The Informant Files: Joe Massino, the First Boss to Wear a Wire
Mobsters DailyJoseph Massino was the boss who rebuilt the Bonanno family after the Donnie Brasco disaster — so security-obsessed that his men were forbidden to say his name aloud. Convicted in 2004, he became the first boss of a New York crime family to officially cooperate, and he went further than anyone: wearing a wire in prison to record his successor, Vincent Basciano, for the FBI.
The Last of the Dons
Massino's paranoia was earned — Brasco had gutted his family, the wound traced in Scarpa's story and the informant era Valachi started. Under Massino the Bonannos became the quietest family in New York — until his own captains' testimony buried him on racketeering and murder charges.
The wire on the boss
Facing a possible death sentence, Massino flipped and, in 2005, secretly recorded Basciano discussing a plan to kill a judge. It remains the most astonishing tape in mob history: a boss, informing, on his own successor.
Massino's men couldn't even say his name. Ours is on the label — the Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater, worn loud all season.
Frequently asked questions
Was Massino really the first boss to flip? He is widely described as the first boss of a New York family to become a cooperating witness.
What did Massino's wire capture? His successor Vincent Basciano discussing killing a federal judge — recorded in prison in 2005.
When did Joe Massino die? In 2023, having lived his last years out of prison under a cooperation deal.
Keep reading: Lucky Luciano: The Man Who Invented the Modern Mafia · The 1957 Apalachin Meeting
From the shop: Shadows of the Underworld — the real mob history behind the stories, in one book.
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