Michael Zaffarano

Michael Zaffarano (1921 – February 14, 1980), also known as "Mickey", was a capo in the Bonanno crime family who worked in the adult entertainment industry.

Biography

Zaffarano owned adult theatres and handled the national pornographic film distribution for the Bonanno family. He owned several pornographic movie theatres in Times Square in Manhattan and around the country. Zaffarano's office was in Times Square on the upper floor of the Pussycat Theatre. Zaffarano was a heavyset, tall (6'2") and handsome man with a brooding face.

He had dark brown, piercing eyes, a broken nose, and a scar on his forehead. Bonanno boss Natale Evola in 1972 chose Zaffarano to initiate New York organized crime arbitration efforts with Paolo Violi in Montreal, Canada. Zaffarano had a long history of dealing with disputes and internal mob hostilities. Zaffarano survived the turbulent 1960s and after his death in 1980, his son John (aka Johnnie) took over operations of the businesses.

Death

On February 14, 1980, Zaffarano died of a heart attack while evading FBI agents trying to arrest him.

References

• Pistone, Joseph D. and Woodley, Richard, Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia Random House 1990 ISBN 5552531299
• DeMaris, Ovid, The Last Mafioso: Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno

Persondata
Name	Zaffarano, Michael
Alternative names
Short description	American mobster
Date of birth	1921
Place of birth
Date of death	1979
Place of death