Recently devastated by federal prosecutions and turncoats the beleaguered Bonanno crime family in New York is down but not out.

The Bonanno crime family is quietly rebuilding its ranks and power and has now anointed Michael “The Nose” Mancuso as its new boss according to sources. He is the first to hold that leadership title for the Bonanno family since former boss Joseph Masino turned rat after his 2005 conviction. Mancuso is currently in prison and still have five years left to serve for a previous murder conviction but was still appointed boss by the crime family. A law enforcement source said, “Mancuso’s the boss and he is now running the family from jail”. This is not unheard of in the world of organized crime as New York’s Colombo crime family has been run for years by jailed boss Carmine “The Snake” Persico even though he is serving a life sentence.

“Michael Mancuso (far right)”

There has also been a new underboss appointed in Thomas Difiore of Long Island and is currently running things on the streets for the Bonanno family sources confirm. Along with the new leadership moves there have been at least 10 mobsters who have gotten their button and become made men in the Bonanno family within the last 18 months as the family begins to replenish its ranks and regain its power base. Many believe that Difiore is merely a figurehead on the streets until the new boss is back on the streets and the power base of the family now squarely lies in the Bronx with Mancuso and his underlings. This effort to bounce back comes at a bad time for the feds as they have just recently reduced the number of squads used to investigate the five New York Mafia families from five down to only two containing merely 25 agents.

One law enforcement source said “if we take the foot off their neck, they’re going to come back” and was disgusted by the changes made by the FBI. Mobsters on the streets in New York are aware that surveillance and efforts have been reduced and “We’ve been decimated” said another law enforcement source. But the FBI’s official statement is that the reductions were “primarily administrative” and were not a significant cut back in the agents assigned to investigating the Mafia families but many of its own agents don’t agree.