Anthony Indelicato (born March 4, 1947),Organized Crime in America p.268 U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary (1983) also known as "Bruno"Mobsters, unions, and feds: the Mafia and the American labor movement, James B. Jacobs, NYU Press, 2006 , , 320 pages page 38 and "Whack-Whack",Born to the Mob: The True-Life Story of the Only Man to Work for All Five of New York's Mafia Families, Frankie Saggio, Fred Rosen, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2004 , , page 16Divorced from the Mob: My Journey from Organized Crime to Independent Woman, By Andrea Giovino, Gary Brozek, Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005 , page 82 is an American mobster and consigliere of the Bonanno crime family of New York City. In November 1987, Indelicato was sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined $50,000 for participating in the July 1979 murder of Carmine Galante. He was released in 1998. In December 2008, Indelicato was sentenced to 20 years in prison for participating in the February 2001 murder of Bonanno associate Frank Santoro. Indelicato served 14 years of this sentence. Upon release, Indelicato was welcomed back into the fold of Bonanno family affairs and was appointed as the new and current consigliere of the Bonanno family around 2023.
In 1981, his father, Bonanno family capo Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato and two other captains, attempted an overthrow of Bonanno family boss Philip Rastelli and were murdered. The murder of his father was depicted in the 1996 film Donnie Brasco portrayed by Robert Miano, alongside Michael Madsen, Al Pacino and Johnny Depp, Indelicato himself was portrayed by Brian Tarantina.
Early life Anthony Indelicato is the son of Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, a powerful capo in the Bonanno family. Anthony Indelicato's wife is Catherine Burke, a daughter of Lucchese crime family associate Jimmy Burke.
In 1979, Anthony Indelicato participated in the murder of Bonanno boss Carmine Galante. With the official Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli in prison, Galante had taken effective control of the family in the early 1970s. His ruthlessness and ambition created many enemies within the Bonanno family and in the other New York families.Raab, pp. 203–205
The Mafia Commission finally allowed several Bonanno capos to plot Galante's assassination. On July 12, 1979, Galante entered Joe and Mary's Italian-American Restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn, for lunch. Three gunmen murdered Galante at his table as he was eating lunch on the patio of the restaurant. Two other men who were sitting with him were killed as well. As a reward for his involvement in killing Galante, Indelicato was promoted to capo.
Three capos murder After Galante's murder, a power struggle erupted between two factions of the Bonanno family. One faction included capos Dominick Napolitano and Joseph Massino, who were loyal to Rastelli. The second faction, which included Indelicato's father Alphonse, Philip Giaccone and Dominick Trinchera, wanted to murder the leaders of the Massino faction and assume power for themselves. After receiving permission from the Mafia Commission, Massino set up a plot to murder the rival captains first.
Napolitano later contacted Donnie Brasco, whom he hoped to make a made man,DeStefano 2007, pp. 112, 117 to murder Indelicato, who had previously evaded death after missing a meeting that left his father, Giaccone, and Trinchera dead on May 5, 1981. Frank Lino, who Indelicato's father brought to the meeting instead and escaped the massacre, was quickly won over to Massino's side.Raab, p. 615 Brasco, however, was actually an undercover FBI agent named Joseph Pistone; shortly after the hit was ordered, Pistone's assignment was ended and Napolitano was informed of their infiltration.DeStefano 2007, pp. 118–120
Mafia Commission Trial and prison On November 19, 1986, Indelicato was convicted of the 1979 Galante murder during the historic Mafia Commission Trial. On January 13, 1987, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined $50,000. Soon after being sent to prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Indelicato met Catherine Burke while she was visiting her incarcerated friend John Carneglia. In 1992, Indelicato and Catherine Burke were married at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1998, Indelicato was released from prison on parole.
Santoro murder In 2001, Indelicato participated in the murder of Bonanno associate Frank Santoro, who had threatened to kidnap one of the sons of then Bonanno capo, Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano.Lee, Trymaine (August 7, 2008). "Four in Bonanno Family Plead Guilty in Murders". The New York Times. In July 2001, Indelicato was arrested for parole violations after he was videotaped and photographed by investigators associating with men including Basciano. In February 2006, Indelicato was charged with murder and racketeering for the 2001 Santoro murder.Rashbaum, William K. (February 17, 2006). "Mob Figure Is Charged in Plot to Kill a Rival Gangster". The New York Times. In August 2008, Indelicato pleaded guilty to murder, and on December 16, 2008, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.NY POST "Bonanno boss hit with 15 years for mob shooting" New York Post December 17, 2008. Indelicato was imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury. He was released on May 20, 2022.Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
In popular culture In the 1997 film Donnie Brasco, Anthony Indelicato was portrayed by Brian Tarantina.
References
Further reading Jacobs, James B., Christopher Panarella and Jay Worthington. Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994. Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. Saggio, Frankie and Fred Rosen. Born to the Mob: The True-Life Story of the Only Man to Work for All Five of New York's Mafia Families. New York: Thunder Mouth Press, 2004. Giovino, Andrea Divorced from the Mob: My Journey from Organized Crime to Independent Woman DeStefano, Anthony. The Last Godfather: Joey Massino & the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family. California: Citadel, 2006. Pistone, Joseph, Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia. Random House Value Publishing (February 1990) Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Press. .
External links Anthony Indelicato, Petitioner vs. United States of America, In the Supreme Court of the United States: On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit United States of America, Appellee, vs. Anthony Indelicato, Defendant - Appellant , United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Magnuson, Ed (June 24, 2001). "Hitting the Mafia". Time.