Major Newspapers Used to Report on Mafia Happenings as if They Were High Society

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Among, those recently initiated, he said, were John Russo, the driver and bodyguard for Frank Tieri, who is the reputed boss of the Vito Genovese family, Benaro Mangano, known as Benny Eggs, a successful bookmaker and loan shark, and Salvatore Franzese, who reportedly heads the lucrative gambling operations of his uncle, Sonny Franzese, a captain in the Joseph Colombo family who is now serving a 50-year prison term.

The decision to reopen the books indicates a decline in the influence of Carlo Gambino, boss of the biggest Mafia family in the city, who opposed the move.

It also signifies the emergence of Carmine Galente, the new boss of the Mafia family of Joseph Bonanno, as a major power. Mr. Galente, who finished a 15-year term for narcotics last year, led the fight to persuade the commission to open the books.

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Mr. Gambino, however, found himself in the minority at the recent meeting of the nine-member national commission, the officials said. His strongest supporter in the past, Stefano Magaddino of Buffalo, has died and his other staunch ally, Joseph Zerilli, the boss in Detroit, could not attend because of illness.

The other bosses, who felt that opening, the books now was essential to the survival of the Mafia, carried the day. But in deference to Mr. Gambino they agreed to limit new members to 10 per family and to select only those who had proved themselves over many years.

If the 50 new members work out well, many more will be initiated in time, officials believe. The list of those waiting is thought to be a long one.

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