Anthony Mirra - Biography - Criminal Career

Criminal Career

Mirra worked for Bonanno capo Michael Zaffarano, and was involved in extortion, gambling and drug trafficking. Mirra was the self-confessed assassin of Anthony Carfano and comedian Allan Drake's wife, Janice Hansen in 1959, and was made sometime in the 1970s. He stood at 6'3" and weighed 230 pounds; The New York Times correspondent, Ralph Blumenthal, described Mirra's appearance as "Zorba-like". Mirra never drank alcohol, only ginger ale.

As a child and into his adolescence, he had never shown any interest in friendship or romantic relationships, and was bullied throughout his childhood by peers, which ended in violent fights and usually with the other person getting stabbed. Mirra displayed regularly that he was a womanizer who enjoyed group sex. Women became attracted to him, even though he treated them poorly. Mirra never married but had many girlfriends who ranged from "bimbos to movie stars". When he wasn't "hustling" them, he abused them physically and berated them with insults.

Mirra remained a recluse from his fellow mobsters including his own relatives Richard Cantarella, Joseph Padavano and eventually even became estranged from his uncle Alfred. The only relative he was close to was his biological mother. Mirra would visit his mother regularly, every Sunday to drive her to mass, Mother's Day and her birthday. On the day of his visits to his mother, he would not commit any crimes the day before, the day of, or the day after. Mirra was the first initial contact FBI agent Joseph Pistone made in his undercover operation, which led to his infiltration of the Bonanno family. Pistone was working as an associate for the Colombo family at the time. He introduced Pistone to "Lefty" Ruggiero and offered him a job handling his slot-machine route. Pistone went under the name "Donnie Brasco" and posed as a jewel thief expert.

Not long after their friendship sparked up in 1977, Mirra fled New York after being indicted for drug trafficking. The FBI caught up with him three months later and he was sent to federal prison again for eight and a half years. When Mirra got out of jail, Brasco had since become close with Ruggiero and was working under him. Mirra argued that Brasco belonged to him, not Ruggiero. Mirra took the issue right to the top and had several sitdowns over the Donnie Brasco situation. In the end, Ruggiero won and Donnie Brasco belonged to him. At one of the sitdowns, Mirra accused Brasco of stealing $250,000 but Pistone was judged innocent.

After the sudden death of his capo Michael Zaffarano, Mirra took over the Bonanno family pornography empire and worked under the powerful Sicilian capo Cesare Bonventre. Mirra also muscled in on several Little Italy, Manhattan restaurants and bars. He was involved in a vending machine operation that dealt in slot machines, peanut vending machines, video arcade machines and pinball machines that were distributed all over New York City. He had them installed in stores, luncheonettes, social clubs and after-hours establishments.

The slot machines, since they were illegal, would be installed in the establishment's back room or basement. The coin collection route produced $2,000 a week, and he would open the machines with a key he carried and give the store owner his cut of the profits ($25 and up). Mirra was involved in "strong arm" schemes and extorted from several bars and restaurants. Each of the owners would pay him $5,000 a week in protection money and he would become angry if he did not receive the money.