Joseph Bonanno was awarded most of Maranzano's operations when Charles "Lucky" Luciano oversaw the creation of the Commission to divide up criminal enterprises in New York City among the Five Families.

Three years later Salvatore moved his family to New York City, and began establishing dominance and control in the Castellammarese community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

This group included future mob bosses Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Vito Genovese, Frank Costello, Tommy Lucchese, Albert Anastasia and Joe Adonis.

[22] In 1963, Bonanno made plans to assassinate several rivals on the Commission—bosses Tommy Lucchese, Carlo Gambino, and Stefano Magaddino, as well as Frank DeSimone.

[15][22] Sciacca only held the position of boss for a few years, giving way to Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola, a Bonanno loyalist, in 1971.

[35] Genovese crime family boss Frank Tieri began contacting Cosa Nostra leaders to build a consensus for Galante's murder, even obtaining approval from the retired Joseph Bonanno.

[42] When Mirra was sent to prison, Pistone was tutored in the ways of the Mafia by Bonanno soldier Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, whose captain was Mike "Mimi" Sabella.

Both men were themselves threatened by another faction seeking to depose the absentee boss led by capos Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, Dominick "Big Trin" Trincera and Philip Giaccone.

[43] The Commission initially tried to maintain neutrality, but in 1981, Massino got word from his informants that the three capos were stocking up on automatic weapons and planning to kill the Rastelli loyalists within the Bonanno family to take complete control.

However, Massino was reluctant to take this step as long as Rastelli was alive, citing long-standing Mafia tradition that a boss retains his title until he retires or dies.

[62] Massino was angered by family namesake Bonanno's tell-all book, A Man of Honor, considering it a gross violation of the code of omertà.

[8] The family managed to avoid being ensnared by the FBI until 2000, when a pair of forensic accountants who normally worked on financial fraud cases discovered that Barry Weinberg, a businessman who had partnered with capo Richard Cantarella in several parking lots, had failed to report millions of dollars worth of income over a decade.

Told he faced a long prison term unless he wore a wire and incriminated his Bonanno partners, Weinberg agreed to cooperate.

The biggest names on the indictment were Cantarella—who was serving as acting underboss while Vitale was awaiting sentencing for loansharking and money laundering—and capo Frank Coppa.

[67] Already serving time for fraud, Coppa agreed to turn informer rather than face the prospect of an additional conviction that would effectively send him to prison for life.

[91] Immediately after his July 30 conviction, as court was adjourned, Massino requested a meeting with Judge Garaufis, where he made his first offer to cooperate.

[99] In June 2005, 12 Bonanno family members and associates, seven over the age of 70, including acting consigliere Anthony Rabito, were indicted and arrested on charges of operating a $10 million a year gambling ring.

[115] Centaro, along with Bonanno/Gambino associate Franco Lupoi were involved in a large cocaine, heroin and weapons trafficking operation that stretched from New York to Italy.

[117] In November 2017, the FBI arrested several individuals in New York City, including members and associates of the Bonanno and Gambino crime families, on charges of narcotics trafficking, loansharking and firearms offenses.

[124] A Brooklyn court official later said, "The recording of a secret induction ceremony is an extraordinary achievement for law enforcement and deals a significant blow to La Cosa Nostra."

[131] On August 15, 2018, Judge Dora Irizarry sentenced Ronald Giallanzo, nephew of Vincent Asaro and former Bonanno acting captain, to 14 years imprisonment.

He agreed to pay $1.25 million in forfeiture and to sell his five-bedroom mansion in Howard Beach, Queens, which was constructed using the criminal proceeds of his loansharking business.

In October 2018, Sylvester Zottola ("Sally Daz"), age 71, an associate of the Bonanno family, was fatally shot at a McDonald's on Webster Avenue in the Bronx; authorities described the killing as a Mafia-style assassination.

[136] In October 2018, federal prosecutors indicted Bushawn Shelton, allegedly a high-ranking member of the Bloods gang, with attempting to hire a hitman to kill Sylvester and Salvatore Zottola.

[142] In 2020, the Italian police together with the FBI discovered a strong link between the Bonannos and the Castellammare del Golfo Mafia family, in particular to Francesco Domingo.

On March 9, 2022, boss Michael Mancuso was arrested and is under investigation for violating the terms of his supervised release by associating with members of organized crime.

[149] On August 16, 2022, two indictments out of the Eastern District of New York charged nine members and associates of the Bonanno and Genovese crime families with racketeering, illegal gambling, money laundering conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and other offenses.

[150] Detective Rosario allegedly accepted bribes by the Bonanno family members in exchange for offering to arrange police raids of competing gambling locations.

[150] He was charged with obstructing a grand jury investigation and lying to the FBI, and subsequently suspended without pay from the Police Department, and shortly thereafter, fired.

[152] On August 26, 2024, former capo turned government informant Frank Coppa died in Sarasota, Florida at the age of 82, while living under an assumed name.