The Bonanno crime family’s downward spiral continued yesterday when a capo and six reputed wiseguys copped pleas to a slew of charges, including shakedown schemes at a Long Island disco and a Staten Island restaurant.
The highest-ranking mobster to cut his losses, Anthony “Anthony Black” Furino, 49, faces up to 21/4 years behind bars after pleading guilty to extortion.
Hulking wiseguy Joseph “Joe Shakes” DiStefano, who weighs well over 300 pounds, admitted to shaking down a Long Island disco. He entered his plea in exchange for a likely sentence of between 24 to 30 months in prison.
The Bistro Restaurant on Staten Island was also targeted by the Bonannos, with soldiers Joseph Torre, 51, and Joseph Sabella, 49, pleading guilty to orchestrating an extortion scheme there.
“I helped another person who was extorting a restaurant on Staten Island,” Torre told Brooklyn federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis.
The pleas came after Bonanno boss Joseph Massino was convicted of seven murders based on the testimony of eight turncoats, including his brother-in-law and longtime underboss Salvatore Vitale.
FBI agents believe they unearthed the bodies of two Bonanno capos, whacked on Massino’s orders more than 20 years ago, during a dig at a reputed mob graveyard in Ozone Park last week.
All of the gangsters who pleaded guilty yesterday face less than three years behind bars for charges ranging from extortion, loansharking and illegal gambling under deals hammered out with Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Andres.
They were rounded up in January along with former acting boss Anthony “Tony Green” Urso, who is still facing racketeering charges.
Torre and fellow wiseguy Gino Galestro, 36, both worked at The Post prior to their arrests, but were barred from continuing to work at the paper as part of their bail conditions.
They now work at the Daily News, authorities said.