Tucson: A Godfather Goes to Jail

Retired Mobster Joe Bonanno had no qualms about discussing his life as “a man of honor” in his 1983 autobiography of that name. But when U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani wanted Bonanno to talk about eleven alleged mobsters who rule New York City’s crime families, the self-confessed capo clammed up. Bonanno, 80, who now lives in Tucson, suffers from high blood pressure and a narrowing of the coronary arteries. He claimed that the stress of testifying against his old associates could kill him.

A skeptical Federal District Judge Richard Owen traveled from New York to Tucson last week to weigh Bonanno’s claim in an improvised courtroom next to St. Mary’s Hospital and Health Center. The old mobster stated that his doctor “recommended me not to testify.” He complained of chest pains and refused to answer questions. Government medical experts said that Bonanno was healthier than he claimed. The judge agreed, calling Bonanno’s performance “an arrogant flouting of the duty to give testimony.” Owen found Bonanno in contempt of court and ordered him to prison until he changed his mind, or until the end of the organized-crime trial scheduled to begin in New York next March.