Galante had several axes to grind. He felt that he could be a better boss than Bonanno had been. He also despised the Commission members who had forced Joe Bonanno to step down, and Carlo Gambino became the focus of his anger. According to The Mafia Encyclopedia, Galante bragged to other inmates at Lewisburg Prison in Pennsylvania that when he got out, he would "'make Carlo Gambino shit in the middle of Times Square.'"
In 1974 Galante was released from prison after serving 12 years. Despite all his tough talk, he didn't make a move on the ailing Gambino who had a reputation for thinking three steps ahead and outmaneuvering his opponents. Galante did manage to bully Rusty Rastelli into turning over the leadership of the Bonanno family to him. Galante increased the family's involvement in the drug trade, making Montreal their main pipeline for heroin from France. The French Connection flow gushed, and Galante and his associates made millions.
Federal agents arrested Galante in 1978 on a parole violation-associating with known criminals-which tied him up in court, but his attorney Roy Cohn ultimately secured his freedom. By this time Carlo Gambino had passed away, and Galante saw no major obstacles in his way in his quest for total domination of the American Mafia. Drugs were the key to his power because they produced the largest and fastest profits, and he set about to take control of other families' narcotics operations. Eight Genovese Family members involved in the drug trade were gunned down on Galante's orders, and it was clear that the violence wouldn't stop until all mob drug operations were under his thumb.
The other mob bosses felt that Galante was out of line and had to be stopped. At a secret meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, high-ranking representatives from the four other New York families met with Florida boss Santo Trafficante to decide what they would do about Galante. The answer was obvious-he had to go. Mob bosses from all around the country were consulted, including Rusty Rastelli who was in prison and even Joe Bonanno. They all agreed that for the good of La Cosa Nostra, Galante had to die.
On July 12, 1979, Galante paid a visit to his favorite restaurant, Joe and Mary's in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. One of his cousins owned the restaurant, and it was one of the few places where Galante felt he could relax. Galante and a few of his associates took seats in the open-air courtyard behind the restaurant and enjoyed their meal. After the entr�e, a couple of the men excused themselves to go make phone calls. Galante pulled out a fresh cigar and stuck it in his mouth. But before he could get it lit, three masked men rushed into the courtyard from inside the restaurant, one of them carrying a shotgun. The man quickly squared off and a fired both barrels in Galante's chest. The blasts knocked the boss off his chair. He died at the scene, crumpled on the concrete pavement, his blood streaming into a nearby drain, the cigar still in his mouth.
After the Cigar was snuffed out, Rusty Rastelli returned as boss of the Bonanno Family. According to The Mafia Encyclopedia, the family now concentrated on "home video pornography, pizza parlors (regarded as an excellent business in which to hide illegal aliens), espresso cafes, restaurants, and a very large narcotics operation." But three of Rastelli's capos�Philip "Philly Lucky" Giaccone, Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, and Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera-weren't satisfied with their allotted piece of the narcotics pie and pushed for a bigger share. They openly challenged Rastelli's decisions, and before long the family was once again on the verge of splitting into two warring camps.
Rastelli went to the Commission and asked for permission to take care of the problem the old-fashioned way, sending the three rebel capos to an early grave. The Commission refused his request, but then reconsidered when they learned that the trio was planning to overthrow Rastelli.
The contract to take care of the three rebels was given to capo Joseph Massino who organized a hit team largely comprised of shooters from the family's Montreal branch, reasoning that they could escape to Canada as soon as the deed was done. The shooters included Montreal boss Vito Rizzuto and the Sicilian-born capo Gerlando "George from Canada" Sciascia. Massino lured the three capos to a sit-down at a social club in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, to supposedly iron out their differences. As soon as everyone was comfortable, four shooters wearing ski masks burst out of a closet and shouted that this was a stickup. As reported on Ganglandnews.com, Vito Rizzuto started the shooting by firing at the largest target, 300-pound "Big Trin" Trinchera. "George from Canada" Sciascia shot "Sonny Red" Indelicato in the head. "Lucky Philly" Giaccone ran for his life, but Massino pulled his gun and dropped Giaccone before he made it to the door. The shooters left the building immediately, and a second team led by Bonanno capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano arrived to supervise the cleanup crew.
These murders, however, did not solve the Bonanno Family's problems. The narcotics trade was just too lucrative to stay away from, and many of Bonanno members flocked to it despite Rastelli's orders. The family was out of control, and with their troublesome history, they lost their seat on the Commission.
The family's fortunes sank even lower when it was revealed that FBI Special Agent Joseph Pistone had infiltrated their ranks so deeply, he had actually been proposed for full membership. Working undercover as jewel thief "Donnie Brasco," Pistone was taken under the wing of soldier Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero who was part of capo "Sonny Black" Napolitano's crew. Pistone spent six years inside the Bonanno Family. His undercover work and subsequent courtroom testimonies helped win convictions against over 100 wiseguys from crime families across the country. "Sonny Black" Napolitano paid with his life for letting "Donnie Brasco" into the Bonanno fold. Juries in New York, Tampa, and Milwaukee found "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero guilty on a number of charges, which resulted in a twenty-year sentence.