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Anthony 'Tony' Mirra (July 18, 1927 - February 18, 1982) was an American mobster, soldier and later caporegime for the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for being the individual who introduced FBISpecial AgentJoseph 'Donnie Brasco' Pistone into the Bonanno family.

Early life[edit]

Mirra was born to Albert Mirra and Millie Embarrato in Manhattan. He was the nephew of Bonanno family caporegimeAlfred Embarrato, and cousins of street soldier Joseph D'Amico, capo Richard Cantarella, capo Frank Cantarella, and Bonanno family capo Paul Cantarella.

Mirra was born in the poverty-stricken Lower East Side at Knickerbocker Village where he lived in the same apartment building as Embarrato, Richard Cantarella and D'Amico. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics lists his address of residence at 115 Madison Street (Manhattan) in Lower East Side, New York. Mirra was once a good friend of Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggiero; Mirra owned the Bus Stop Luncheonette^[1] in Little Italy, Manhattan not far from Ruggiero's bar. His relatives D'Amico, Embarrato and Cantarella became involved in major racketeering schemes at The New York Post distribution center behind their housing complex, but Mirra moved on to more successful and prosperous racketeering endeavours.

Criminal career[edit]

Mirra worked for Bonanno capo Michael Zaffarano, and was involved in extortion, gambling and drug trafficking.^{[citation needed]} During the 1970s, Mirra confessed to the 1959 assassination of Anthony Carfano and comedian Alan Drake's wife, Janice Hansen Drake. He stood at 6'3' and weighed 230 pounds. The New York Times correspondent Ralph Blumenthal described Mirra's appearance as 'Zorba-like'. Mirra never drank alcohol, only ginger ale.

Mirra remained a recluse from his fellow mobsters including his own relatives, which included Richard Cantarella, and eventually even became estranged from his uncle Alfred. Mirra was the first contact FBI agent Joseph Pistone made in his undercover operation, which led to his infiltration of the Bonanno family.^[2] Pistone was working as an associate for the Colombo family at the time. Mirra introduced Pistone to 'Lefty' Ruggiero and offered him a job handling his slot-machine route. Pistone went under the name 'Donnie Brasco' and posed as a jewel thief.

In 1977,^[1] Mirra fled New York after being indicted for drug trafficking. The FBI caught up with him three months later and he was sent to federal prison again for eight and a half years. When Mirra got out of jail, Brasco had since become close with Ruggiero and was working under him. Mirra argued that Brasco belonged to him, not Ruggiero. Mirra took the issue right to the top and had several meetings over the situation. In the end, Ruggiero won.

After the sudden death of his capo, Michael Zaffarano, Mirra took over the Bonanno family pornography empire and worked under the powerful Sicilian capo Cesare Bonventre. Mirra also muscled in on several Little Italy, Manhattan, restaurants and bars. He was involved in a vending machine operation that dealt in slot machines, peanut vending machines, video arcade machines and pinball machines that were distributed all over New York City. He had them installed in stores, luncheonettes, social clubs and after-hours establishments.

The slot machines, since they were illegal, would be installed in the establishment's back room or basement. The coin collection route produced $2,000 a week, and he would open the machines with a key he carried and give the store owner his cut of the profits (at least $25). Mirra was involved in 'strong arm' schemes and extorted from several bars and restaurants. Each of the owners would pay him $5,000 a week in protection money and he would become angry if he did not receive the money.

Bonanno civil war[edit]

In 1979, following the takeover of Philip Rastelli as leader of the Bonanno family, the family divided into two rival factions. The 'Red' Team led by capos Alphonse 'Sonny Red' Indelicato, Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone, and the 'Black' Team led by Dominick 'Sonny Black' Napolitano and Joseph Massino. The day before Giaccone, Trinchera and Indelicato were to be ambushed and executed, Mirra announced at the Toyland Social Club to Nicholas Marangello that he was joining the opposition.

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On May 5, 1981, the day of the executions, Napolitano called Mirra's uncle, Albert Embarrato, and told him to come down to The Motion Lounge for a 'sit down'. At the sit down, Napolitano had two of his soldiers flank Embarrato on either side until Napolitano received confirmation that the executions were followed through. Napolitano would later tell Pistone, 'When he (Albert) heard that, he turned ash white. He thought we were going to hit him too. But I just reamed at him about Tony, told him Tony was no good; and that he (Albert) better recognize that and act right himself.' Embarrato agreed.

Operation Donnie Brasco and death[edit]

In mid-1981, when Pistone was revealed as an FBI agent, 'Sonny Black' Napolitano, 'Lefty' Ruggiero, and Mirra were all on the firing line for initially allowing the infiltration. Mirra went into hiding. Joseph Massino ordered Mirra's uncle Alfred Embarrato and Mirra's two cousins, Richard Cantarella and Joseph D'Amico, to find and kill him. On February 18, 1982, Joseph D'Amico, lured him to a parking garage in Lower Manhattan. Embarrato and Cantarella were waiting in a getaway car. The pair went to the parking garage, climbed into Mirra's car, and drove up to a locked security gate. D'Amico later described in a testimony, 'He took out his key, put it in the box, but he didn’t get a chance to turn the box... I shot him at close range several times on the side of his head.'^[3][4]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abPistone, Joseph D (1988). Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia. Assisted by Richard Woodley. New York, N.Y.: Signet. ISBN0451192575. OCLC36631381.
2. ^'Joe Pistone's Unfinished Mob Business'. Orchard Press Mysteries. 2007-12-30. ISBN9780786741199.
3. ^'TIGHT-HIT FAMILY – CLOSE CUZ CHOSEN TO KILL 'BRASCO' WISEGUY'. nypost.com. June 17, 2004.
4. ^'FAMILY TIES MADE IT EASY TO WHACK CUZ: MOB THUG'. nypost.com. June 17, 2004.

External links[edit]

• Carpenter, Teresa, Mob Girl: The biography of Arlyne Weiss
• Crittle, Simon, The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino Berkley (March 7, 2006) ISBN0-425-20939-3
• Dearborn, Mary V., Mailer: A Biography Mariner Books (December 10, 2001) ISBN0-618-15460-4
• May, Allan, Colletti & Drake: Women In the Wrong Place At the Wrong Time
• Pistone, Joseph D. and Woodley, Richard, Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia Random House 1990 ISBN5-552-53129-9
• Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Press. ISBN0-7624-2707-8.
• DeStefano, Anthony. The Last Godfather: Joey Massino & the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family. California: Citadel, 2006.
• Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN0-312-30094-8

With flashing lights, infectious sound effects and riveting game play, slot machines have been the bedrock of the gambling industry for many years. The story of their evolution into what we see today in online and land based casinos is as fascinating as it is lengthy. Until very recently in the UK, you’d find them adorning the walls of every pub, bookie and cafe and they were a widely accepted part of the culture. You’d even be able to pass away the time spinning the reels whilst waiting for your train, cab or plane. If you ever got a ferry to France you’d very rarely get from one side of the channel to the other without sticking a few quid in and taking your chances. Yes, fruit machines or ‘fruities’ as they are just as commonly known in the UK, are ingrained in the world’s popular culture.

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But where did they come from?

Well, that depends who you talk to. The most common answer you’ll receive is that the Liberty Bell, created by Charles Augustus Fey in 1895, was the first slot games, but you don’t have to dig too far to find out that a poker machine, created in 1891 by a New York based company called Sittman and Pitt was most probably the first. The Liberty Bell is clearly closer to what we know as a slot machine today, however, with three reels and five symbols – hearts, diamonds, horse shoes, spades, and, as you’d expect from the name, bells, which were the highest paying symbol.

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In 1902, soon after these incredibly popular machines had started too boom, they were suddenly banned and the machines were prevented from being allowed to award cash prizes. They needed to take a different direction and this came in the form of dishing out sweets and candy as prizes. Machines continuing to be created and improved despite the ban on real money awards, but it wasn’t until much much later until we saw the famous ‘one armed bandit’ side-arm mechanism ditched in favour of a more user friendly experience.

The late sixties saw a significant step forward for the machines as the first electro-mechanical slot was developed and then 10 years or so later things really started hotting up as the first real video slot, using an integrated Sony TV set, was released to the public. Created by Las Vegas based company Fortune Coin in 1976, it wasn’t long until it was fully tested and a certified hit on the Vegas strip and throughout the region’s casinos.

Fast forward another twenty years and machines in England had taken a different direction with mot fruities offering a separated feature game (often known as ‘the board’) that was activated from within the base game. This would generally offer cash or feature wins and help to highlight the theme of the machine, whether it be Pink Panther, or The Italian Job.

This theme then carried through into the more traditional three and five reel slots too when, in 1996, WMS Industries released a slot called ‘Reel Em’ which allowed players a second screen experience, or as we regularly call them these days, a bonus game. The base game still played an important part and could yield big wins in itself, but activating the bonus game became the main goal for players. And that’s still true today, with virtually every online slot offering the chance to trigger either a free spins or bonus round. The biggest difference today is the vast choice of games we have available, with the differing game types and content giving us the variety we crave. From TV shows and superheroes, films stars and sports stars, there is no curtailing the wide ranging content that just keeps on coming out through the latest slot machines.

Helpful staking gizmos and various auto spinning devices have come and gone, but as well as the continued improvement in graphics and content that we all expect and demand, what will the next really big technological advance be in the world of the ‘one armed bandit’?

We wait in eager anticipation for the industry to play its next hand…