John Tartamella

John Tartamella (1892– July 12, 1966) was consigliere for over 30 years to Joseph Bonanno and his family. He was considered a very wise and shrewd elder-statesman who was respected throughout La Cosa Nostra.[1] Born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, he "devoted much of his time to the cause of the barbers". His son was Sereno (Bobby T) Tartamella - a Bonanno soldier and top aide to rebel faction bosses Gaspare DiGregorio and Paul Sciacca acting as a courier between them and Stefano Magaddino, boss of the Buffalo crime family 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.[1]

Tartamella worked as a union organizer in Brooklyn where he led his "local" into the CIO after a break with the AFL.[1] He was expelled by the Italian-American Labor Council "because of his radical views".[1]

On July 12, 1966, Tartamella died of natural causes at his home in Copiague, New York.[2]

References
  1. David Critchley The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931 page 77
  2. "JOHN TARTAMELLA OF BARBERS' UNION". New York Times. July 13, 1966. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
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