- Peter Magaddino
Peter Magaddino (
February 25 ,1917 - August 1976) was a mobster in the Magaddino crime family ofBuffalo, New York . The son of crime boss Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino, Magaddino was acaporegime in the family and possibly anunderboss .Early years
The Magaddino family immigrated to the U.S. from
Castellammare del Golfo ,Sicily and settled in New York City. Peter was born inBrooklyn, New York . In 1921, the family suddenly moved toNiagara Falls, New York . Due to some mob shootings in Brooklyn, Stefano had to leave New York City for his own safety. He decided to relocate to Niagara Falls because a large number of Castellammarese immigrants lived there and it was more peaceful than New York. Early in his criminal career, Peter married the niece of prominentWestern New York businessman andBuffalo crime family consigliere John C. Montana .In 1940 he opened a funeral home with Paul Palmeri. When Palmeri left Niagara Falls in 1942. Peter took over operation. He already had one college degree and now went to mortuary school and became a licensed funeral director. He ran the Magaddino Memorial Chapel, a
funeral home inNiagara Falls, New York .Bananas War
In the mid 1960's, Magaddino became involved in the New York gang war known as the "Bananas War". The conflict got its name from Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, former head of the
Bonanno crime family and cousin to Peter's father, Stefano. On October 21, 1964, Bonanno was walking downPark Avenue inManhattan, New York with his lawyerWilliam P. Maloney . When they stopped in front of an apartment building on 36th Street, Bonanno was kidnapped. Peter and his uncle, Antonio "Nino" Magaddino, were alleged to be among the kidnappers. [http://www.americanmafia.com/Cities/Buffalo.html] . According to Bonanno, he was held captive inUpstate New York by Stefano. Magaddino claimed to represent theMafia Commission when he told Bonanno that he "took up too much space in the air", a Sicilian metaphor for being arrogant. After some more conversations, Bonanno allegedly convinced them that he would retire and Stefano released him.Family Conflict
In 1967, Buffalo underboss Frederico "Freddie the Wolf" Randaccio was arrested and sent to prison. According to former
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agentJoe Griffin , author of the book "Mob Nemesis", Peter was appointed by his father to fill the gap and run the day-to-day activities. However, many believe that capo and future acting boss,Joseph Fino , was named underboss in 1968. It is possible that Peter was named acting underboss until Fino got the permanent job later. In either case, many top family members believed that Peter didn't deserve the job.By the 1960s, many Buffalo family members viewed Stefano as a
paranoid and greedy leader who could no longer be trusted to lead the family. In late 1968, the situation worsened when Stefano told his capos Salvatore "Samuel Johns" Pieri, Fino, and Daniel "Boots" Sansanese that he was cutting their percentage of the family profits and, worse yet, eliminating theirChristmas bonuses! Stefano claimed that money was tight; however, that argument wasn't too convincing as Stefano was grossing between $20,000 to $30,000 weekly on his personalsports book .Breakup
Due to unexpected intervention by the FBI, resentment over Stefano and Peter Magaddino within the family came to a head. In November 1968, Peter and Stefano were arrested and charged with interstate
bookmaking . While searching Peter's home in Niagara Falls, the FBI uncovered nearly $500,000 in cash inside a bedroom wall. When the rest of the Buffalo crime family learned about the hidden money, it provoked an internal rebellion.
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