Biography
Napolitano's grandparents were immigrants from Naples, Italy. Napolitano was born with blond hair, but by his forties it had turned a gunmetal white-silver color. To hide the color, he dyed it black, earning him the nickname "Sonny Black". He was a close friend of future Bonanno crime family boss Joseph Massino; incarcerated boss Philip Rastelli knew Napolitano before he went to prison. He was close to Carmine Napolitano (May 30, 1943 - February 15, 1999), a cousin and fellow Bonanno mobster. Sons Peter Napolitano (November 17, 1957-June 29, 1994), Aniello Napolitano and Rocco Napolitano were born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Napolitano was a sturdy 5'7" man who weighed about 170 pounds, with powerfully developed chest and arms. On his right forearm was a tattoo of a black panther. He was swarthy, with hair dyed jet black. His face was fleshy, with rings under his brown eyes that made him look (depending on the mood) either tired or menacing. He was not a heavy drinker and only indulged at times with fine French liquor. He had dead straight hair, a square jaw and a Roman nose. Napolitano controlled Greenpoint, Brooklyn and from 1979–80, he operated in Pasco County, Florida and out of Holiday, Florida after negotiating control of the territory with Santo Trafficante, Jr.. At that time, Napolitano set his sights on operating a major bookmaking operation in Orlando.
Napolitano was an avid homing pigeon enthusiast. He kept his pigeons on the rooftop of his apartment building and social club The Motion Lounge. The brilliantly colored pigeons had pedigree bloodlines that descended from prize pigeons in France, Germany and Russia. Napolitano would win as much as $3000 racing his pigeons. Pistone said that Napolitano loved going to his pigeon coop to think: "Sometimes when we were up on the roof with the pigeons, Sonny would lean on the railing and look out over the rooftops of the neighborhood where he had lived all his life. I wondered what he was thinking about."
Napolitano would say to Pistone, "The whole thing is how strong you are and how much power you got and how fucking mean you are—that's what makes you rise in the mob. Every day's a fucking struggle, because you don't know who's looking to knock you off, especially when you become a captain or boss. Every day, somebody's looking to dispose of you and take your position. You always got to be on your toes. Every fucking day is a scam day to keep your power and position." Napolitano would repeat this theme over and over again to Pistone in conversations up on the roof with his pigeons.
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