Early Life
Bill Bonanno was the first child of Joseph and Fay (née Labruzzo) Bonanno. Bill first attended school in Brooklyn. In 1938, after his father purchased property in Hempstead, Long Island, he next attended school there after the family relocated. At age 10, Bill developed a severe mastoid ear infection. To aid in treating this ailment, his parents enrolled him in a Catholic boarding school in the dry climate of Tucson, Arizona.
Bill also attended Tucson High.
Between 1950 and 1952, Bill studied agriculture at the University of Arizona, but never graduated. On August 18, 1956, Bill married Rosalie Profaci, niece of Profaci crime family boss Joseph Profaci. Designed to cement an alliance between the two crime families, the sumptuous wedding had 3,000 guests.DeCavalcante crime family boss Sam DeCavalcante later remarked on Bill's poor treatment of Rosalie: "It's a shame; the girl wanted to commit suicide because of the way he treated her". Bill and Rosalie eventually had four children; Charles, Joseph, Salvatore, and Felippa ("Gigi"); Charles was adopted by Bonanno and his wife in 1958.
Read more about this topic: Salvatore Bonanno
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