Thereafter Galante brought many Sicilians from his hometown to work as contract killers, bodyguards, and enforcers. The conflict was the result of a take over bid of a massive drug-trafficking operation, that resulted in intense rivalry between the two New York families. Around this time, crime boss Vito Genovese had fled to Italy to escape murder charges. Rising swiftly through the ranks, Galante soon orchestrated a take-over. June 3, 1959. Throughout the late 1970s, he allegedly organized the deaths of at least eight members of the Gambino family. Around this time, he started working for the Bonanno crime family whose head, Joseph Bananas Bonanno, also hailed from Castellammare del Golfo. Turmoil in the aftermath of his rubout split the family into rival factions, with Sonny Black heading one and Sonny Red heading the other, and soon the rising tensions erupted with the 1981 Three Captains Murders, depicted in the 1997 Al Pacino-Johnny Depp movie Donnie Brasco. Thank you for reading.

