Joseph Bonanno became a mafia boss when he was only 26 years old and at the age of 78, he wrote a book about his life, despite objections from his accomplices.

Joseph Bonanno was born on January 18, 1905 in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. The Bonanno family left Sicily for the United States when Joseph was young but they stayed in Brooklyn for about 10 years and then returned to Italy.

Upon returning to Sicily, Bonanno began interacting with the mafia. Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolinim at the time with strong organized crime Bonanno decided to cross the US border by hiding in a fishing vessel in 1924.

Bonanno joined Salvatore Maranzano's junior team, the mafia also came from the town of Castellammare del Golfo when he was 19 years old. Unlike his peers, Bonanno read a lot of poetry.

"Among my Sicilian friends in the US, I was always considered to be a very broad learner, because I could recite some verses in the Divine (the anthem of the brilliant Italian poet Dante Alighieri in the Middle Ages) or explain some passages from The Prince (16th century political treatise by Italian diplomat and philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli). Most of the people I know in the United States are not eager to read books, "Bonanno said.

Bonanno is well-respected by Maranzano for being agile and having good organizational skills. Joe Masseria, leader of the underworld in New York, also knows Bonanno. He was increasingly skeptical of the growing number of Castellammare del Golfo people in Brooklyn, saying they wanted to escape their influence.

In 1927, violence erupted between the Maranzano faction and Masseria and quickly developed into a bloody gang war, known as the Castellammare War. In 1931, the Maranzano faction took the upper hand. Masseria's brother Charles Luciano betrayed and assassinated him to end the war.

After Masseria's death, Maranzano outlined a peace plan for all Italian gang leaders in the United States. Under this plan, there will be 24 gangs (called families) throughout the United States, each group will elect their tycoon. In New York, five mafia families were formed, headed by Charles Luciano, Joe Profaci, Tommy Gagliano, Vincent Mangano and Maranzano, of which Maranzano will be the head of the underworld, known as the "tycoon of the boss".

Maranzano's plan did not satisfy many people, especially Luciano. He plotted to assassinate Maranzano on September 10, 1931. Bonanno took over the place of his boss at the age of 26, becoming one of the youngest crime family bosses.

As a substitute for the proposed Maranzano plan, Luciano established a mechanism called the Commission. Each criminal family has autonomy in its own areas but the Commission will arbitrate disputes between gangs. The purpose of this mechanism is to prevent an explosion of bloodshed as before.

The Bonanno criminal family is smaller than the other four gangs in New York but more united. They thrive in loan sharking, betting, prostitution and other illegal activities. In 1938, Bonanno left the US and legally entered Detroit to apply for naturalization. By the time Bonanno became an American citizen, he was a millionaire.

Unlike most mafia bosses, Bonanno does not have a luxurious lifestyle. He likes to meet his juniors at his home in Brooklyn or a rural resort. His luxury hobby is just expensive cigars.

Bonanno was not arrested, charged or convicted throughout his criminal "career". The only legal problem he encountered was a factory he contributed in violation of federal minimum wage regulations. The company was fined $ 50.

In the mid-1950s, the internal committee of the Opaque Commission, Bonanno and Joe Magliocco, the boss of the Profaci family, attempted to assassinate two other mafia leaders but failed. The Commission asked the two men to confront but Bonanno was absent.

Unlucky for Bonanno, US lawyer Robert Morgenthau sent a subpoena asking him to testify in an organized criminal investigation. Faced with two awkward appointments, Bonanno fled in October 1964. The Bonanno family tycoon position was given to junior Gaspar DiGregorio.

Bonanno re-emerged in May 1966, saying he was kidnapped by another mafia family but no one believed it. The Bonanno criminal family is divided into two camps: the party loyal to Bonanno and DiGregorio. Violence broke out, the Commission tried to intervene but could not solve the problem.

Bonanno made an unexpected decision: he declared "washing his sword-guard" in 1968, vowing to withdraw completely from the New York underworld. Normally, it is not easy for a mafia member to "pay back" but the Commission accepts Bonanno's wishes, because he is an "old man" in the mafia world. However, the Commission also warned that if Bonanno breaks his vow, he will be terminated immediately.

At the age of 75, Bonanno was first sentenced in 1980. He was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice when he tried to prevent a investigation of his son's company for money laundering.

In the mid-1970s, Bonanno once interviewed writer Gay Talese, who then took data from the conversation to write a book about crime. Bonanno was furious about the book but in the late 1970s, his opinion changed. A poetry lover, Bonanno became interested in autobiographical writing. His book was published in 1983, including details alluding to the Commission.

The US government took this opportunity to interrogate Bonanno on the Commission, hoping to prove its existence. However, Bonanno kept his oath to the mafia and did not answer any questions during the hearing. He was detained for 14 months in 1985 for not cooperating with the authorities.

The mafia family leaders were furious about Bonanno's book, claiming he had violated the rules of secrecy and disregarded the organization. "He was trying to prove something, he actually admitted he was the boss of a criminal family," one said.

Bonanno, meanwhile, argued he did not violate the mafia's secrecy rules by not becoming a witness or informant for the government. Bonanno died on May 11, 2002 from heart failure at the age of 97.

"In a world where most of his peers are few, Bonanno reads poetry, shows off his knowledge of classics and gives advice to his juniors with quotes from the Greek historian Thucydides or the philosopher. Italy Machiavelli, "wrote Michael Korda, who edited the autobiography for Bonanno.