| Carmine "Mr. Lillo" Galante |
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| Carmine Galante, known as “Mr. Lillo,” was born in 1910 on the mean streets of East Harlem, New York. He served as a bodyguard and driver for Joe Bonanno, the head of the Bonanno crime family, one of New York City’s Cosa Nostra organizations. Galante was said to be about only 5’4”, but had a reputation of being vicious and unpredictable. It’s estimated that he may have played a role in at least 80 gangland murders. Among them is the January 1943 slaying of Carlo Tresca, an anti-fascist journalist who made the fatal mistake of criticizing Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. The murder was allegedly ordered by mob boss Vito Genovese, who had taken refuge in Italy and become close with the tyrant. |
| In 1953, Carmine Galante, who had rose to the rank of underboss, or second-in-command, in the Bonanno family, arrived in Montreal. At the time, the police and politicians in the city were easily corrupted and Galante planned to take full advantage of the situation to seize control of the rackets for the much larger New York mob. With local gang bosses Vic “The Egg” Cotroni and Luigi Greco as his top aides, Galante gained an iron grip on Montreal’s underworld. Enforcers extorted protection money from nightclubs, brothels, gambling dens, bookies, and thieves. Everybody had to pay. Among the horde of tough hoods Galante had working for him was a young Johnny “Pops” Papalia, who would later make headlines as a leading organized crime figure in Ontario. Galante also ran several legitimate businesses in Montreal. Along with Luigi Greco, he operated The Bonfire, an elegant restaurant on Decarie Boulevard. The establishment would serve as the gangland chieftain’s base of operations. Galante also had interests in a finance company, the Alpha Investment Corporation, along with several Montreal mobsters, including Greco, Vic Cotroni, and Harry Ship. Galante laid the foundation for the infamous heroin pipeline that would become known as the French Connection. In 1954, he and Montreal mobster Petrula allegedly travelled to Italy, where they supposedly discussed the affair with Charlie “Lucky” Luciano. Opium was converted into heroin in Marseilles and then shipped to Montreal. By 1956, an estimated 60 percent of North America’s heroin entered through the city. In 1955, Galante was sent back to the United States after a probe into his immigration status. He had already reached his goal however. He had succeeded in establishing a faction of the Bonanno family in Montreal. Vic Cotroni became the capo, or captain, of the large crew. A few years later, Galante and numerous others were arrested and charged with trafficking 600 kilograms of heroin since May 1957. He was convicted and sentenced to 20 years and fined $20,000. Galante was paroled in 1974 and became boss of the Bonanno family. He was disliked and feared by many, and on July 12, 1979, was gunned down as he dined at a small Brooklyn restaurant. The Catholic Church reportedly refused to perform a funeral mass for the ruthless mob boss. |