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Donnie Brasco biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: Donnie Brasco
  • OCCUPATION: Police Officer
  • BIRTH DATE: 1939
  • EDUCATION: Paterson State College
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Erie, Pennsylvania
  • AKA: Joseph Pistone

Best Known For

Donnie Brasco was the alias of Joseph Pistone, an undercover FBI agent that infiltrated the Bonanno crime family.

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In May 1981, Napolitano and Ruggiero killed three of the top members of the opposition and then Napolitano ordered Brasco to kill Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato.

Mafia Trials

Brasco and the FBI planned to arrest Indelicato before the day of the hit, but they were unable find him. Because of this incident and the shooting war being waged between the families the FBI decided to end the operation. Brasco argued that he should stay until December when his membership into the family would be decided, but the FBI disagreed. The Mafia put a contract out on Brasco's life for half a million dollars.

Pistone and his family still live under secret identities in an undisclosed location. In 1986, he retired from the FBI and he currently works as an FBI consultant and lectures internationally. He's also the author of several books and the co-owner of a production company.

Two days after the FBI pulled Brasco out of the operation they informed Napolitano that he had been working undercover. It was not long before Napolitano's death was ordered. On August 17, 1981, accepting his fate, Napolitano gave his favorite bartender his jewelry and the keys to his apartment so that his pet pigeons could be looked after. On August 12, 1982, his body was found in a creek on Staten Island. Another Bonanno boss, Joe Massino, was found guilty of ordering his death in 2004.

On August 30, 1981, the FBI arrested Ruggiero for his own protection, the same day that a contract was put out on him. He was sentenced to serve 20years in prison, but was released on parole in 1992. On Thanksgiving Day 1995, Ruggiero died of cancer in his New York home. He was 72.

The evidence collected by Brasco led to over 200 indictments and over 100 convictions. New York Mafia families have instituted new rules to thwart future undercover penetrations. Before a new member is made a soldier he must kill someone, and two family members, instead of one, must vouch with their own lives for him.

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