS
OF NEW YORK'S
OTHER FOUR MAFIA FAMILIES.
THE BONANNO FAMILY,
BUILT ON THE REPUTATION
OF WATERTIGHT SECRECY,
IS LEAKING LIKE A SIEVE.
THE REPERCUSSIONS OF THE
REVELATION THAT DONNIE BRASCO
HAD INFILTRATED THE FAMILY
WERE STAGGERING.
THE OTHER FOUR FAMILIES
TREATED THE BONANNOS
LIKE THEY WERE RADIOACTIVE.
Narrator: THE MAFIA'S GOVERNING
BODY CALLED "THE COMMISSION"
CUT THE BONANNOS OUT OF ALL
THEIR SYNDICATED RACKETS.
IT'S A DEVASTATING
BLOW TO MASSINO.
HIS REPUTATION AND HIS FAMILY'S
MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR INCOME
ARE IN THE GUTTER.
THE BONANNO FAMILY IS LOOKED
UPON AS UNDESIRABLES
BY EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE
NEW YORK AND NATIONAL MAFIA.
NOBODY WANTED TO DEAL
WITH THEM ANYMORE.
THEY WERE SO UNTRUSTWORTHY.
Narrator: FOR THE FBI TO WIPE
OUT THE BONANNO FAMILY
SO COMPLETELY IS A TRIUMPH.
FBI AGENT PAT COLGAN
WAS ON THE BONANNO SQUAD.
IT WAS VERY SATISFYING
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
TO SEE THE CONVICTIONS COME IN.
Destefano:
THEY HAD GAMBLING.
THEY HAD EXTORTION,
AND THEY HAD LOAN SHARKING.
THE FEDS DID A REALLY BIG JOB
IN DECIMATING THE CRIME FAMILY.
Narrator: YET THERE WAS ONE BIG
FISH THAT ALLUDED THEIR NET.
SOMEHOW, MASSINO'S
SECOND-IN-COMMAND,
SALVATORE VITALE,
HAD ESCAPED INDICTMENT
AND IS STILL ON THE OUTSIDE.
SUSPECTING THAT VITALE IS STILL
ENGAGED IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES,
THE FBI STAKE OUT HIS HQ.
OVER A PERIOD OF WEEKS,
THE FEDS RECORD ENOUGH
EVIDENCE OF RACKETEERING
TO CONVICT SEVERAL
MEMBERS OF VITALE'S CREW.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, THE FBI FALLS
SHORT OF CATCHING VITALE.
JACK STUBING, WHO HEADED
THE TEAM, REMEMBERS IT WELL.
WE INDICTED SEVERAL MEMBERS
AND ASSOCIATES
OF THE BONANNO FAMILY,
BUT SAL VITALE
WASN'T ONE OF THEM.
VITALE WAS NOT CAUGHT
IN THE ACT
OF COMMITTING ANY CRIMINAL ACTS,
AND SO HE WAS NEVER INDICTED
AS PART OF THAT INVESTIGATION.
Narrator: BUT WITH JOE MASSINO
AND HIS TOP MEN BEHIND BARS,
WITH OR WITHOUT VITALE,
IT LOOKS LIKE THE BONANNO
FAMILY IS FINISHED.
SO THE FBI SHUTS THE BONANNO
SQUAD DOWN AND REASSIGNS AGENTS
TO GO AFTER THE BOSSES OF
THE OTHER FOUR MAFIA FAMILIES.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
HAS LIMITED RESOURCES.
THEY CAN ONLY ADDRESS SO
MANY PROBLEMS AT THE SAME TIME.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH JOE MASSINO
IS LOCKED UP,
HE'S DETERMINED
NOT TO BE STOPPED
AND BEGINS REBUILDING
HIS FAMILY AND HIS REPUTATION.
JOE WAS STILL
EFFECTIVELY THE HEAD
OF THE BONANNO
ORGANIZED CRIME FAMILY,
EVEN THOUGH HE WAS IN JAIL.
Narrator: AFTER DONNIE BRASCO'S
DEVASTATING INFILTRATION
OF THE FAMILY, LOYALTY IS MORE
IMPORTANT THAN EVER,
SO HE CHOOSES SAL VITALE
TO REPRESENT HIM ON THE OUTSIDE,
THE ONE MAN HE KNOWS
HE CAN RELY ON IMPLICITLY.
Stubing: MASSINO AND VITALE
WERE BROTHERS-IN-LAW,
AND THEY HAD A VERY CLOSE
RELATIONSHIP GROWING UP
BECAUSE OF THEIR CLOSE
FAMILIAL TIES.
Narrator: AND AS MASSINO'S
BROTHER-IN-LAW,
SAL VITALE
IS ALLOWED TO VISIT HIS BOSS.
Stubing: VITALE WAS A VERY
TRUSTED MEMBER
OF MASSINO'S INNER CIRCLE.
Colgan: JOE MASSINO
AND SAL VITALE
WERE THE BEST OF FRIENDS.
JOE MASSINO TRUSTED
SAL VITALE TO THE NTH DEGREE,
NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
Narrator: IN EFFECT, PRISON
VISITS BECOME MOB MEETINGS.
Colgan:
SAL VITALE WAS DEFINITELY
RUNNING THE BONANNO
ORGANIZED CRIME FAMILY
AT JOE MASSINO'S REQUEST.
Narrator: TAKING DIRECTIONS
DIRECTLY FROM HIS GODFATHER,
SLOWLY BUT SURELY, VITALE STARTS
REBUILDING MASSINO'S EMPIRE,
BUT IT ISN'T EASY.
THE EXCLUSION OF
BONANNO'S FAMILY
FROM LARGE SYNDICATED MAFIA
RACKETS HITS PROFITS HARD.
VITALE HAS TO START AGAIN.
Stubing: THE BONANNOS NOT
BEING REPRESENTED
ON THE COMMISSION ANYMORE
WERE FORCED TO LOOK
INTO OTHER THINGS.
Narrator: THEY INCREASINGLY TURN
TO DEALING HARD DRUGS
TO RAISE CASH.
THERE WERE ALWAYS CREWS
IN THE BONANNO FAMILY
THAT WERE INVOLVED
IN NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING,
BUT THEY BECAME A LITTLE
MORE BLATANT ABOUT IT.
Narrator: AS DRUG USE SURGES,
IT BECOMES
A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS,
AND THE BONANNO
FAMILY CASH IN.
THEIR REBIRTH BLINDSIDES
THE FBI WHO, BY NOW,
ARE FOCUSED ON TAKING DOWN
THE OTHER FOUR MAFIA FAMILIES.
IT WAS VERY LIMITED INTELLIGENCE
ON THE BONANNO FAMILY
WHILE JOE MASSINO WAS IN JAIL.
THE FBI LOST CONTACT
AND REALLY HAD NO INFORMATION
ABOUT THE BONANNO FAMILY.
Narrator: WITH THEIR ATTENTION
DIVERTED ELSEWHERE,
THE FBI HAVE NO IDEA THAT
WHEN HE'S EVENTUALLY RELEASED,
MASSINO WILL BE MORE
POWERFUL THAN EVER.
AND IN A SHOCKING TWIST,
IT WILL BE DONNIE BRASCO
THAT HE'LL HAVE TO THANK FOR IT.
Narrator: IN NOVEMBER 1992,
AT THE END
OF HIS RACKETEERING SENTENCE,
JOSEPH MASSINO IS
RELEASED FROM PRISON.
AS FAR AS THE FBI ARE CONCERNED,
THE CRIME BOSS IS A HAS-BEEN,
BUT THANKS TO SAL VITALE,
MASSINO IS ONCE AGAIN
THE BOSS OF A THRIVING BONANNO
CRIME FAMILY.
DESPITE PRISON,
THE TWO MEN HAVE MADE
THE ORGANIZATION
STRONGER THAN EVER.
JOE MASSINO BROUGHT THEM
BACK INTO STARDOM.
THEY BECAME PROBABLY THE MOST
IMPORTANT FAMILY IN NEW YORK.
Narrator: AND ALL THE WHILE,
THE FBI HAS BEEN
COMPLETELY UNAWARE
OF MASSINO'S EXPANDING EMPIRE.
WE HAD VERY POOR
INFORMANT COVERAGE.
Narrator:
WITH MASSINO NOW ON THE OUTSIDE,
IT ISN'T LONG BEFORE
THE FBI HEAR RUMORS
THAT HE'S BACK RUNNING THE SHOW.
REALIZING THEIR MISTAKE,
JACK STUBING
REOPENS INVESTIGATIONS
IN BONANNO ACTIVITIES,
GATHERING AS MUCH
NEW INTELLIGENCE AS HE CAN.
Stubing: MASSINO IS THE KEY
TO THE FAMILY.
SO WHAT I HAD TO DO
WAS FIND THE KEY TO MASSINO.
Narrator: STUBING'S SQUAD
FOCUSED NOT ON MASSINO
BUT ON HIS SOLDIERS
LOOKING FOR A WEAKNESS.
Stubing: ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT I'VE ALWAYS PREACHED
IS THAT YOU DON'T GO
HEAD-ON FOR THE MAIN GUY.
YOU START PROBING AROUND FOR WHO
THE WEAK SPOTS ARE AROUND HIM
BECAUSE THE GUY WHO'S AT THE TOP
OF THE PYRAMID GOT THERE
BECAUSE HE'S GOT
HIS WITS ABOUT HIM.
AND SO YOU'RE LOOKING
FOR SOMEBODY
WHO'S MAYBE NOT SO SHARP.
Narrator:
BUT STUBING'S SQUAD GET NOWHERE.
**
IT SEEMS MASSINO HAS LEARNED
A VALUABLE LESSON.
IT'S NO GOOD HOPING FOR LOYALTY.
YOU HAVE TO ENSURE IT.
BONANNO'S SOLDIERS ARE TERRIFIED
TO SAY A WORD AGAINST HIM.
NO ONE WOULD TALK TO US
ABOUT JOE MASSINO
BECAUSE THEY FEARED HIM.
HE WAS FEARED ABSOLUTELY
BECAUSE HE WAS A VIOLENT MAN,
AND HIS REPUTATION PRECEDED HIM.
JOE MASSINO THREATENED
PEOPLE WITH DEATH.
**
Narrator: DESPITE
ROUND-THE-CLOCK SURVEILLANCE
OF MASSINO'S HQ,
STUBING FINDS IT IMPOSSIBLE
TO GET ANYTHING USEFUL.
HE BUILT THESE PROTECTIVE WALLS.
HE COMMUNICATED FACE-TO-FACE.
HE WAS VERY SELECTIVE
IN WHO HE DID MEET.
HE WOULDN'T JUST MEET TOM,
DICK AND HARRY OFF THE STREET.
HE HAD TO KNOW THEM
OR BE ASSURED
BY SOMEBODY ELSE THAT
THIS WAS A TRUSTED PERSON.
Destefano:
MASSINO WAS CAGEY AND CANNY,
SO HE WASN'T GONNA MAKE
SOME SORT OF STUPID MISTAKE
TO GET CAUGHT.
HE WOULD WALK AROUND THE BLOCK.
HE WOULD PUT HIS HANDS
OVER HIS LIPS
TO AVOID ANY TYPE
OF, UH, RECORDING
THAT A LIP-READER
COULD POSSIBLY TRANSLATE.
HE KNEW ABOUT BUGGING
AND WIRETAPPING,
AND, IN THAT SENSE, NOBODY
REALLY SPOKE ON THE PHONE.
Narrator: WITH THE SURVEILLANCE
AND WIRETAPS FAILING,
STUBING DECIDES TO PUT
HIS OWN LIFE IN DANGER.
I DECIDED TO GO OUT AND
VISIT HIM AT HIS BUSINESS
AND SEE WHAT
HE WAS ALL ABOUT.
HE HAD A CATERING BUSINESS
OUT ON LONG ISLAND
CALLED KING CATERERS,
WHICH WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT
WERE KNOWN AS ROACH COACHES,
THESE TRUCKS THAT VISIT
CONSTRUCTION SITES
AND SELL SANDWICHES
AND COFFEE TO WORKERS,
AND HIS TRUCKS REPORTEDLY
ALSO PROVIDED SERVICES
SUCH AS LOAN-SHARK LOANS
AND TAKING BETS.
Narrator:
TURNING UP UNANNOUNCED,
STUBING HEADS INSIDE.
HE HAS NO IDEA
HOW THE UNPREDICTABLE
AND SOMETIMES BRUTAL
CRIME BOSS MIGHT REACT.
HE WAS BACK IN THE KITCHEN
MAKING SAUCE OR SOMETHING,
AND I ENGAGED HIM
IN CONVERSATION,
AND THE APPROACH THAT
I HAD TAKEN WAS THAT, YOU KNOW,
"I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING
TO GO STRAIGHT
AND YOU'RE NOT IN
THE LIFE ANYMORE,"
AND THAT KIND OF THING.
AND HE KNEW I DIDN'T BELIEVE IT,
AND HE DIDN'T BELIEVE
I BELIEVED IT.
BUT IT GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY
TO HAVE A CONVERSATION BECAUSE,
AS MUCH AS I WANTED TO SEE
WHAT HE WAS ALL ABOUT,
HE WANTED TO SEE WHAT I WAS
ALL ABOUT AND WHAT I KNEW.
Narrator: STUBING REALIZES
THAT MASSINO'S MEN
HAVE BEEN WATCHING HIS AGENTS
AS MUCH AS HIS AGENTS
HAVE BEEN WATCHING MASSINO.
Stubing:
DURING THAT CONVERSATION,
HE TOLD ME ABOUT HIS DIFFERENT
EXPERIENCES WITH THE FBI,
AND HE TOLD ME
ABOUT SURVEILLANCES
THAT HE HAD BEEN
THE SUBJECT OF.
I'VE BEEN ON SOME OF
THOSE SURVEILLANCES.
HE COULD PHYSICALLY
DESCRIBE AGENTS.
HE KNEW WHAT CARS WE DROVE.
HE HAD PARTIAL LICENSE
PLATE NUMBERS.
HE KNEW PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING
THAT WAS IN OUR BAG OF TRICKS
UP TO THAT TIME AND
INVESTIGATING ORGANIZED CRIME
AND WHAT HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL
AND WHAT HADN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
IT WAS CLEAR THAT
HE WAS SOMEBODY
THAT HAD HIS WITS ABOUT HIM
AND WAS A MASTER OF HIS CRAFT.
Narrator: STUBING MAY HAVE
LOOKED HIS ENEMY IN THE EYE,
BUT THE RESULT IS THAT MASSINO
NOW HAS THE MEASURE OF STUBING,
AND THE CRIME BOSS TIGHTENS
HIS SECURITY EVEN FURTHER.
HE ABOLISHED THE IDEA THAT THEY
WOULD MEET IN SOCIAL CLUBS,
EASY PLACES TO INFILTRATE
AND TO CONDUCT
SURVEILLANCES BY THE FBI.
MASSINO SAW THE SOCIAL CLUBS
AS BEING A LIABILITY
BECAUSE THEY GAVE
THE FBI A FORUM
FOR WHICH THEY COULD SIT OUT
OUTSIDE THE SOCIAL CLUB
AND PHOTOGRAPH
EVERYBODY GOING IN.
Narrator:
WITH THE FBI GETTING NOTHING
AND HIS SOLDIERS
REMAINING LOYAL AND SILENT,
MASSINO'S CRIME EMPIRE
CONTINUES TO EXPAND.
THEY GOT NO SIGNIFICANT
SURVEILLANCE OF JOE MASSINO
AT ALL IN THOSE INVESTIGATIONS.
Narrator: STUBING MAY BE GETTING
NOWHERE WITH MASSINO,
BUT FBI INVESTIGATIONS
INTO THE OTHER FAMILIES
ARE REAPING REWARDS AS LAWYERS
PREPARE FOR WHAT BECOMES
KNOWN AS
"THE COMMISSION TRIALS."
THESE TRIALS PROVE PARTICIPATION
IN HUGE SYNDICATED RACKETS
WORTH TENS OF
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS,
AND THE BOSSES OF ALL FOUR
OF THE OTHER NEW YORK MAFIA
FAMILIES ARE SENT TO PRISON.
IT'S A DEVASTATING BLOW
FOR THE MAFIA,
BUT FOR JOE MASSINO,
IT CLEARS THE FIELD.
HE'S THE LAST MAN STANDING,
AND THE FBI NICKNAME HIM
"THE LAST DON."
JOE MASSINO WAS CONSIDERED
"THE LAST DON"
BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY
THE LAST OF THE OLD GUARD.
HE WAS THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT
PLAYER LEFT ON THE STREET.
Narrator:
THANKS TO DONNIE BRASCO,
THE MAFIA COMMISSION
BANNED THE BONANNOS
FROM ITS SYNDICATED RACKETS
AND SAVED MASSINO
FROM THE LATER INDICTMENTS.
BRASCO AND THE FEDS
HAVE PRACTICALLY GIVEN MASSINO
THE ENTIRE UNDERWORLD
TO HIMSELF.
IN A WAY, PISTONE DID
THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY A FAVOR
BECAUSE THE IMPACT WAS TO SHIELD
THE FAMILY FROM INVOLVEMENT
IN ANY OF THE OTHER
MAJOR MAFIA RACKETS
BECAUSE THE FAMILY WAS SHUNNED.
WHAT PISTONE DID INDIRECTLY,
HE TOOK THE SPOTLIGHT FOR YEARS,
ALMOST A DECADE,
OFF THE BONANNO FAMILY.
Narrator: BY THE MID 1990s,
THERE IS STILL A COMPLETE WALL
OF SILENCE SURROUNDING
MASSINO'S SOLDIERS.
TO THE FBI, THE LAST DON
SEEMS UNTOUCHABLE.
BUT THEN STUBING
GETS HIS BREAK,
AND IT WILL TIE JOE MASSINO
TO NEARLY A DECADE
OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES.
Narrator: BY THE MID '90s,
FOUR OF NEW YORK'S
MAJOR CRIME BOSSES
HAVE BEEN THROWN BEHIND BARS
FOR THEIR INVOLVEMENT
IN HUGE RACKETEERING
OPERATIONS WORTH MILLIONS.
JACK STUBING AND HIS TEAM
OF FBI AGENTS
ARE INVESTIGATING
THE LAST DON, JOSEPH MASSINO,
HEAD OF THE MAFIA'S
BONANNO FAMILY.
WITH NO CRIMINAL OPPOSITION,
MASSINO IS CLEANING UP,
AND HE CONTINUES TO BE PROTECTED
BY HIS LOYAL SOLDIERS'
WALL OF SILENCE.
DESPITE INTENSE INVESTIGATION,
MASSINO HAS FRUSTRATED ALL
EFFORTS BY THE FBI TO NAIL HIM.
BUT THEN JACK STUBING
GETS LUCKY.
A SECRET INFORMANT SQUEALS
NOT ON MASSINO
BUT HIS LOYAL NUMBER
TWO, SAL VITALE.
IT'S THE BREAKTHROUGH
THEY'VE BEEN WAITING FOR.
THE SOURCE ISN'T FROM
WITHIN MASSINO'S OPERATION
BUT FROM SOMEONE
ASSOCIATED TO IT.
**
HE TELLS THEM THAT SAL VITALE
HAS BEEN USING A BANK
IN LONG ISLAND
TO LAUNDER CASH
AND TO EXTORT GAMBLING
AND LOAN-SHARKING DEBTS.
HIS REGULAR CUSTOMERS WENT
IN THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING
TO DO THEIR NORMAL
BANKING BUSINESS.
ROUND THE BACK, SAL VITALE
WORKED OVER HIS OWN LATE PAYERS.
**
HE BASICALLY TURNED IT INTO
THE PERSONAL BANK OF SAL VITALE.
**
[ SIREN WAILING ]
Narrator: THE FBI MOVES FAST,
INDICTING VITALE ALONG
WITH SIX OF HIS ASSOCIATES
AND THE BANK'S MANAGER
FOR RACKETEERING.
ALTHOUGH JACK STUBING CAN'T
TIE THE ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
TO JOE MASSINO,
THEY DO PUT VITALE BEHIND BARS,
BUT INEXPLICABLY,
VITALE GETS AN UNUSUALLY
SHORT PRISON SENTENCE.
WHEN THE BONANNOS HEAR THE
NEWS, THERE'S NERVOUSNESS.
VITALE'S TROUBLE WITH THE BANK
CASE ON LONG ISLAND
WAS SOMETHING THAT
CREATED SUSPICION
AMONG OTHER MEMBERS
OF THE CRIME FAMILY
THAT SAL MIGHT BE COOPERATING
BECAUSE HE GOT A RELATIVELY
LIGHT SENTENCE.
Narrator:
GRIPPED BY PARANOIA,
MASSINO DOESN'T KNOW
WHAT TO DO NEXT.
VITALE WOULD BE MORE
DANGEROUS THAN DONNIE BRASCO,
SO DANGEROUS THAT MASSINO
EVEN CONSIDERS
HAVING HIS
BROTHER-IN-LAW KILLED.
WHILE VITALE'S LIFE
HANGS IN THE BALANCE,
MASSINO CUTS VITALE
OUT OF THE FAMILY.
JOE BEGAN TO VIEW SAL WITH
A LITTLE BIT OF SUSPICION.
HE BECAME A LIABILITY,
AND JOE, YOU KNOW,
PUT HIM ON THE SHELF AS IT WERE,
TOOK AWAY HIS RACKETS
AND TOOK AWAY HIS EARNING POWER.
Narrator: KNOWING HOW ONE RAT
QUICKLY BECOMES MANY,
MASSINO LOOKS FOR ANYONE
ELSE IN HIS ORGANIZATION
WHO MIGHT POSE A THREAT.
Destefano: MASSINO HAD THAT
BRUTAL SIDE TO HIM.
HE COULD BE VERY RUTHLESS.
HE'D BE RUTHLESS TO
PROTECT HIMSELF.
HE COULD BE RUTHLESS IN
POLICING THE CRIME FAMILY.
Narrator: ONE GLARING, WEAK LINK
IS GERLANDO SCIASCIA.
Destefano: SCIASCIA WAS A PRETTY
SIGNIFICANT CAPTAIN
OUT OF THE CANADIAN WING
OF THE BONANNO FAMILY.
Narrator:
MANY YEARS EARLIER,
SCIASCIA HAD MURDERED THREE MEN
ON MASSINO'S ORDERS,
BUT RECENTLY, SCIASCIA
HAS BECOME POWERFUL
AND SHOWING SIGNS
OF BECOMING GREEDY.
IN THE WRONG HANDS,
KNOWLEDGE OF THE MURDERS
COULD DO MASSINO
A LOT OF DAMAGE.
MASSINO DOESN'T HESITATE.
HE HAS HIM KILLED, TOO.
**
[ GUNSHOT ]
**
MASSINO'S CRACKDOWN WORKS.
STUBING'S INVESTIGATION
DRAWS NOTHING BUT BLANKS.
I BECAME CONVINCED MORE
THAN EVER THAT HE KNEW SO MUCH
ABOUT HOW WE OPERATED
THAT WE WERE GONNA
HAVE TO TRY SOMETHING
THAT WE HADN'T TRIED BEFORE.
HE WAS CERTAINLY WELL AWARE
OF OUR SURVEILLANCE TECHNIQUES,
AND IT WAS TIME
FOR A NEW APPROACH.
Narrator: SO STUBING TURNS
TO HISTORY FOR INSPIRATION.
IN THE 1930s,
DETECTIVE ELIOT NESS FOLLOWED
AL CAPONE'S MONEY TRAIL.
CAPONE'S ACCOUNTS TURNED OUT
TO BE HIS ACHILLES HEEL.
COULD THE SAME APPROACH
WORK WITH MASSINO?
STUBING DRAFTS IN TWO
YOUNG AGENTS,
JEFFREY SALLET
AND KIMBERLY McCAFFREY,
SPECIALISTS IN
FORENSIC ACCOUNTING.
THE FBI HAS ALWAYS ACTIVELY
RECRUITED ACCOUNTANTS,
BUT THEY'VE USED THEM PRIMARILY
FOR WHITE-COLLAR INVESTIGATIONS.
IT SEEMED TO ME THAT IF WE COULD
PRY A COUPLE OF ACCOUNTANTS
LOOSE FROM
THE WHITE-COLLAR PROGRAM,
MAYBE WE WOULD BE ABLE
TO UNCOVER THINGS
THAT WE HADN'T UNCOVERED BEFORE.
Sallet: THIS WAS SOMETHING
THAT HAD NOT BEEN APPLIED
IN THE MODERN FIGHT
AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME.
THE BEAUTIFUL PART ABOUT MONEY
IS, THE TRAIL NEVER LEAVES.
SO TIME IS ON OUR SIDE
WHEN IT COMES TO INVESTIGATING
THE FINANCES.
Narrator: SALLET AND McCAFFREY
GET STRAIGHT TO WORK,
AND SUBPOENA
JOE MASSINO'S ACCOUNTANT
TO GET HIS FINANCIAL RECORDS
DATING BACK 10 YEARS.
Sallet: THE GREAT PART
ABOUT ACCOUNTANTS
IS THEY SAVE EVERYTHING.
THEY SAVE BANK RECORDS.
THEY SAVE
CREDIT-CARD STATEMENTS,
SO WE SUBPOENAED ANY AND ALL
DOCUMENTS RELATED TO MASSINO,
VITALE OR ANY OF
THEIR CORPORATIONS
THAT WERE LISTED
IN THEIR NAMES.
McCaffrey:
IT WAS A LOT OF PAPER.
WE WERE DEALING WITH
A LOT OF SPREADSHEETS.
BASICALLY, WE'RE LOOKING
FOR A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK.
IT WAS ACTUALLY REALLY FUN.
I DON'T WANT TO SAY WE'RE
A LITTLE BIT NERDY AT TIMES,
BUT I LOVE RECORDS.
IT WAS LIKE PUTTING
TOGETHER A PUZZLE.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH IT'S
LABORIOUS, SALLET AND McCAFFREY
EXAMINE EVERY SINGLE DOCUMENT
LINE BY LINE BY LINE.
THE WAY THAT WE VIEW
FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS AT THE TIME
WAS THAT EVERY PIECE
OF INFORMATION IN THERE
WAS INTELLIGENCE.
THERE IS A STORY BEHIND
EVERY TRANSACTION.
IF YOU TAKE A BANK STATEMENT,
AND YOU CUT OFF THE NUMBERS,
YOU HAVE A SERIES OF LEADS.
Narrator: IT ISN'T LONG
BEFORE SOMETHING UNUSUAL
CATCHES THEIR EYE.
THEY NOTICE A SERIES OF CHECKS
EACH MADE OUT FOR $25,000
TO A BARRY WEINBERG.
THE FIRST QUESTION JEFF AND I
BOTH HAD AT THE TIME WAS,
"WHO IS BARRY WEINBERG?"
Narrator: PUTTING WEINBERG
UNDER INVESTIGATION,
THEY DISCOVER THAT HE'S
A WEALTHY ENTREPRENEUR
AND THE OWNER OF SEVERAL
MANHATTAN PARKING LOTS.
McCaffrey:
WHAT WE EVENTUALLY FIGURED OUT
WAS MOST PARKING LOTS
IN NEW YORK CITY ARE...
YOU DON'T ACTUALLY
OWN THE PROPERTY.
YOU OWN THE LEASE, AND
THE LEASES ARE VERY VALUABLE.
Narrator: AND THEY'RE ESPECIALLY
VALUABLE TO JOE MASSINO.
BY LEASING WEINBERG'S
PARKING LOTS,
MASSINO CAN CREATE
FALSE PARKING RECEIPTS,
A PERFECT WAY TO ACCOUNT
FOR THE MOUNTAIN OF CASH
FLOODING IN FROM DRUGS
AND OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES.
[ CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING ]
McCaffrey: SO THAT'S
WHAT THE CHECKS WERE FOR,
TO, AGAIN,
LEGITIMIZE INCOME FOR HIM.
Narrator: COULD WEINBERG BE
MASSINO'S ACHILLES HEEL?
IF THE FBI APPLY PRESSURE
ON THE SHADY BUSINESSMAN,
HE MIGHT DIVULGE VALUABLE
INFORMATION ON THE CRIME BOSS.
WEINBERG WAS A VERY NERVOUS GUY.
WE DID NOT THINK THAT
HE WOULD BE CAPABLE
OF SPENDING ANY TIME IN JAIL,
AND WE FIGURED,
IF WE ARRESTED HIM,
THAT HE WOULD COOPERATE WITH US
AND GIVE US AN INSIDE LOOK
INTO THE BONANNO
ORGANIZED CRIME FAMILY.
WE KNEW THAT BARRY WEINBERG
MIGHT BE SOMEONE
WHO WE COULD GET
TO WORK FOR US.
Narrator: SALLET AND McCAFFREY
SUBPOENA WEINBERG'S IRS RETURNS.
THEY DISCOVER THAT,
ALTHOUGH HE'S EARNING
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EACH YEAR,
HE PAYS HARDLY ANY TAX.
IT'S EXACTLY WHAT
THEY NEED FOR LEVERAGE.
BARRY WEINBERG HAD EVADED
ABOUT $14 MILLION IN TAXES,
SO WE KNEW THERE WAS
SOME GOOD MOTIVATION
FOR HIM TO COOPERATE WITH US.
Narrator: FEARFUL OF ALERTING
ANYONE CLOSE TO MASSINO
THAT THEY'RE ON TO WEINBERG,
SALLET AND McCAFFREY
GO FOR A LOW-PROFILE ARREST.
THE NYPD PULLED HIM OVER.
THEY PULLED HIM OUT OF THE CAR.
WE PULL UP IN A VAN
NEXT TO THE CAR.
THE VAN'S DOOR OPENED.
WEINBERG IS HUSTLED IN.
AND WE HAD WEINBERG
IN THE BACK SEAT,
AND HE IS WITH MYSELF AND
MY PARTNER, WHERE WE SAY TO HIM,
"MR. WEINBERG, YOU HAVE 15
MINUTES TO MAKE A LIFE DECISION.
WE CAN EITHER BRING YOU DOWN TO
THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
AND PROCESS YOU
FOR YOUR TAX EVASION,
OR YOU CAN WEAR A WIRE
AND WORK FOR US RIGHT NOW."
FORTUNATELY FOR US,
HE WAS READY TO COOPERATE.
WE DEBRIEFED HIM,
AND THEN, AFTER,
WE SENT HIM RIGHT BACK OUT
ON THE STREET WITH A WIRE ON.
**
Narrator: WEINBERG KNOWS THAT,
IF HIS WIRE IS DISCOVERED,
HE'S A DEAD MAN.
BUT, OVER THE COMING MONTHS,
HE RECORDS OVER 100
INCRIMINATING CONVERSATIONS.
THE TAPES LEAD TO RACKETEERING
CHARGES AGAINST 20 MOBSTERS,
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT IS ONE
OF MASSINO'S CLOSEST HENCHMEN,
FRANK COPPER.
ALREADY IN PRISON FOR A 5-YEAR
SENTENCE FOR STOCK FRAUD,
COPPER REALIZES THESE
NEW RACKETEERING CHARGES
COULD PUT AN EXTRA
20 YEARS ON HIS SENTENCE.
HE TELLS THE FEDS
HE'S READY TO FLIP.
IT'S THE FIRST TIME
ONE OF MASSINO'S SOLDIERS
HAS BEEN PREPARED TO BREAK
HIS CODE OF SILENCE.
SALLET AND McCAFFREY CAN'T WAIT
TO FIND OUT WHAT HE'S GOT.
HE SAYS, "I'M GONNA MAKE
HEROES OUT OF ALL OF YOU.
I'M GONNA TELL YOU EVERYTHING."
Narrator:
LATE 2002, FRANK COPPER,
A BONANNO HENCHMAN,
BREAKS THE MAFIA CODE OF SILENCE
AND BETRAYS HIS BOSS,
THE INTENSELY
SECRETIVE JOE MASSINO.
FBI AGENTS SALLET AND McCAFFREY
CAN'T BELIEVE THEIR LUCK.
COPPER DOESN'T HOLD BACK.
AFTER YEARS OF EVADING THE FBI,
THE LAST DON NOW
FACES A MORTAL THREAT.
COPPER CONFESSES TO KILLING
SONNY BLACK NAPOLITANO
AND TO THE FACT THAT
HIS MURDER WAS COMMISSIONED
BY JOE MASSINO HIMSELF.
WE WERE ALL FAIRLY BLOWN AWAY
BECAUSE WE DID NOT KNOW
THAT HE WAS GONNA COME IN
AND TALK ABOUT THAT.
[ SIRENS WAILING ]
Narrator: IT'S ENOUGH
TO FINALLY MOVE ON MASSINO.
AND ON JANUARY 9, 2003,
SALLET AND McCAFFREY
RACE TO ARREST HIM.
WE WERE CONCERNED THAT IF WE DID
NOT ACT QUICKLY, HE WOULD FLEE.
WE WERE TAKING DOWN A CRIME BOSS
THAT, YOU KNOW,
MANY HAD CONSIDERED UNTOUCHABLE.
IT WAS REALLY A COMBINATION
OF A LOT OF EFFORT,
BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS.
WE WENT TO THE FRONT DOOR.
KIM AND I WENT FIRST.
WE KNOCK ON THE FRONT DOOR.
AND THERE'S JOE.
Narrator: INCREDIBLY,
MASSINO IS EXPECTING THEM.
Sallet: AND HE SAYS,
"YOU MUST BE KIMBERLY.
YOU MUST BE JEFFREY.
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU."
Narrator: SALLET AND McCAFFREY
THROW ON THE CUFFS.
AFTER AN INVESTIGATION
LASTING YEARS,
THE LAST DON IS
FINALLY IN CUSTODY.
McCaffrey:
IT WAS HUGE NEWS AT THE TIME.
HIS REPUTATION WAS THAT HE WAS
AN UNTOUCHABLE CRIME BOSS.
WE WEREN'T LOOKING FOR JOE
TO TALK WHEN WE ARRESTED HIM.
WE WERE LOOKING TO
PUT HIM IN JAIL.
HE WAS AT THE TOP
OF THE FOOD CHAIN.
Narrator: WITH MASSINO
BEHIND BARS AWAITING TRIAL,
STUBING WORKS TO ENSURE THAT THE
CASE AGAINST HIM IS WATERTIGHT.
HE SENDS SALLET AND McCAFFREY
TO SEE SAL VITALE,
HOPING THEY CAN CONVINCE HIM
TO FLIP LIKE FRANK COPPER.
Stubing: VITALE WAS A PERSON
WHO LITERALLY KNEW
WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED,
AND HE WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT
INTELLIGENCE
TO SPECIFIC CRIMES
AND TO FUTURE PLANS THAT MASSINO
MAY HAVE HAD FOR THE FAMILY.
Narrator:
WITH VITALE WORKING SO CLOSELY
WITH MASSINO FOR SO LONG,
SALLET AND McCAFFREY KNOW
HIS TESTIMONY WOULD BE DAMNING.
WE SAID TO HIM, "WE'D LIKE
YOU TO COOPERATE WITH US.
SEE THE FOUR WALLS
THAT YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY?
THIS IS WHAT
YOU'RE GONNA LOOK AT
FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE."
Narrator:
MASSINO'S CLOSEST ALLY
HOLDS TO THE CODE OF SILENCE
AND REFUSES TO SAY A WORD.
BUT SALLET AND McCAFFREY
HAVE AN ACE UP THEIR SLEEVE
AND REVEAL TO VITALE
THAT MASSINO
HAD PREVIOUSLY
WANTED HIM DEAD,
BELIEVING HE'D COOPERATED
WITH THE FEDS.
WE HAVE WITH US
THE DETENTION MEMO
THAT WAS WRITTEN
BY OUR PROSECUTOR,
AND, IN THAT,
IT TALKED ABOUT
HOW MASSINO WANTED
TO KILL VITALE.
HE SAYS, "PROVE IT TO ME."
MY PARTNER, KIM, LOOKS HIM
IN THE EYE AND SAYS,
"WE DON'T HAVE TO PROVE IT
TO YOU. YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE."
AND HE SHAKES HIS HEAD
UP AND DOWN, AND HE SAYS,
"YEAH, I DO.
I DO KNOW IT'S TRUE."
Narrator: WITH THAT,
VITALE DECIDES TO FLIP.
WHAT HE TELLS THEM IS
NOTHING SHORT OF DEVASTATING.
SAL WAS INVOLVED IN
ORCHESTRATING 11 MURDERS
FOR THE FAMILY.
[ GUNSHOTS ]
Narrator: OTHER CRIMES
INCLUDE EXTORTION, GAMBLING,
LOAN SHARKING, NARCOTICS.
INCREDIBLY, VITALE LISTS
EVERY CRIME
THAT HE AND MASSINO
HAD EVER BEEN INVOLVED IN.
SAL VITALE DESTROYED
THE BONANNO FAMILY
WHEN HE DECIDED TO TALK.
**
Narrator: ON MAY 24, 2004,
THE TRIAL AGAINST
JOE MASSINO BEGINS.
THE LIST OF ACCUSATIONS
AGAINST HIM IS OVERWHELMING,
11 COUNTS OF CONSPIRACY,
16 RACKETEERING CHARGES,
EXTORTION, GAMBLING, LOAN
SHARKING AND SEVEN HOMICIDES,
INCLUDING THE MURDER
OF SONNY BLACK NAPOLITANO.
DESPITE ALL HIS EFFORTS
TO ENFORCE SECRECY
WITH THE BONANNO FAMILY,
SEVEN OF MASSINO'S
CLOSEST CONFIDANTS
TESTIFY AGAINST HIM.
BUT THE PROSECUTION'S
STAR WITNESS
IS HIS OWN BROTHER-IN-LAW,
SAL VITALE.
Sallet:
SAL'S TESTIMONY WAS DEVASTATING.
I MEAN, THE CASE
WAS AIRTIGHT ON MASSINO.
Destefano:
SAL VITALE'S TESTIFYING
WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY
MOMENT IN THAT TRIAL.
VITALE KNEW SO MUCH THAT IT
REALLY WAS CURTAINS FOR JOE.
AND IT WAS AN AMAZING BETRAYAL.
Narrator: THE EVIDENCE IS
COMPLETELY OVERWHELMING,
AND MASSINO IS FOUND
GUILTY ON EVERY COUNT.
THERE'S NO QUESTION
SAL VITALE'S TESTIMONY
WAS TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE
FOR MASSINO'S CONVICTION.
Narrator: MASSINO HAD OUTWITTED
FBI INVESTIGATIONS FOR DECADES.
JACK STUBING TAKES
SATISFACTION IN THE FACT
THAT HIS TEAM LAID
THE GROUNDWORK
FOR HIS EVENTUAL CONVICTION.
Stubing:
WHEN MASSINO WAS CONVICTED,
I TOOK A PERSONAL PRIDE
IN THE FACT
THAT THE TEAM THAT I HAD
ORIGINALLY ASSEMBLED
HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL
IN CARRYING THIS FORWARD,
AND I WAS VERY PROUD OF HOW
THEY HAD WRAPPED THE CASE UP.
McCaffrey: ON THE DAY
THAT MASSINO WAS CONVICTED,
YOU KNOW, WE FELT LIKE
WE DID OUR JOBS.
WE HAD AGENTS FROM BACK
IN THE 1980s THAT CALLED US
AND WERE LIKE, "THANK YOU."
LIKE, THEY HAD
SURVEILLED HIM FOR SO LONG.
THEY HAD WIRETAPS.
THEY HAD ALL DIFFERENT
KINDS OF THINGS
IN VARIOUS SOCIAL CLUBS
BACK IN THE '80s,
AND THEY COULD NEVER GET HIM.
Narrator: BUT, FOR MASSINO,
THINGS WERE ABOUT
TO GET EVEN WORSE.
Narrator: WHEN A PACK
OF MAFIA MOBSTERS
BECOME FEDERAL INFORMANTS,
JOSEPH MASSINO, BOSS OF
THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY,
IS FOUND GUILTY OF RACKETEERING,
EXTORTION AND MURDER.
BUT THE FEDS KNOW IT'S NOT OVER.
AND, FEARFUL THAT MASSINO
MIGHT CONTINUE
TO RUN HIS FAMILY'S
OPERATIONS FROM BEHIND BARS,
THEY PULL A TRUMP CARD
AND HIT HIM AGAIN,
THIS TIME WITH
THE ULTIMATE PUNISHMENT.
EVEN BEFORE THE INK IS DRY
ON HIS VERDICT SHEET,
HE'S SERVED FOR YET
ANOTHER MURDER,
WHICH, THIS TIME, THREATENS TO
SEND HIM TO THE ELECTRIC CHAIR.
JOE MASSINO WAS
THE FIRST OFFICIAL BOSS
TO FACE THE DEATH PENALTY.
HE WAS CHARGED WITH
THE 1999 MURDER
OF GEORGE GERLANDO SCIASCIA,
WHO HAD BEEN KIND
OF THE LIAISON
BETWEEN THE MONTREAL FACTION
OF THE BONANNO FAMILY
AND THE NEW YORK FACTION
OF THE BONANNO FAMILY.
Narrator: THREATENED BY
SCIASCIA'S EMERGING POWER,
MASSINO HAD HAD HIM KILLED.
BUT, IN 1994, CONGRESS
HAD PASSED A LAW
WHICH MEANT THAT
A CONVICTION FOR HOMICIDE
IN AID OF RACKETEERING COULD BE
PUNISHED WITH A DEATH PENALTY.
SUDDENLY, THE STAKES FOR MASSINO
GET MUCH, MUCH HIGHER.
JOE MASSINO HAD NOWHERE TO GO.
Narrator: AFTER DECADES
OF OUTSMARTING THE LAW,
MASSINO IS IN A CORNER.
THE FATE OF AN ENTIRE GENERATION
OF THE AMERICAN MAFIA
TURNS ON WHAT MASSINO DOES NEXT.
FOR DECADES, JOE MASSINO HAD
METED OUT SAVAGE PUNISHMENTS,
EVEN DEATH, TO ANYONE WHO BROKE
THE MAFIA'S UNBREAKABLE
CODE OF OMERTA.
NOW, FACING DEATH HIMSELF,
MASSINO DOES SOMETHING
NO ONE WAS EXPECTING.
HE FLIPS.
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME
AN OFFICIAL BOSS
OF THE NEW YORK FIVE FAMILIES
COOPERATED
WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
IT WAS UNPRECEDENTED.
Narrator: OUT OF OPTIONS,
MASSINO DOES EXACTLY WHAT
SO MANY BEFORE HIM HAD DONE.
YOU HAD HAD OTHER ACTING BOSSES
DECIDE TO BECOME WITNESSES.
YOU HAD OTHER GANGSTERS
DECIDE TO BECOME WITNESSES.
BUT THIS WAS THE FIRST
OFFICIAL BOSS
OF ONE OF THE FIVE FAMILIES
DECIDING TO COOPERATE.
THAT WAS A BIG DEAL.
IN THE HISTORY OF THE MAFIA,
THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST DEALS.
Colgan: THE MERE FACT
THAT HE WAS WILLING TO TALK
TO LAW ENFORCEMENT
WAS A COMPLETE SHOCK TO ME.
**
Stubing: THAT WAS
QUINTESSENTIALLY JOE MASSINO.
MASSINO WAS ALWAYS ABOUT
MAKING THE SMART MOVE
AND ENSURING HIS SURVIVAL.
Narrator: IN EXCHANGE FOR
EVADING THE DEATH PENALTY,
MASSINO PLEADS GUILTY
TO THE MURDER OF SCIASCIA,
HANDS THE FEDS $10 MILLION,
BUT, MOST IMPORTANTLY,
HE TELLS THEM EVERYTHING.
HE DECIDES, IF HE'S GOING DOWN,
THEY ALL ARE.
HE BECAME THE CONSUMMATE RAT.
HE GAVE UP EVERYBODY
TO SAVE HIS OWN SKIN.
IT WAS A DEVASTATING BLOW.
I MEAN, HE TURNED OUT TO BE
THE WORST KIND OF ALL,
NOT JUST A BLABBER,
BUT A COMPLETE TRAITOR.
THIS REALLY WAS A MILESTONE
IN THE GOVERNMENT'S FIGHT
AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME.
Stubing:
IT CHANGED EVERYTHING.
IT SEEMED THAT ANYTHING
WAS POSSIBLE, THAT, REALLY,
ANYBODY COULD TURN
AND THAT NO ONE
COULD BE TRUSTED.
**
Narrator: MASSINO'S COOPERATION
WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
LEADS TO 15 INDICTMENTS
AGAINST FELLOW MOBSTERS.
Raab:
WHEN IT CAME DOWN TO THE END,
HE BECAME THE DESTROYER,
THE GREAT DESTROYER.
HE UNDID EVERYTHING THAT HE
HAD CREATED OVER 20 YEARS.
TO SAVE HIS OWN SKIN,
HE WAS WILLING TO GIVE UP
EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE FAMILY.
HE HAD NO MERCY FOR ANYONE ELSE.
Narrator: WITH MASSINO'S DEMISE
COMES THE END OF THE OLD GUARD.
YOU GOT TO REALIZE HE WAS
ONE OF THE OLD SCHOOL,
THE LAST OF THE OLD SCHOOL.
Narrator:
BUT DESPITE HIS DOWNFALL,
LIKE A HYDRA,
THE MAFIA NEVER REALLY DIES.
[ GUNSHOT ]
IT SIMPLY GROWS ANOTHER HEAD.
Raab: THE BONANNO FAMILY IS
STILL ALIVE, STILL FUNCTIONING,
AND IS REINVENTING ITSELF.
IT'S EASY TO SAY,
"WE'VE KILLED THEM ALL.
WE'VE KNOCKED THEM ALL.
WE PROSECUTED THEM ALL."
BUT SOMEHOW THE MAFIA
CONTINUES TO THRIVE.
SO THEY'VE BEEN HURT
BUT NOT FATALLY.
IT'S WAITING IN THE WINGS
TO COME BACK
AS POWERFULLY
AS IT ONCE WAS.