Antonio Tomasulo, also known as "Bootsie" (1917 – June 23, 1987), was an

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...

who served in the New York

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 ...

running a highly lucrative illegal

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

gambling operation.

Biography

Little is known of Tomasulo's personal background; he was born in

Greenpoint, Brooklyn Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway and East ...

, was married, and had a son named Anthony. Tomasulo was a lifelong

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

sufferer. He owned the Capri Car Service auto body in

. Tomasulo earned the nickname "Bootsie" because he always wore boots. He was also a habituate of The Motion Lounge, a mob hangout in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

. At some point, Tomasulo began working for the Bonanno family. He worked in the Bonanno gambling operation that was run first by Dominick Napolitano and then later by

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 ...

. Tomasulo eventually became 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 ...

", or full member, of the Bonanno family.

Joker Poker

Over time, Tomasulo built a large illegal gambling empire consisted mainly of "Joker Poker" slot machine games. A "Joker Poker" machine allowed the player to play a five-card

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

game. The better the player's hand, the bigger the machine payout. However, the odds were stacked heavily in the machine's favor. One of his machines generated up to $15,000 in revenue each week. Tomasulo placed Joker Poker machines in pizza parlors and

dive bar A dive bar is typically a small, unglamorous, eclectic, old-style drinking establishment with inexpensive drinks; it may feature dim lighting, shabby or dated decor, neon beer signs, packaged beer sales, cash-only service, and local clientele. ...

s across

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. As Tomasulo's slot machine empire grew, he soon delegated responsibility for collecting the slot machine revenues to his son Anthony, a Bonanno family associate. Anthony would visit each establishment hosting a machine, retrieve the money from the machine, and give the store or bar owner half the money. The rest of the money went to his father.

Donnie Brasco

In the 1970s, Antonio became friends with "

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 ...

", a new family associate. Unknown to Tomasulo and everyone else, Brasco was really

FBI agent The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Joseph D. Pistone, a

Sicilian-American Sicilian Americans (; ) are Italian Americans who are fully or partially of Sicilian descent, whose ancestors were Sicilians who immigrated to United States during the Italian diaspora, or Sicilian-born people in U.S. They are a large ethnic grou ...

tasked with infiltrating the Bonanno family. Six years later, the FBI revealed that Pistone was their agent. Stunned and angry, the family leadership exacted punishment on those responsible for bringing Pistone into the family. One casualty was Napolitano, who was murdered. Although Tomasulo had also been friends with Pistone, the family spared his life. Tomasulo continued to work for capo

, who took over Napolitano's gambling operations. In November 1982, Tomasulo, along with Lefty Ruggiero, Nicholas Santora, and Anthony "Fat Tony" Rabito, would be convicted in a six-week jury trial for racketeering conspiracy, receiving a 15-year prison sentence. On June 23, 1987, Tomasulo suffered a severe asthma attack while sitting on the stoop of his

Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Bensonhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bordered on the northwest by 14th Avenue, on the northeast by 60th Street, on the southeast by Avenue P and 22nd ...

apartment building and died.

Death of Anthony

After Antonio's death, his son Anthony Tomasulo assumed that he would inherit his father's slot machine empire. However,

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 ...

, the new acting boss of the family, ruled that a deceased mobster's rackets automatically revert to the family boss or acting boss. When informed of Vitale's decision by family soldier Michael Cardello, Anthony was livid. He then threatened to murder both Cardello and Vitale to take back the slot machines. Anthony later told another Bonanno capo that he was going to take the matter up with

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family (), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and Ne ...

boss

Vincent Gigante Vincent Louis Gigante ( , ; March 29, 1928 – December 19, 2005), also known as "Chin", was an American mobster who was boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City from 1981 to 2005. Gigante started out as a professional boxer who fo ...

. Vitale consulted

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...

Anthony Spero Anthony "Old Man" Spero (February 18, 1929 – September 29, 2008) was an Italian-American mobster who rose to the position of consigliere and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family. Biography "Spero was a large man with dark hair, a dark com ...

who advised him to kill Tomasulo: "You better do it. Get it behind you. God forbid he kills you. We all lose." In May 1990 Anthony Tomasulo's body was found in the back of his van. Vitale inherited Antonio Tomasulo's gambling empire.

Murderer indicted

The Bonanno crime family acting boss Anthony Urso was indicted on charges of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

loansharking A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate ...

, illegal gambling and conspiracy to murder Antonio's son, Anthony Tomasulo. Urso faced life if convicted, and pleaded guilty. In 2004, Urso was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

References

*Pistone, Joseph D. and Woodley, Richard '' Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia'' (January 3, 1989) *Crittle, Simon, ''The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino'' Berkley (March 7, 2006) * Social Security Death Index {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomasulo, Antonio 1917 births 2003 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Bonanno crime family Deaths from asthma People from Greenpoint, Brooklyn