The Three Capos Murder- A Bonanno Family Mafia True Crime Documentary HT
Donnie Brasco is one of my favorite mafia films, but one part of the movie is almost completely divorced from reality, and that’s the scene of the infamous three capo’s murder. In the film, they locate the stash house of where Sunny Red is keeping an arsenal of weapons, and they ambush him there before he has a chance to get them.
But the real life killings were much more dramatic than what ended up on the silver screen. Here is how it happened. While the Banano family civil war ended in 1968, the damage from the conflict was still lingering into the late 1970s. The family was plagued by treachery and backstabbing as greed became more important than loyalty to the family.
Following Joe Banano’s retirement, two men had short reigns as bosses before the title finally went to Phil Rastelli in 1973. But his position was far from secure. In 1974, Carmine Galante, who is said to have been Joe Banano’s consilier before going to prison in 1962 for drug trafficking, was released on parole.
With his high stature in the family, he quietly bided his time for an opportunity to increase his power. That came in 1976 when Rustelli was sent to prison for 10 years on racketeering charges. With Rastelli off the streets, Galante became the acting boss and started making moves to be in the position permanently.
He also began to expand the Banano’s family market share in the heroine business, which alarmed the bosses in other families and started earning him enemies on the commission. Meanwhile, Rustelli might have been behind bars, but he was regularly kept informed of what was happening in his family through a soldier that would visit him, regularly named Joe Msino.
When Restelli learned about the power that Carmine Galante was secretly amassing, he sought out permission from the commission to kill him. It’s rumored that the commission also reached out to retired boss Joe Banano for his blessing of the murder which he gave. On July 12th, 1979, Galante enjoyed a nice lunch at Joe and Mary’s Italian restaurant in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.
After the meal, he lit up a cigar when gunman suddenly stormed into the patio area where he was seated and murdered him along with two of his loyalists. His bodyguards were present and did nothing to stop the assassination. They were left unharmed, which suggests they were in on the hit.
With Galante now off the table, Rastelli considered himself to be the unrivaled boss of the family despite his incarceration. And because he was behind bars communicating through Joe Msino to the rest of his family, the younger mafioso’s power was also growing. Joe Msino was bumped up from soldier to Cappo following the successful Galante hit.
During this period, FBI agent Joe Piston was working undercover as Donnie Brasco. During the six years of Brasow’s existence, he became part of Kappo regime, Sunny Black Napolitano’s crew and became especially close with Banano soldier Benjamin Lefty Ruggerio. While Donnie Brasco was not directly in contact with Msino, he had plenty of secondhand information through his contacts that Msino was one of the top people in the family.
According to FBI intelligence reports sent to his superiors, Carmine Galante’s demise did not pacify his loyalists within the family. Instead, a faction led by Kappo regimes Sunonny Redendelicato, Dominic Trinera, and Philip Gianone began making their discontent public, and other families were starting to take notice.
While the commission feigned neutrality and insisted on a no bloodshed policy between competing crews, members of other families had their own personal favorites. The Gambinos and Colombos were partial to Rustelli while the Genovves preferred his rivals. The discontent was wellknown among everyone and in the early months of 1981, two highlevel sitdowns took place between the rival sides.
The mafia in general prefers these kind of meetings as they know that violence is bad for business and because they’re meant to be peaceful. Guns and other weapons are prohibited. With an absentee family boss, the three capos wanted more of a share of everything ranging from territory, money, and rackets, while they wanted to kick up less tribute to the family’s upper management.
But despite the hours of talks combined with outside mediation, an agreement could not be reached. That spring, Msino’s friend Carmine Frances, a soldier in the Columbbo family, tipped him off that the three Kappos were secretly purchasing guns and other weapons to build up an arsenal.
This was interpreted that they were planning to go to war. Msino then reached out to his family’s allies on the commission. Gambino boss Paul Castellano and Columbbo boss Carmine Persico to gauge their reactions about this tip. And he was advised that you have to defend yourself. Do what you have to do.
Because this was before Donnie Brasco was revealed to be an FBI agent. The Banano family still had a seat on the commission with Phil Restelli recognized as the boss. This meant that three out of the five family heads were backing Msino up to do what he thought he needed to do to squash this problem. And he decided that would be to strike the three capos first.
With the three Kappos controlling three crews in the family, Msino did not have much room to maneuver in order to avoid a fullblown civil war. His first action was to secure support for Rastelli from the rest of the family. Sunonny Black and his crew were loyalists to the leadership, but there were other capos who preferred to be neutral to see how this would play out.
One of these crews were the Sicilian Zips who were brought in from across the ocean to fill the family’s ranks and solidify the ties to the old country. With promises of expanded power in the family once it restructured, they joined in on Msino’s conspiracy and made arrangements to bring in shooters from the family’s Montreal crew so that no one in New York would be able to recognize them.
With the plot now in motion to kill their rivals, Sunny Black approached Msino and proposed that Donnie Brasco be one of the shooters on this hit so that he could make his bones and be eligible to be inducted into the family later on. Msino had met Brasco before and he had a gut feeling that something was not right about the man who would later be revealed to be an FBI agent.
In fact, Msino has previously ordered his crew to stay away from Sunny Black’s upandcoming associate. The proposal was vetoed and Donnie Brasco was not there that night, despite what was portrayed in the movie. Msino did not want to create a major war in his family when taking out the three rival Kappos would have been enough to neutralize the discontent.
But that needed to be done in one full sweep. If he tried to kill the three men separately, there were too many contingencies. And if one of the targets got away, then the opportunity to quickly end the conflict would be over. Plus, the three capos were already overly suspicious, which made getting to even one very difficult.
Msino interpreted the Gambino guidance to defend yourself as an indirect way to condone murder. So he took it a little further and approached their under boss, Anello Delcroce, to secure his permission as well as provide a location for this to go down. His strategy was to lure the three capos to another sit down in a place that would be perceived as neutral.
Once they arrived unarmed, they would be ambushed. Delroce gave his approval and delegated then Cappo John Goti to assist. They selected a Gambino run after hours bar to be the neutral ground for the meeting. Msino also arranged for two Banano family captains who were staying neutral in the conflict to be at the meeting as well in order to lure his three rivals into thinking this was just another conference and they would be safe.
With his pieces all in place, Msino was now ready to lay his trap. On the afternoon of May 5th, 1981, Joe Msino, Sunny Black, Montreal crew, Cappo Regime, Galando Shiasia, better known as George from Canada, plus another dozen soldiers and associates assembled at Msino Social Club in Maspath, Queens. Just before 600, they all left in multiple vehicles which were equipped with radio scanners that could pick up police and FBI transmissions along with walkietalkies so that the cars could communicate with each other in order to avoid any possible law enforcement surveillance. One FBI agent, Vincent Savadel, was watching Msino’s headquarters that day, and as they group left, he called in their license plates and did his best to follow them. However, they quickly disappeared from his view thanks to fancy driving and
traffic. The after hours bar in Brooklyn was in reality a catering hall that had a backroom casino in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. One associate was placed two blocks down the street with a walkie-talkie to warn Mino of any potential trouble like cops, rival mobsters, or anything else suspicious. Sunny Black and four of his men were placed in a van outside to watch the building while also functioning as backup shooters.
If one of the capos happened to escape, then their job was to make sure he never got very far. Inside the building, Msino was accompanied by his brother-in-law and right-hand man, Salvitali, George from Canada, and nine other gangsters. Three of the zips from the Montreal crew were given guns. They were Vito Rizuto, Emanuel Raguso, and a gangster who was only known by his nickname, the old man.
Vital was given a Tommy gun because Msino assumed that he knew how to use it because he was in the army. It accidentally went off and shot the wall, causing Msino to scold him and say that he should only fire it if the other shooters don’t kill their targets. Because the neutral capos were going to be present and were not to be hurt, the shooters were given ski masks to hide their identities.
They then hid in a closet to await the three Kappo’s arrival. The signal to come out shooting was to be given by George from Canada running his hand through his hair. One final note was that the hit was to be called off if Sunny Red failed to show up. He was the strongest and most feared of the three Kappos, and if anyone needed to be killed in order for the operation to be a success, it was him.
The night before this planned ambush, the three Kappos met at a bar owned by Banano soldier Frank Leno, who was a member in Sunny Red’s son’s Bruno’s crew. Bruno in Delicato had been promoted to Cappo in 1979 because he helped murder Carmine Galante. This bar was where they had been storing their amassed weapons as well.
The three decided to go to the meeting unarmed as per the mob’s rule, but sensing the danger, they ordered Lo to come with them and for him to get word to Bruno should anything happen to them. Around 900 p.m., the three Kappos plus Lo to attend the sit down. As they got close to the meeting place, their arrival was called in on the radio and the gunmen got into position.
The door buzzed and Salvatal opened it. He ushered the men into the room. Vto Rizuto jumped out with his mask on announcing that this was a hold up and everyone needed to line up against the wall. Salvitale later became a government informant and he described what happened next. The plan was for Rizuto and Raguso to line up the men on the wall and kill them.
Vitali and the old man were to kill anyone trying to escape out the front. But everything happened so fast after Rizuto revealed himself and in seconds bullets were flying everywhere. Frank Lino froze with fear at first and once he saw that he was not a primary target, he ran out of there making it out the door without being harmed.
Big Trin Trencher was killed first. Phil Giaone was punched in the face by Msino right before another gunman killed him. Sunny Red laid on the floor wounded when George from Canada came over and ended him with a bullet to the head. Once the shooting stopped, the gun smoke began to clear and Vital suddenly found himself alone with Msino and the three dead men.
The neutral cappos and the other conspirators had all fled. The Zip Gun men also left as one of their own. Santo Jordano, who was there but not a shooter, accidentally caught a bullet in his back that left him crippled for the rest of his life. Sunny Black and his men failed to stop Frank Leno from escaping and he disappeared into the night.
With the killing done, he and his crew entered the bar to wrap up the bodies, clean any blood, and scrub the place of any evidence. More men from Msino’s faction, who were on standby without knowing any details, were brought to the bar to aid with the cleanup. After they were done, the three bodies, plus any other evidence were put inside the van Sunny Black had brought.
As they were loaded out of the building, Msino’s men blocked both intersections leading to the place, making sure that no passing motorists became accidental witnesses. The van was driven to Howard Beach with Joe Msino following it. Waiting on a street for them were Gene Goti, Angelo Ruggerro, and John Carglia.
The Gambino members then took possession of the vehicle to dispose of it along with the evidence inside, assuring Msino and his boss, Phil Rastelli, that they were not in this alone. Frank Lino was the only loose end from the murders and Msino needed to get to him before he got to Bruno in Delicato and informed the Cappo of his father’s betrayal and murder.
Lo’s cousin Eddie was a soldier in the Gambino family and through him Msino arranged a sitdown where Eddie Lo would also be present to secure Frank’s safety. Frank Lino was assured that since the three capos were gone, he was not considered an enemy. They guaranteed his safety and also gave him a promotion to become the captain of the crew that Bruno was leading.
In exchange, Lo had to tell the other family members that the three Kappo’s murder was a self-defense measure and that everyone would be better off letting it go. The commission gave Bruno a pass, meaning that he would not be killed so long as he did not retaliate against the family. He was also demoted to soldier. Bruno would later be connected to the Carmine Galante murder through a fingerprint on a vehicle and in 1986 he was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
During that time, he met Katherine Burke when she was visiting another prisoner. She is the daughter of Jimmy the Gent Burke, mastermind of the Lufansa heist. They were later married and in 1998, Bruno was released on parole. It’s rumored that he then took what remained of the Lufansa heist money from his wife and pissed it all away gambling.
In 2001, he demonstrated that he was not rehabilitated when he murdered Frank Santoro. In 2006, he was arrested for that crime. And in 2008, he plead guilty. He was sentenced to 20 years and was released on parole in 2022 at the age of 75. 19 days after the three Kappo’s murder, Sunonny Red’s body was discovered in a shallow grave between Brooklyn and Queens.
He was wearing a Cartier watch, which confirmed to the police that he was not the victim of a robbery. Before the commission gave Bruno a pass, Msino wanted to kill him. He was hiding out and the assignment was given to Sunny Black, who then gave it to Donnie Brasco. Not wanting a federal agent to take part in a mafia murder, the feds pulled him out.
They then informed Sunny Black that Donnie Brasco was really Joe Pistone. As indictments against the Banano family because of Piston’s work began to be issued, Sunny Black was summoned to a meeting. He had a feeling that he was about to receive the highest form of Kosa Nostra’s punishment. And he left his jewelry, cash, and apartment keys with the bartender at the Motion Lounge, the hangout for his crew in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
On August 17th, 1981, Sunny Black was picked up by a car in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Inside was Frank Leno and Stfano Canon, the family’s concier. Canon was supposedly unaware of what was about to happen and was there to lull Sunny Black into a false sense of security. They drove into Staten Island and arrived at a house.
Inside they were greeted by soldier Frank Copper who told them the meeting was in the basement. Sunny Black was the first to go on the stairs and he was kicked from behind by Frank Leno. Two hitmen, Robert Leno and Ronald Filamo appeared. Robert Leno fired first and missed. His gun then jammed.
Sunny Black then snarled, “Hit me one more time and make it good.” Philo then fired several shots into him. Sunny Black’s body was found a year later in a wooded swamp. He was identified through dental records. With Sunny Black’s murder, Frank Leno proved his loyalty to Joe Msino. Phil Rastelli was released from prison on parole on April 21st, 1983.
On August 16th, 1984, he was arrested for violating that parole. In 1986, he was convicted of 24 counts of labor rakateeering and given a 12-ear sentence. Following the three Capo’s murder and the isolation of Bruno Indelicato, the disscent in the family subsided. Although Restelli was the official boss, Joe Msino was the one on the streets calling the shots and was generally recognized to be the heir apparent.
In 1991, Restelli passed away from natural causes and Msino took his place. His rule would have two notable things. He would be called the last godfather by the press since he would be the only boss not in prison and he would become the first head of one of the five families to become an informant. But that is for another video.