John Tartamella (March 11, 1891 – July 13, 1966) was

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 ...

for over 30 years to

Joseph Bonanno Joseph Charles Bonanno (born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno; ; January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002), sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family of New York City, which he ran from 1931 to 1968. ...

and his family. He was considered a very wise and shrewd elder-statesman who was respected throughout La Cosa Nostra.David Critchle
The Origin of Organized Crime in America
The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931 page 77 Born in

Castellammare del Golfo Castellammare del Golfo (; ; or ) is a town and municipality in the Trapani Province of Sicily. The name can be translated as "Sea Fortress on the Gulf", stemming from the medieval fortress in the harbor. The nearby body of water conversely tak ...

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. ...

, he "devoted much of his time to the cause of the barbers". His son was Sereno Tartamella, a Bonanno soldier and top aide to rebel faction bosses Gaspare DiGregorio and

Paul Sciacca Paul Sciacca (June 15, 1909 – August 27, 1986) was a New York City mobster who succeeded Joseph Bonanno as boss of the Bonanno crime family in 1968. He was succeeded by Natale Evola in 1971. Bonanno family war In 1964, a rivalry in the Bon ...

acting as a courier between them and

Stefano Magaddino Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino (; October 10, 1891 – July 19, 1974) was an Italian-born crime boss of the Buffalo crime family in western New York. His underworld influence stretched from Ohio to Southern Ontario and as far east as Montrea ...

, boss of the

Buffalo crime family The Buffalo crime family, also known as the Magaddino crime family, the Todaro crime family, the New York State crime family, the Buffalo Mafia, the Upstate New York Mafia, and the Arm, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, M ...

during the bloody "Bonanno War" during the mid/late 1960s. Sereno became a union official for the Beauty Culturist Union. He also was well known for his "joke telling", able to make even the most vicious mob boss smile. Tartamella worked as a union organizer in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

where he led his "local" into the CIO after a break with the

AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

. He was expelled by the Italian-American Labor Council "because of his radical views". On July 13, 1966, Tartamella died of natural causes at his home in

Copiague, New York Copiague ( ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet on Long Island (and census-designated place) in the Town of Babylon, New York, Town of Babylon, in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was ...

References

1892 births 1966 deaths Bonanno crime family American gangsters of Italian descent People of Sicilian descent People from Castellammare del Golfo People from Copiague, New York Consiglieri Italian emigrants to the United States {{Crime-org-stub