As noted in the post covering 1970s inductions, the Bonanno Family's books were closed on Commission order in 1979. This ban was lifted around mid-1984.
The majority of this information was obtained from the Bonanno CWs of the early 2000s.
Many of the dates given are approximate. It's possible some names listed separately were made together.
More info will be added as it becomes available.
===
c. September 1984
Location: Apartment (Marine Park, Brooklyn)
Attendees:
- Joseph Massino (41y) (Underboss) (Flipped 2004)
- Stefano Cannone (71y) (Consigliere) (Died 1985)
- Louis Attanasio (40y) (Captain)
- Frank Lino (46y) (Acting Captain) (Flipped 2003)
- Anthony Spero (55y) (Acting Captain) (Died 2008)
Members Inducted:
- James 'Big Louie' Tartaglione (47y) (Flipped 2003) [Sponsored by J. Massino]
- Salvatore Vitale (37y) (Flipped 2003) [Sponsored by J. Massino]
Ceremony presided over by Cannone.
Vitale: "At the table was Mr. Massino, Louie Ha-Ha [Attanasio] and Stevie Beef [Cannone]. Stevie Beef was the official consigliere..They asked us to wait in another room. They brought us in, they sat us down, they told us you know what you're here for, we're not going to play any games with you, we're looking for a few good men, yous two have been picked, would you like to join our organized crime family. Right then and there we could have said no and left [with] no repercussions. We decided to join and they inducted us into their family."
Induction through verbal oath only:
Tartaglione: "They were giving us the rules. Before they gave us the rules, they turned around and said generally, we have a gun and knife here, but because of hard times, we are not going to have these things here."
Vitale: "It gets much more entailed than the way [Cannone] did it. [The] proper way to do it is you're supposed to have a gun, a knife, and a stake on the table, and the individual explains to you that the gun means that you came to this life with a gun in your hand, you leave with a gun in your hand. The dagger is that, if you came with a dagger, you're gonna leave with a dagger [and also] to prick your finger [and] to put the stake in your hand and to burn it, and you repeat after what they tell you, that, if you decide to cooperate, your soul will burn in Hell for eternity, just like the stake will burn in your hands, and then they explain the dos and don'ts to you, but [Cannone] didn't go through all that. He made it very short and sweet."
Tartaglione and Vitale both initially cited 1983 as their year of induction. Vitale later clarified that the ceremony occurred after the murder of Cesare Bonventre (early April 1984), after Boss Philip Rastelli's parole was violated (June 1984) and after Joseph Massino surrendered on a RICO indictment (July 1984).
 |
| Tartaglione (L) and Vitale (R) |
c. Fall 1984
- Louis Restivo (50y) (Died 2015) [Sponsored by S. Cannone]
===
c. 1985
- Robert Attanasio (39y) [Sponsored by L. Attanasio]
- Peter 'Petey Rabbit' Calabrese (36y) [Sponsored by L. Attanasio]
- Gasper 'Skin' Cammarata (56y) (Died 1999)
- John Cerasani (47y) (Died 2006)
 |
| L to R: Attanasio, Calabrese, Cerasani |
c. October 1985
Location: Apartment above J&S Cake (Maspeth, Queens)
Attendees:
- Joseph Massino (42y) (Underboss) (Flipped 2004)
- Frank Lino (48y) (Captain) (Flipped 2003)
- Anthony Spero (56y) (Captain) (Died 2008)
- Additional Unspecified Captain(s)
Members Inducted:
- Robert Lino (54y) (Died 1989) [Sponsored by F. Lino]
 |
| Robert Lino |
Early 1986
Location: Apartment above J&S Cake (Maspeth, Queens)
Attendees:
- Joseph Massino (43y) (Underboss) (Flipped 2004)
- Frank Lino (48y) (Captain) (Flipped 2003)
- Anthony Spero (57y) (Captain) (Died 2008)
Members Inducted:
- Thomas 'Tommy Karate' Pitera (32y) (IPL 1990) [Sponsored by F. Lino]
 |
| Thomas Pitera Source: Gang Land News |
c. 1986
- Thomas 'Tommy D' DiFiore (43y) [Sponsored by J. Massino]
- Anthony 'Tony Green' Urso (50y) [Sponsored by J. Massino]
===
February 22, 1986
- CI Gregory Scarpa reported: "[Scarpa] advised Joseph Savarese was inducted into the Bonanno Family, along with several other individuals on 2/22/86. [Scarpa] did not know the identities of the other new members at this time." (Savarese was named as an associate present for the August 1981 murder of Captain Dominick Napolitano. Aside from Scarpa's report there is no other mention of this individual as a made member.)
===
c. May 1986
- Joseph Chilli Jr. (30y)
===
c. Mid-to-Late 1987
- Vincent 'Elmo' Amarante (39y) [Sponsored by L. Attanasio]
- Frank 'Big Frank' Porco (59y) [Sponsored by A. Spero]
===
c. Late 1987
- John 'Porky' Zancocchio (30y) [Sponsored by A. Graziano]
 |
| John Zancocchio (1984) |
c. Late 1980s
- Joseph 'Joe Desi' DeSimone (55y)
- Pietro Rosa (43y) (Flipped 2004)
- Salvatore 'Sally Bross' Scudiero (56y) (Died 2006) [Sponsored by J. Tartaglione]
- Several others
