What caught Ruggiero's eye was a picture of a white yacht that the FBI used to entertain the congressmen. Ruggiero and Brasco were in a Miami Beach, Florida restaurant as Ruggiero read a Time magazine containing an article about the infamous Abscam scandal and detailing how FBI agents posed as rich Arab businessmen to catch U.S. Ruggiero once nearly discovered Brasco's true identity. Brasco served as best man at Ruggiero's 1977 wedding and frequently advised Ruggiero on handling his son Tommy's heroin addiction. Ruggiero developed a close friendship with Brasco, which caused friction with his old friend Mirra, who had originally introduced Brasco to Ruggiero. Ruggiero mentored Brasco and eventually promised to sponsor him for membership in the family. Brasco started working for Ruggiero, placing bets and helping him make collections for the bookmaking operation in Ruggiero's social club. However, the friendships Pistone developed with Mirra and Ruggiero gave the FBI the chance to infiltrate the Mafia. Pistone's original mission had been to infiltrate truck hijacking and fencing rings. Pistone was an undercover FBI agent posing as an expert jewel thief named Donnie Brasco. During the 1970s, he purchased a social club in Little Italy.Īround the time Ruggiero became a made member in the Bonanno family, Anthony Mirra introduced him to Joseph Pistone. As a part-owner, Ruggiero was able to put himself on the company payroll with a $5,000-a-month "no-show" job. Ruggiero became the part-owner of a fishery in the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan. Ruggiero became good friends with future family boss Philip "Rusty" Rastelli and Mirra. Ruggiero reportedly owned a cigarette boat that he kept docked on the East River in New York. He lived in an apartment on Monroe Street in Manhattan in the same building as his friend and Bonanno soldier Anthony Mirra. Ruggiero soon became successful in bookmaking, extortion and loansharking rackets. Ruggiero joined the Bonanno family organization as a young man, serving as a street soldier under caporegime Michael Sabella. Ruggiero had two younger siblings named Dominick and Angelina. His father, Fiori Ruggiero worked as a truck driver and his mother, Frances, was a housewife. Ruggiero was born on April 19, 1926, in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, and grew up in the Knickerbocker Village private housing development in Little Italy, Manhattan. In November 1982, Ruggiero was sentenced to 15 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy he was released in April 1993 before his death from cancer. When Pistone's operation was ended on July 26, 1981, the FBI intercepted and arrested Ruggiero on August 29, 1981. Pistone, who Ruggiero knew as Donnie Brasco. He is well known for his friendship and mentorship of FBI undercover agent Joseph D. "Lefty", "Lefty Guns", "Mister Violence", "Hefty Lefty", "Horse Cock" and "Lefty Two Guns" īenjamin " Lefty" Ruggiero (Ap– Novem) was an American mobster in the Bonanno crime family.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |