in the 1960s as a protégé of Philip ‘Rusty’ Rastelli and his brothers. Rastelli was a nasty, violent individual who, a few years later, would rise to the top of the heap in the Bonanno Family. With the Rastellis, he got into running numbers, hijacking trucks and fencing stolen goods.
In 1975, Paul Castellano, who would in the future become head of the Family, ordered Massino to carry out a hit on Vito Borelli. Borelli was dating Castellano’s daughter and had made the fatal mistake of insulting Castellano in front of her by comparing him to a man called Frank Perdue, a businessman with a cooked chicken brand who used to advertise it personally on television. The fact that Perdue himself resembled a plucked chicken, did not endear Borelli to Big Paul. So Massino, accompanied by John Gotti, another future Family head – the Gambinos in his case – killed the unfortunate Borelli at a Manhattan cookie business owned by Bonanno soldier Anthony Rabito. Other men involved were Dominick ‘Sonny Black’ Napolitano, Rabito and Angelo Ruggiero, Roy DeMeo and Frank DeCicco. Massino’s brother-in-law, Salvatore Vitale, was asked to drive the body to a garage where they were waiting. Borelli had been shot in the face and body and he was wearing only his underpants. Vitale noticed that one of the men was holding a knife and speculated that the man with the knife was Roy DeMeo whose speciality was cutting up bodies like a Perdue chicken.
Borelli’s murder provided a boost to Massino’s career and in 1976 he became a made man of the Bonanno Family, reporting to Philip ‘Lucky Phil’ Giaccone. Best of all, he was still a complete unknown to the Federal authorities. In June of that year, the body of Joseph ‘Doo Doo’ Pastore was discovered in a dumpster, round the corner from Massino’s restaurant in Maspeth. He had been killed with two shots to the head. There was a connection to Massino because Pastore was a truck hijacker who supplied Joey with stolen goods that Massino fenced for him. It did not take police long to make the connection and he and Richard Dormer, Pastore’s half-brother, were taken to the morgue to make an identification of the body. It was no coincidence that, just before the murder, Massino had asked his brother-in-law, Salvatore Vitale, to borrow $9,000 from Pastore for him. It looked like he would never have to repay that particular debt.
Massino was in court in 1977 on a charge of hijacking a truck but was acquitted while his co-defendant Raymond Wean went to jail for three years.
In 1979, Rusty Rastelli took over at the top of the Family following the killing of Carmine Galante in his favourite restaurant, Joe and Mary’s Italian-American Restaurant at 205 Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The 69-year-old Galante died with his trademark cigar in his mouth, blasted in the face and chest at point-blank range with a shotgun. Although Massino was not one of the shooters, he is reported to have been seen outside the restaurant on the day of the shooting. Whatever his involvement, Rastelli’s promotion was good for Massino – he was advanced to the rank of caporegime , just three years after becoming a made man.
In 1989, when Massino heard that Alphonse Indelicato, Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaconne were plotting to take over the Bonanno Family by purging Rastelli’s men, he went to Family bosses Carmine Persico and Paul Castellano for advice. They told him that he had only one option; kill them or be killed himself.
Sonny Red Indelicato, Giaccone and Trinchera were lured to a meeting with their rival factions, accompanied by capo Frank Lino. Gerlando ‘George from Canada’ Sciascia, Vito Rizzuto and Sonny Black Napolitano burst out of a closet in the room where the meeting was taking place and gunned down Trinchera, Indelicato and Giaccone. Lino escaped.
Napolitano would, himself, suffer at Joey Massino’s hands in 1981 when he made the mistake of proposing a man called Donnie
In 1975, Paul Castellano, who would in the future become head of the Family, ordered Massino to carry out a hit on Vito Borelli. Borelli was dating Castellano’s daughter and had made the fatal mistake of insulting Castellano in front of her by comparing him to a man called Frank Perdue, a businessman with a cooked chicken brand who used to advertise it personally on television. The fact that Perdue himself resembled a plucked chicken, did not endear Borelli to Big Paul. So Massino, accompanied by John Gotti, another future Family head – the Gambinos in his case – killed the unfortunate Borelli at a Manhattan cookie business owned by Bonanno soldier Anthony Rabito. Other men involved were Dominick ‘Sonny Black’ Napolitano, Rabito and Angelo Ruggiero, Roy DeMeo and Frank DeCicco. Massino’s brother-in-law, Salvatore Vitale, was asked to drive the body to a garage where they were waiting. Borelli had been shot in the face and body and he was wearing only his underpants. Vitale noticed that one of the men was holding a knife and speculated that the man with the knife was Roy DeMeo whose speciality was cutting up bodies like a Perdue chicken.
Borelli’s murder provided a boost to Massino’s career and in 1976 he became a made man of the Bonanno Family, reporting to Philip ‘Lucky Phil’ Giaccone. Best of all, he was still a complete unknown to the Federal authorities. In June of that year, the body of Joseph ‘Doo Doo’ Pastore was discovered in a dumpster, round the corner from Massino’s restaurant in Maspeth. He had been killed with two shots to the head. There was a connection to Massino because Pastore was a truck hijacker who supplied Joey with stolen goods that Massino fenced for him. It did not take police long to make the connection and he and Richard Dormer, Pastore’s half-brother, were taken to the morgue to make an identification of the body. It was no coincidence that, just before the murder, Massino had asked his brother-in-law, Salvatore Vitale, to borrow $9,000 from Pastore for him. It looked like he would never have to repay that particular debt.
Massino was in court in 1977 on a charge of hijacking a truck but was acquitted while his co-defendant Raymond Wean went to jail for three years.
In 1979, Rusty Rastelli took over at the top of the Family following the killing of Carmine Galante in his favourite restaurant, Joe and Mary’s Italian-American Restaurant at 205 Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The 69-year-old Galante died with his trademark cigar in his mouth, blasted in the face and chest at point-blank range with a shotgun. Although Massino was not one of the shooters, he is reported to have been seen outside the restaurant on the day of the shooting. Whatever his involvement, Rastelli’s promotion was good for Massino – he was advanced to the rank of caporegime , just three years after becoming a made man.
In 1989, when Massino heard that Alphonse Indelicato, Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaconne were plotting to take over the Bonanno Family by purging Rastelli’s men, he went to Family bosses Carmine Persico and Paul Castellano for advice. They told him that he had only one option; kill them or be killed himself.
Sonny Red Indelicato, Giaccone and Trinchera were lured to a meeting with their rival factions, accompanied by capo Frank Lino. Gerlando ‘George from Canada’ Sciascia, Vito Rizzuto and Sonny Black Napolitano burst out of a closet in the room where the meeting was taking place and gunned down Trinchera, Indelicato and Giaccone. Lino escaped.
Napolitano would, himself, suffer at Joey Massino’s hands in 1981 when he made the mistake of proposing a man called Donnie
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