New York mob boss guilty of racketeering, faces life in prison

The mob boss who ran the Bonanno family was found guilty Friday of racketeering and other charges, including the killing of the man who allowed FBI agent "Donnie Brasco" to infiltrate the organization.

Joseph Massino, 61, was convicted of arson, extortion and money-laundering, as well as plotting and committing several murders that formed part of the racketeering charge.

He faces a sentence of life in prison.

Massino, known as "Big Joey," was betrayed by his best friend and seven other mob informants who testified against him. He had been dubbed "The Last Don" for managing to avoid jail while the heads of New York's other four Mafia families were all behind bars.

A turncoat witness testified that Massino was responsible for the murder of Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, who unwittingly introduced FBI agent Joe Pistone, posing as jewel thief Donnie Brasco, to the Bonanno family. The Brasco story was turned into a movie starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino.

The jury reached its verdict on the fifth day of deliberations.

"Massino was convicted for some of the most notorious murders in mob history," U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said after the verdict was announced. "Soon he will be joining the bosses of those other families where they all belong."

Since his release from jail in 1992 for an earlier racketeering conviction, Massino is credited with reviving the almost-extinct Bonanno organization, overseeing operations from his restaurant in Queens.

His two-month trial was the highest profile organized crime prosecution since the 1997 case against Genovese family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante.