Record
Court opinion
1988-03-24
CourtListener (Free Law Project), text of the opinion
United States v. Bonanno Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra, 683 F. Supp. 1411 (E.D.N.Y. 1988)
Ruling of March 24, 1988 on motions to dismiss the government's civil RICO suit against the Bonanno family, its alleged officers and Teamsters Local 814. It summarizes what the amended complaint alleged about each defendant's position.
- Date
- 1988-03-24
- Kind
- court-opinion
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-12
- Docket
- CV-87-2974
- Rights
- Opinion of a United States court. Works of the federal judiciary are in the public domain in the United States. The text was read on CourtListener.
United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. CV-87-2974, decided March 24, 1988. The United States sued under the civil provisions of RICO, naming as defendants the “Bonanno Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra,” men alleged to be its officers and members, and Teamsters Local 814.
The court summarizes the amended complaint. It alleged that “defendant Joseph Bonanno was the founder of the Bonanno Family, remained its boss until October 21, 1964,” and remained a member; that “Rastelli has been at various times and is currently the Boss of the Bonanno Family”; and that “Massino is alleged to be the current Underboss of the Bonanno Family.” These are the government’s allegations in a civil complaint, not findings.
The court granted the motions in part. Among other things, it dismissed the amended complaint in its entirety as to the “family” itself and as to Joseph Bonanno, and gave the government thirty days to file a second amended complaint. The Second Circuit’s later ruling on the damages claim is 879 F.2d 20.