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| A. Embarrato |
On August 17, 1987 an FBI source identified multiple Bonanno Captains and provided a breakdown of their respective crews.
The initial report is redacted in its entirety, but a follow up airtel presumably references the CI's information when naming Alfred 'Al Walker' Embarrato as a Captain and listing seven Soldiers in his crew.
The initial report is redacted in its entirety, but a follow up airtel presumably references the CI's information when naming Alfred 'Al Walker' Embarrato as a Captain and listing seven Soldiers in his crew.
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| L to R: Episcopia, Mauro, Mistretta, Sabella Govt Photos / Press |
Those named were:
1. [Redacted] [Report notes: "Currently resides in [redacted]."]
2. Russell Mauro [Report notes: "Ex-Bonanno Capo involved in loansharking, gambling, narcotics. Narcotics user, frequents the Backyard Restaurant, Dry Harbor Road, Queens, New York of which he is part owner."]
2. Russell Mauro [Report notes: "Ex-Bonanno Capo involved in loansharking, gambling, narcotics. Narcotics user, frequents the Backyard Restaurant, Dry Harbor Road, Queens, New York of which he is part owner."]
(Both Frank Lino and Salvatore Vitale named Mauro as a member of their crews at some point in the mid-to-late 1980s. Mauro was inducted into the Family around Spring 1978 and acted as one of the shooters in Galante's murder the following year. He was himself shot to death in 1991.)
3. [Redacted]
4. James 'Jimmy Legs' Episcopia [Report notes: "Presently serving 5 year sentence, US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Missouri. Incarceration date 1/6/87, conditional release date 1990. Maximum expiration date 1992. Charge: Conspiracy to Distribute Methaqualone."]
3. [Redacted]
4. James 'Jimmy Legs' Episcopia [Report notes: "Presently serving 5 year sentence, US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Missouri. Incarceration date 1/6/87, conditional release date 1990. Maximum expiration date 1992. Charge: Conspiracy to Distribute Methaqualone."]
(Episcopia, the crew's former Captain, was inducted as part of the Bonanno Family's first wave of early 1976. He died in 1997.)
5. Frank 'Cheesecake' Mistretta [Report noted: "Retired, Inactive. Approached by federal Agents for Cooperation. Uncooperative."]
5. Frank 'Cheesecake' Mistretta [Report noted: "Retired, Inactive. Approached by federal Agents for Cooperation. Uncooperative."]
(Born in Castellammare del Golfo, Mistretta was likely inducted after his release from Greenhaven Prison around the early-to-mid 1950s. A robbery conviction in 1956 put him back behind bars until 1970. He died in 2009.)
6. Michael Sabella [Report noted: "Named in EDNY Civil RICO case. Health Problems. Owner of Casa Bella Restaurant in Little Italy."]
6. Michael Sabella [Report noted: "Named in EDNY Civil RICO case. Health Problems. Owner of Casa Bella Restaurant in Little Italy."]
(Sabella was made a Captain around the mid-1950s and then demoted for his behavior during the mid-late 1960s Bonanno conflict. Reinstated as a Captain by the summer of 1977, he lost the spot again after Galante's murder and subsequent Family restructuring. He died in 1988.)
7. [Redacted]
7. [Redacted]
Within a couple of years this crew appears to have been broken up and split among the other Captains. Embarrato and Mauro were assigned to James 'Big Lou' Tartaglione and Salvatore Vitale respectively.
