Alphonse "Al" Indelicato (February 25, 1931 – May 5, 1981), also known as Sonny Red, was an American mobster and

caporegime A ''caporegime'' or ''capodecina'', usually shortened to ''capo'' or informally referred to as "captain", "skipper" or "lieutenant", is a leadership position in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia). A ''capo'' is a "made m ...

in the

Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City. The family was known as the Maranzano crime family until its founder Sal ...

who was murdered with

Dominick Trinchera Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera (December 20, 1936 – May 5, 1981) was an American caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Philip Giaccone for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli. Early ...

and

Philip Giaccone Philip Giaccone (July 12, 1932 – May 5, 1981), also known as "Philly Lucky", was an American mobster and caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Al Indelicato for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss P ...

for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss

Philip Rastelli Philip "Rusty" Rastelli (January 31, 1918 – June 24, 1991) was an American mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family in New York. He spent all but three years of his reign in prison. Biography Rastelli was born and raised in Maspeth, ...

Early life

Alphonse Indelicato was born in New York City. Indelicato's family came from

Sciacca Sciacca (; ; , , , or ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has views of the Mediterranean Sea. History Thermae was founded in the 5th century BC by the Greeks, as ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, landed and became a naturalized citizen when living in

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

. Indelicato was the father-in-law of Bonanno associate Salvatore Valenti and ex-son-in-law of Bonanno capo, bookmaker Charles Ruvolo. Indelicato was particularly fond of a pair of custom-made red leather

cowboy boot Cowboy boots are a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a High-heeled footwear#Men and heels, high heel that is traditionally made of stacked leather, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no l ...

s, which may have been the source of his nickname "Sonny Red". Indelicato is a nephew to Salvatore Falcone, a heroin trafficker. Indelicato was married first to Charles Ruvolo's unidentified daughter, with whom he fathered a son, Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato. Indelicato later married Margaret Elizabeth McFhadden, but the two later became estranged. Indelicato was indicted in 1972 for the inquiry into the murder of

Joe Gallo Joseph Gallo (April 7, 1929 – April 7, 1972), also known as "Crazy Joe", was an Italian-American mobster and a captain in the Colombo crime family of New York City. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in his youth, Gallo became an enforcer in the ...

, but was released on $15,000 bail.

Planning a coup

Joseph Massino Joseph Charles Massino (January 10, 1943 – September 14, 2023) was an American mobster. He was a member of the American Mafia, Mafia and Crime boss, boss of the Bonanno crime family from 1991 until 2004, when he became the first boss of one of ...

began jockeying for power with Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, another

loyalist capo, after the 1979 murder of

Carmine Galante Carmine Galante (; February 21, 1910 – July 12, 1979) was an American Mafioso who was ''de facto'' boss of the Bonanno crime family of New York City. Galante was rarely seen without a cigar hanging from his mouth, leading to the nickname "T ...

. Both men were themselves threatened by another faction seeking to depose the absentee boss led by capos Indelicato, Dominick "Big Trin" Trincera and

.DeStefano 2007, pp. 99, 101–103 The Commission initially tried to maintain neutrality, but in 1981, Massino got word from his informants that the three capos were stocking up on

automatic weapons An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm (to avoid confusion with semi-automatic firearms) is a self-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm ...

and planning to kill the Rastelli loyalists within the Bonanno family to take complete control. Massino turned to

Colombo crime family The Colombo crime family (, ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was during ...

boss

Carmine Persico Carmine John Persico Jr. (; August 8, 1933 – March 7, 2019), also known as "Junior", "The Snake" and "Immortal", was an American mobster and the longtime boss of the Colombo crime family in New York City from 1973 until his death in 2019. He ...

and

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. ...

boss

Paul Castellano Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985) was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family of New York City. Castellano ran the organization from 1976 until his murder on Decem ...

for advice; they told him to act immediately.

The three capos murder

On May 5, 1981, Massino loyalists shot and killed Indelicato, Trinchera, and Giaccone, in a Brooklyn

night club A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

. On the pretext of working out a peace agreement, Massino had invited them to meet with him at the 20/20 Night Club in

Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in north-central Brooklyn, a borough of New York City. It is bordered by the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Flushing Avenue to the north, Williamsburg to the northeast, Classon Avenue and Bedford–Stuyvesant to the ea ...

. However, Massino's real plan was to assassinate the capos. The ambush was set in the club store room, with

Salvatore Vitale Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale (born September 22, 1947) is an American former underboss of the Bonanno crime family before he became a government informant. After his arrest in 2003, Vitale agreed to cooperate with the government and testi ...

and three other gunmen wearing ski masks hiding in a closet. One of the gunmen was mobster

Vito Rizzuto Vito Rizzuto (; 21 February 1946 – 23 December 2013), also known as "Montreal's Teflon Don", was an Italian-Canadian crime boss alleged to be the leader of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada. He headed the notorious Rizzuto crime family based in ...

, who came from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

with another

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

mobster to help Massino. Massino told the men to avoid shooting wildly so that bullets wouldn't spray around the room. Massino also brought drop cloths and ropes for disposing of the bodies afterwards. When the capos arrived at the 20/20, Massino and Bonanno mobster

Gerlando Sciascia Gerlando "George from Canada" Sciascia (; February 15, 1934 – March 18, 1999), was a Sicilian mobster who served as a caporegime for the Bonanno crime family. Sciascia was the Sixth Family's representative in New York and was a major narcotics ...

and

Frank Lino Frank "Curly" Lino (October 30, 1938 – August 2, 2023) was an American former caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who later became an informant. Biography Early life Lino was born in a house on West Eight Street in Gravesend, Brooklyn, N ...

escorted them to the store room. As the men entered the room, Sciascia brushed his hand through his hair, giving the prearranged signal. Vitale and gunmen rushed out of the closet, with Rizzuto yelling "it's a hold up". Massino immediately punched Giaccone, knocking him to the floor, and also stopping Indelicato from escaping. Giaccone got up and tried to run out of the room, but was blocked up against a wall with Trinchera. The gunmen killed Giaccone with a volley of

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...

fire. They then turned their weapons on Indelicato and Trinchera. The three capos were unarmed, as was the rule when attending a peace meeting. After the killings, the Bonanno gunmen transported the three bodies to a lot in

Lindenwood, Queens Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, to the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, to the east by ...

, in an area known as The Hole. The lot was a Gambino mob graveyard; Gambino capo

John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 ( , ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American '' mafioso'' and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambin ...

arranged for his men to bury the bodies there as a favor to Massino. A few weeks later, on May 28, authorities discovered Indelicato's body and removed it from the lot. In October 2004, after some children reported finding a body in the Lindenwood lot, FBI agents excavated the property and discovered the bodies of Trinchera and Giaccone. Among the personal items they unearthed was a

Piaget Piaget () may refer to: People with the surname * Édouard Piaget (18171910), Swiss entomologist * Jean Piaget (18961980), Swiss developmental psychologist * Paul Piaget (disambiguation), several people * Solange Piaget Knowles (born 1986), Ameri ...

watch that had belonged to Giaccone's wife. In December 2004, the bodies were positively identified as Giaccone and Trinchera. On June 23, 2005, Massino, then a government witness to avoid the death penalty, pleaded guilty to several murders including those of Giaccone, Trinchera, and Indelicato. He received two life sentences in prison. On May 4, 2007, after being extradited to the United States, Rizzuto pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn court to reduced charges in the murder of three capos and was sentenced to ten years in state prison.Mob boss admits role in massacre
''National Post'', May 5, 2007 After his father's murder, Indelicato's son, Anthony, went into hiding in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. Massino wanted to kill him also, but he had missed the meeting. His father brought Lino instead, who was the sole survivor of the massacre. Lino, who had escaped, was quickly won over to Massino's side.Raab, p. 615 Napolitano assigned associate Donnie Brasco, who he hoped to make a

made man In the Sicilian and American Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. In order to become eligible to be "made", an associate must fulfill several requirements, such as being Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by ...

, to kill Indelicato.DeStefano 2007, pp. 112, 117 "Brasco", however, was in fact an undercover FBI agent named

Joseph Pistone Joseph Dominick Pistone (born September 17, 1939) is an American former FBI special agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family under the ...

; shortly after the hit was ordered, Pistone's assignment was ended and Napolitano was informed of their infiltration.DeStefano 2007, pp. 118–120

In popular culture

* In the 1997 film ''

Donnie Brasco Joseph Dominick Pistone (born September 17, 1939) is an American former FBI special agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family under the ...

'', Al Indelicato was portrayed by

Robert Miano Robert Miano (born September 25, 1942) is an American actor. Early life Robert Miano was born in New York City and raised in the Southeast Bronx neighborhood. He is of Italian descent. At the age of fifteen Robert Miano was discovered by a tale ...

. * In the 2017 Canadian TV series '' Bad Blood'', in a flashback, Sonny Red is portrayed by Joe Di Mambro.

Early life

Planning a coup

The three capos murder

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading