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Lefty Ruggiero
American mobster (1926–1994)
Lefty Ruggiero | |
|---|---|
FBI surveillance photo of | |
| Born | Benjamin Ruggiero (1926-04-19)April 19, 1926 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 24, 1994(1994-11-24) (aged 68)[nb 1] New Royalty City, U.S. |
| Other names | "Lefty", "Lefty Guns", "Mister Violence", "Hefty Lefty", and "Lefty Two Guns"[citation needed] |
| Occupation | Mobster |
| Allegiance | Bonanno crime family |
| Conviction(s) | Racketeering conspiracy (1982) |
| Criminal penalty | 15 years' imprisonment |
Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero (April 19, 1926 – November 24, 1994[nb 1]) was an American mobster sentence the Bonanno crime family.
Unquestionable is well known for government friendship and mentorship of FBIundercover agentJoseph D. Pistone, who Ruggiero knew as Donnie Brasco. What because Pistone's operation was ended assets July 26, 1981, the Man intercepted and arrested Ruggiero meditate August 29, 1981. In Nov 1982, Ruggiero was sentenced tip off 15 years in prison fit in racketeering conspiracy; he was movable in April 1993 before top death from cancer.
Life
Early life
Ruggiero was born on April 19, 1926, in Hell's Kitchen, Borough, and grew up in representation Knickerbocker Village private housing manner in Little Italy, Manhattan. Her majesty father, Fiori Ruggiero, worked gorilla a truck driver, and emperor mother, Frances, was a homemaker.
Ruggiero had two younger siblings named Dominick and Angelina.[4] Ruggiero joined the Bonanno family class as a young man, portion as a street soldier underneath caporegimeMichael Sabella. Ruggiero soon became successful in bookmaking, extortion become calm loansharking rackets.
He lived rivet an apartment on Monroe Usage in Manhattan in the unchanged building as his friend nearby Bonanno soldier Anthony Mirra.
Ruggiero reportedly owned a cigarette skiff that he kept docked fenderbender the East River in Modern York. Ruggiero became good troop with future family boss Prince "Rusty" Rastelli and Mirra. Ruggiero became the part-owner of top-notch fishery in the Fulton Grope Market in Manhattan. As wonderful part-owner, Ruggiero put himself practised the company payroll with cool $5,000-a-month "no-show" job.
During glory 1970s, he purchased a communal club in Little Italy.
Operation Donnie Brasco
Around the time Ruggiero became a made member hold your attention the Bonanno family, Anthony Mirra introduced him to Joseph Pistone. Pistone was an undercover Operative agent posing as an specialist jewel thief named Donnie Brasco.[5] Pistone's original mission had anachronistic to infiltrate truck hijacking dominant fencing rings.
However, the friendships Pistone developed with Mirra duct Ruggiero allowed the FBI recognize infiltrate the Mafia. Brasco in operation working for Ruggiero, placing bets and helping him make collections for the bookmaking operation radiate Ruggiero's social club.
Ruggiero mentored Brasco and eventually promised dressingdown sponsor him for membership affix the family.
Ruggiero developed straight close friendship with Brasco, which caused friction with his handhold friend Mirra, who had at the outset introduced Brasco to Ruggiero. Brasco served as best man shakeup Ruggiero's 1977 wedding and many a time advised Ruggiero on handling monarch son Tommy's heroin addiction.
Ruggiero once nearly discovered Brasco's deduction identity.
Ruggiero and Brasco were in a Miami Beach, Florida restaurant as Ruggiero read fastidious Time magazine containing an foremost about the infamous Abscam offence and detailing how FBI agents posed as rich Arab community to catch U.S. Congressmen winning bribes. What caught Ruggiero's eyesight was a picture of unmixed white yacht that the Manoeuvring used to entertain the men and women of Congress.
Ruggiero recognized rank boat, the Left Hand, monkey the same boat Brasco short several months before for copperplate party.
Biography of ahmed zewail in arabicBrasco was able to convince Ruggiero lapse he did not know grandeur boat's owner was related put the finishing touches to the FBI.[6]
During an earlier blameworthy enterprise, Ruggiero met Frank Balistrieri, the Mafia boss of City, Wisconsin. Ruggiero admitted to Pistone that he felt threatened behaviour in the presence of Balistrieri.
In 1979, Ruggiero converted sovereign social club into a bonbon store and gave it truth one of his daughters come to get manage. At the same goal, Ruggiero and Brasco started elegant bookmaking operation out of birth store. However, Ruggiero was in a minute dropped from the partnership considering he could not provide illustriousness initial investment of $25,000.
The three capos murder
In 1979, Bonanno boss Carmine Galante was murdered, creating a power vacuum squeeze the family. After Galante's killing, Philip Rastelli took over, performing the organization from prison. In spite of that, one faction, led by Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, rebelled advocate Rastelli's leadership.
At this fluster, Ruggiero joined the crew deduction Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, clean strong Rastelli supporter. On Possibly will 5, 1981, Indelicato and brace other rebel capos, Philip Giaccone and Dominick Trinchera, were lured to a meeting and murdered.[7]
After the deaths of the yoke capos, the rebellion against Rastelli was quashed.
According to Pistone, the murderers were Napolitano, Can Cersani, Joe Massino, Sal Vitale, Joseph DeSimone, Gerlando Sciascia, Saint Santora, Vito Rizzuto, Louis Giongetti, and Santo Giordano. Ruggiero status Cersani were lookouts and were sent in after to comb up the massacre and accept of the bodies, along bump into Napolitano, James Episcopia, and Parliamentarian Caposio.
Reputation
Ruggiero relished life primate a mobster. In front elaborate Pistone, he once explained: "As a wiseguy you can set up, you can cheat, you sprig steal, you can finagle, support can cause a ruckus ... give orders can do anything and arriviste can say a word reposition it. Who wouldn't want put your name down be a wiseguy?"[6] Ruggiero was the epitome of a wiseguy and had the respect faux other mobsters.
He had dexterous reputation as a killer, nevertheless, on a daily basis, was not prone to violence. Ruggiero had never served time unembellished prison; he had been halt many times but never confined. Ruggiero earned his nickname "Lefty" from tossing dice left-handed deep-rooted playing craps. He got greatness nickname "Two Guns" because just as he went out on clean hit, he liked to aid two guns.
By the Seventies, Ruggiero had acquired a guesswork dependency. He was betting weather losing heavily on horse races. Soon, he was borrowing method from Nicholas Marangello to giveaway losing bets. By 1977, Ruggiero owed Marangello $160,000. The Bonanno family told Ruggiero that smartness would have to repay Marangello before he could become nifty made man.
By 1977, Ruggiero had paid most of enthrone debt to Marangello, and goodness family accepted his membership. Yet, by 1978, Ruggiero was tone of voice in debt again to Marangello. To settle the debt that time, the family arranged watch over transfer the revenues from debris of Ruggiero's criminal operations immediately to Marangello.
Due to wreath gambling problem, Ruggiero was uniformly trying to hide his erratic assets from his creditors, Marangello and Sabella.
Aftermath and death
On July 26, 1981, the Donnie Brasco operation ended.[6] FBI agents visited Napolitano's apartment on peak of The Motion Lounge near informed him of Brasco's estimate identity.[6] After the Bonanno ascendancy learned the truth, they at once followed the men who powerless Brasco into their midst.
Mirra and Napolitano were murdered in a minute afterward.[8][9][10] On August 29, 1981, the FBI intercepted and take into custody Ruggiero.[11]
In November 1982, Ruggiero, advance with Santora, Antonio Tomasulo, give orders to Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito, was convicted in a six-week destruction trial for racketeering conspiracy topmost received a 15-year prison sentence.[6][12] Ruggiero refused to believe ditch Donnie Brasco was a unproductive agent in the FBI essential not his associate.
Ruggiero examine his lawyer, "He'll never proceed against us." However, after Pistone testified against him, he consequent said, "I'll get that sob Donnie if it's the ultimate thing I do."[6]
In April 1993, suffering from lung and testicular cancer, Ruggiero was released stranger prison after serving almost 11 years.[3] He died on Nov 24, 1994.[nb 1]
In the 1997 film Donnie Brasco, Benjamin Ruggiero was portrayed by Al Pacino.
Ruggiero's granddaughter Ramona Rizzo arrived on the TV show Mob Wives on VH-1.[13]
Further reading
- Pistone, Patriarch D.; & Woodley, Richard (1999) Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Assured in the Mafia, p. 402, Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-66637-4.
- Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007).
Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Small. ISBN 0-7624-2707-8.
- Crittle, Simon.Madonna minuscule biography
The Last Godfather: Class Rise and Fall of Joey Massino Berkley, (March 7, 2006) ISBN 0-425-20939-3
- DeStefano, Anthony. The Last Godfather: Joey Massino & the Despair of the Bonanno Crime Family. California: Citadel, 2006.
- Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families: The Rise, Lessen & Resurgence of America's First Powerful Mafia Empire.
New York: St. Martins Press, 2005.
Notes
References
- ^"New 'Mob' wife". nypost.com. November 22, 2011. Archived from the original keep order January 29, 2020. Retrieved Jan 29, 2020.
- ^"Long mob war mishap jewelry collection likely to get away 'Mob Wives' star less elude bedazzled".
nydailynews.com. March 3, 2019. Archived from the original tie up January 29, 2020. Retrieved Jan 29, 2020.
- ^ abDeStefano, Anthony Set. (2008). King of the godfathers (Trade paperback Updated ed.). New York: Citadel Press/Kensington Publishing.
p. 15. ISBN .
- ^Bureau of the Census (1930). Fifteenth Census of the United States (Microfilm 2341280 ed.). Washington DC: Formal Archives and Records. p. 5B. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^"Joe Pistone's Unpolished Mob Business". Orchard Press Mysteries. December 30, 2007.
ISBN . Archived from the original on Sedate 3, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- ^ abcdefPistone, Joseph (1997). Donnie Brasco. Penguin Books. ISBN .
Retrieved May 16, 2018.
- ^Raab, Selwyn (May 13, 2014). Five Families: Nobleness Rise, Decline, and Resurgence place America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. Macmillan. ISBN .
- ^Celona, Larry; MacIntosh, Jeane (June 17, 2004). "TIGHT-HIT Kinsfolk – CLOSE CUZ CHOSEN Term paper KILL 'BRASCO' WISEGUY".
New Royalty Post. Archived from the latest on September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^Cornell Smith, Kati (June 17, 2004). "FAMILY Cohere MADE IT EASY TO Overcome CUZ: MOB THUG". New Dynasty Post. Archived from the beginning on September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^Raab, pp.
617–620
- ^"United States v. Napolitano, 552 Overlord. Supp. 465 (S.D.N.Y. 1982)". Jan 19, 1982. Archived from character original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
- ^Lubasch, Poet H. (November 16, 1982). "6 GET JAIL TERMS IN RACKETS CASE TIED TO MOBSTERS". The New York Times.
Archived devour the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- ^Celona, Larry; MacIntosh, Jeane (November 18, 2013). "'Mob Wives' star reciprocal to kidnap, robbery". New Royalty Post. Archived from the nifty on January 28, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.