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In 1964, Joe Bonanno hatched a secret plan that would have made him the supreme ruler of organized crime—by eliminating every other Mafia boss in America. This explosive documentary reveals how "Joe Bananas" conspired to assassinate the entire Commission in one coordinated strike, why his plot failed, and how it forever changed the Mafia's code of honor.
From his rise as the youngest crime boss in history to his dramatic kidnapping and the bloody "Banana War," this is the untold story of ambition that nearly destroyed La Cosa Nostra from within. Based on FBI files, witness testimony, and Bonanno's own controversial autobiography, we expose the conspiracy that shattered the myth of Mafia loyalty.
Was Joe Bonanno a visionary trying to restore traditional values, or a power-hungry boss who betrayed everything the Mafia stood for? How did one man's ambition expose the fatal flaws in organized crime's most sacred institutions?
Share your theory: Could Bonanno's plot have succeeded with better planning, or was it doomed from the start?
🔔 Subscribe for more explosive revelations about organized crime's secret history
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0:00
Brooklyn, 1964.
0:02
In a dimly lit restaurant basement, five
0:05
of the most powerful crime bosses in
0:07
America lean over a handdrawn map of New
0:10
York City. Red X marks cover the homes
0:13
and hangouts of their targets. But this
0:16
isn't just another mob hit being
0:18
planned. This is the night Joe Banano
0:21
decided to eliminate the entire mafia
0:24
commission and crown himself the Caesar
0:27
of organized crime. The man they called
0:30
Joe Bananas was about to gamble
0:32
everything on one impossible plan. So
0:34
get ready to dive into the most
0:36
audacious power grab in mafia history. A
0:39
conspiracy so dangerous that when it
0:41
failed, it would transform organized
0:43
crime forever. The truth is we don't
0:46
know much about what drove Joe Banano to
0:48
attempt the unthinkable. You hear
0:50
different stories from different
0:52
sources. Some say it was pure ambition.
0:55
Others claim it was survival. Joe was
0:59
always different from the other bosses,
1:01
recalled Bill Bernano, his son, years
1:03
later. He read Machaveli like other men
1:06
read the racing form. He saw himself as
1:10
royalty, not just another street thug in
1:12
a suit. Joseph Bonano was born Josephe
1:16
Bonano on January 18th, 1905 in Castella
1:21
Marare del Gulfo, Sicily. This wasn't
1:24
just any Sicilian town. It was the
1:27
birthplace of a criminal tradition that
1:30
would shape American organized crime.
1:32
The Castellamares were known for their
1:35
clanishness, their codes, and their
1:38
belief that they were superior to other
1:40
Sicilians.
1:42
Young Jeppe absorbed these lessons along
1:45
with his mother's milk. His father,
1:47
Salvatorei Bonano, was a man of respect
1:50
in the old country, which meant he
1:52
settled disputes, arranged protection,
1:55
and occasionally ordered men to
1:57
disappear. When Salvatoreé died under
2:00
mysterious circumstances in 1915,
2:03
10-year-old Jeppe learned his first
2:06
lesson about the life. Even power
2:09
couldn't protect you from a bullet. But
2:12
instead of fear, the boy felt
2:14
fascination. The Banano family fled to
2:17
America in 1924,
2:20
joining the wave of Sicilian immigrants
2:23
who would transform American crime. They
2:26
settled in Brooklyn's Williamsburg
2:27
neighborhood, where the Castellamares
2:30
had already established a foothold.
2:33
Young Joe, as he now called himself, was
2:36
19 years old, fluent in three languages,
2:39
and burning with ambition that his new
2:42
country couldn't contain. But there was
2:44
a problem. The established bosses saw
2:47
him as just another young punk off the
2:50
boat. Joe Maseria, the most powerful
2:53
Italian-American crime boss of the era,
2:56
controlled most of New York's rackets
2:58
with an iron fist. Salvatoreé Maranzano.
3:02
Another Castella, who'd arrived earlier,
3:05
was building his own empire. Between
3:08
them, they left little room for an
3:11
ambitious young man with royal
3:13
pretensions. The catalyst that would
3:15
launch Joe Banano's criminal career came
3:18
in 1925 when he met Salvatore Maranzano
3:22
at a Castella Marie social club. Marano
3:26
saw something in the young man.
3:28
Intelligence, ambition, and most
3:31
importantly, loyalty to the old ways.
3:34
You have the mind of a Caesar, Marenzano
3:38
told him, not knowing he was nurturing
3:40
his own future Brutus. Therefore, when
3:43
the Castellamares war erupted in 1930,
3:47
Joe Bernano found himself as one of
3:50
Maranzano's top lieutenants. The war
3:52
between Maseria and Maranzano turned New
3:56
York streets into killing fields. Bodies
3:59
dropped daily as the two titans fought
4:02
for supremacy. But Joe Bernano was
4:05
playing a longer game. While others
4:07
focused on the daily battles, he studied
4:10
the war's larger patterns. He built
4:13
alliances with younger mobsters who were
4:15
tired of the old mustache pets and their
4:18
ancient feuds. Nevertheless, he
4:21
maintained perfect loyalty to Marano
4:23
until the moment came to strike. On
4:25
April 15th, 1931, Joe Maseria was
4:28
murdered in a Coney Island restaurant,
4:30
betrayed by his own lieutenant, Lucky
4:32
Luchiano. Maranzano had won, declaring
4:35
himself Capo Dutyapy, boss of all
4:37
bosses. But his reign would last only 5
4:40
months on September 10th, 1931.
4:44
Maranzano was killed in his Manhattan
4:46
office by men pretending to be tax
4:49
agents. The plot had been orchestrated
4:52
by Lucky Luciano, Myalansky, and their
4:56
young allies, including Joe Banano. Yet,
5:00
Banano's role in Marenzano's death
5:02
remained hidden for decades. To the
5:05
outside world, he appeared to be the
5:08
grieving protetéé, vowing to honor his
5:11
mentor's memory. In reality, he had
5:14
helped plan the assassination,
5:16
understanding that Maranzano's imperial
5:18
ambitions would eventually turn against
5:21
anyone strong enough to threaten him. At
5:24
age 26, Joe Bonano became the youngest
5:29
boss in mafia history, taking control of
5:32
Maranzano's crime family. The new order
5:35
that emerged from the Castellamarie's
5:37
war was revolutionary.
5:39
Lucky Luciano established the
5:41
commission, a governing body of the five
5:44
New York families, plus representatives
5:46
from Chicago and Buffalo. No more boss
5:50
of bosses, no more wars over ultimate
5:53
power. Decisions would be made
5:55
collectively, disputes settled
5:58
peacefully. But Joe Banano never truly
6:01
accepted this arrangement. In his mind,
6:04
he was royalty forced to sit at a table
6:06
with peasants for two decades. Banano
6:09
played along with the commission system
6:12
while quietly building his power. His
6:14
family grew to over 300 made members
6:17
with interests stretching from Brooklyn
6:19
to Montreal to Arizona. He invested in
6:23
legitimate businesses, cheese factories,
6:26
funeral homes,
6:28
that served as fronts for his criminal
6:31
empire. By 1960, the Banano family was
6:35
generating an estimated $50 million
6:38
annually, over $500 million in today's
6:41
money. However, success bred resentment.
6:46
The other commission members,
6:48
particularly Veto Genevves, and Carlo
6:50
Gambino, watched Banano's expansion with
6:53
growing concern. He was too independent,
6:57
too secretive, too ambitious. When
7:00
Banano started making moves in Canada
7:03
without commission approval, tensions
7:06
reached a breaking point. Still, nobody
7:09
expected what Joe Banano was secretly
7:12
planning. The conspiracy that would
7:14
become known as the Banano plot began
7:17
taking shape in 1963.
7:21
According to later testimony from
7:22
turncoat Joe Valache, Banano had grown
7:25
frustrated with the commission's
7:27
restrictions.
7:29
He believed the other bosses were weak,
7:32
corrupted by American comfort,
7:34
forgetting the iron traditions of
7:36
Sicily. Therefore, he decided on a
7:39
solution that Maranzano himself might
7:41
have admired. Eliminate them all in one
7:45
coordinated strike. The plan was
7:47
audacious in its simplicity. On a single
7:50
night, hit teams would simultaneously
7:53
assassinate Carlo Gambino, Tommy Lucesi,
7:57
Veto Genovves, and Buffalo boss Stefano
8:01
Magadino. With the commission leadership
8:03
dead, Banano would step into the power
8:06
vacuum, claiming he was restoring order.
8:10
He had the soldiers, the weapons, and
8:13
the element of surprise. But he made one
8:16
fatal error. He trusted the wrong man.
8:19
Joseph Columbbo, a captain in the
8:22
Profacei family, was brought into the
8:24
conspiracy as a key ally. Banano needed
8:29
inside information on the other family's
8:31
security arrangements, and Columbbo
8:34
seemed eager to help. What Banano didn't
8:37
know was that Columbbo was playing every
8:40
side, gathering information while
8:43
secretly reporting to Carlo Gambino. The
8:46
hunter had become the hunter. Yet Banano
8:49
remained oblivious. The first sign of
8:52
trouble came in October 1964.
8:56
Banano was scheduled to appear before a
8:58
grand jury investigating organized
9:01
crime, but he had no intention of
9:03
testifying. On the night of October
9:06
21st, as he left his lawyer's apartment
9:09
on Park Avenue, two men approached him
9:12
on the sidewalk.
9:14
Mr. Banano, come with us. The boss wants
9:18
to see you. Before he could react, he
9:21
was bundled into a car and disappeared
9:23
into the night. For 19 months, Joe
9:26
Banano vanished. The other families
9:28
claimed they knew nothing about his
9:29
whereabouts. The FBI launched a massive
9:32
manhunt. Theories ranged from murder to
9:35
voluntary exile. But the truth was more
9:37
complex. Banano was being held by his
9:40
cousin, Buffalo boss Stfano Magadino,
9:42
who had learned about the assassination
9:44
plot. It wasn't quite a kidnapping, more
9:47
like a forced negotiation conducted at
9:50
gunpoint. Nevertheless, even in
9:53
captivity, Banano tried to salvage his
9:56
plan. He sent messages to loyal captains
10:00
attempting to organize a rescue and
10:02
counterattack, but the commission had
10:05
already moved against him. They declared
10:08
the Banano family leadership vacant and
10:11
appointed a three-man panel to run it.
10:15
Banano soldiers were given a choice.
10:17
Accept the new leadership or die. Most
10:21
chose survival. When Joe Banano finally
10:25
reappeared in May 1966,
10:28
claiming he'd been kidnapped by rivals,
10:31
his empire was in ruins. The commission
10:34
had effectively neutered his power. His
10:36
own family was split between loyalists
10:38
and rebels, and his grand plan was
10:41
exposed to the world. But Banano wasn't
10:45
finished. If he couldn't rule the entire
10:47
mafia, he would at least reclaim his own
10:50
family, even if it meant war. The Banana
10:54
War that erupted in 1966 was unlike any
10:57
previous mafia conflict. It wasn't about
11:00
territory or money. It was about the
11:03
very nature of organized crime
11:05
leadership. Banano and his loyalists
11:08
fought against the commissionbacked
11:09
faction led by Gaspar Deg Gregorio.
11:12
Bodies piled up in Brooklyn and Queens
11:15
as the two sides battled for control.
11:18
However, this was a war Banano couldn't
11:21
win. The commission had learned from
11:23
Banano's plot. They coordinated their
11:26
response, cutting off his access to
11:28
family rackets, turning his allies
11:31
against him and making it clear that
11:33
anyone who supported him would face the
11:36
combined wroth of all five families. By
11:40
1968,
11:41
even Joe Banano had to admit defeat. He
11:45
agreed to retire to Arizona, leaving New
11:48
York forever. Yet retirement didn't mean
11:51
silence. In 1983, Banano did the
11:55
unthinkable for a mafia boss. He
11:58
published an autobiography, A Man of
12:01
Honor. The book revealed secrets about
12:04
the commission, confirmed long suspected
12:07
murders, and painted Banano as a man of
12:11
principle in a world of thugs. The other
12:14
families were furious, but there was
12:16
nothing they could do to an old man in
12:19
Tucson writing his memoirs. The
12:22
revelation of the Banano plot had
12:24
profound consequences for organized
12:27
crime. It proved that even the
12:30
commission system designed to prevent
12:32
exactly such power grabs was vulnerable
12:35
to betrayal from within. Therefore, the
12:38
families instituted new security
12:40
measures, deeper background checks, and
12:43
most importantly, a new skepticism about
12:47
ambition. Never again would a boss be
12:51
allowed to grow as powerful as Joe
12:53
Banano had been. But perhaps the plot's
12:56
greatest impact was psychological.
12:59
It shattered the myth of mafia unity,
13:02
revealing that beneath the oaths of
13:04
loyalty and blood, these were men driven
13:07
by the same greed and ambition as any
13:10
corporate executives, they just settled
13:12
hostile takeovers with bullets instead
13:15
of buyouts. The romanticized image of
13:18
honor among thieves died with the
13:21
exposure of Banano's conspiracy.
13:24
Joseph Banano lived until 2002,
13:28
dying peacefully in his bed at age 97. A
13:32
remarkable achievement for a man who'd
13:35
made so many enemies. To the end, he
13:38
insisted his plot had been defensive,
13:41
not offensive.
13:43
They were going to kill me, he told
13:45
interviewers. I simply tried to strike
13:47
first, but FBI wiretaps and witness
13:51
testimony painted a different picture. A
13:54
man whose ambition nearly destroyed the
13:57
very thing he claimed to protect. The
13:59
story of Joe Banano's secret plan raises
14:02
uncomfortable questions about power and
14:05
ambition. Was he a visionary trying to
14:08
restore the mafia's traditional values,
14:10
or just another greedy boss who wanted
14:13
it all? Did the commission systems
14:15
restrictions drive him to desperate
14:18
measures, or was he always planning to
14:21
seize absolute power? The answer depends
14:24
on whether you believe his autobiography
14:27
or his enemy's accounts. Still, one fact
14:30
remains undisputed. Joe Banano's failed
14:34
plot marked the beginning of the mafia's
14:36
slow decline. The families never fully
14:39
trusted each other again. The FBI, which
14:43
had long denied the mafia's existence,
14:46
now had proof of a national criminal
14:48
conspiracy.
14:50
Young members began cooperating with law
14:52
enforcement, seeing that if bosses could
14:55
plot against each other, loyalty was a
14:57
one-way street. Today, the American
15:00
Mafia is a shadow of what it was in
15:02
Banano's era. The commissioner still
15:04
technically exists, but it rarely meets.
15:07
The families that once controlled entire
15:09
cities now struggle to control
15:10
neighborhoods. The code of Amea, the Joe
15:13
Banano held sacred, has been shattered
15:15
by dozens of turncoats. Nevertheless,
15:17
his legacy endures in one crucial way.
15:21
He proved that in organized crime, as in
15:24
all organizations, the greatest threat
15:27
often comes from within. The man who
15:30
styled himself as mafia royalty died as
15:33
an exile, his empire destroyed by his
15:36
own ambition. He had tried to play
15:39
Julius Caesar in a world that had no
15:41
room for emperors. In the end, Joe
15:44
Banano learned what every boss before
15:47
and after him discovered. In the mafia,
15:51
you can be powerful or you can be safe.
15:53
But you can never be both. So, what do
15:56
you think? Was Joe Banano a visionary
15:59
who saw the mafia's future or a
16:01
delusional oldworld boss who couldn't
16:04
accept the new reality? Drop your theory
16:07
in the comments. I read every single
16:09
one. Subscribe for the next
16:12
investigation into the secret wars that
16:14
shaped organized crime in America.
16:17
[Music]