This article was originally published on www.nydailynews.com by John Marzulli on Jan 20, 2016
It was a “family” Christmas.
The newly minted Bonanno boss Joseph Cammarano Jr., hosted the crime family’s annual Christmas party at an Italian restaurant on Staten Island that was voted one of the best eateries in the city by the Zagat guide.
The six-hour food fest was held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 16 at Bocelli Restaurant on Hylan Blvd. under the watchful eyes and cameras of the FBI and the NYPD, according to papers filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.
It was mandatory attendance for the crime family’s administration, which included reputed consigliere Anthony Rabito and more than a dozen capos and soldiers, the court filings say.
The Old World-style restaurant is located in a strip mall, but the Zagat guide praised the upscale food at Manhattan prices.
A Mafia family Christmas party is held so the mob minions make a pilgrimage to the boss and give him an envelope stuffed with cash.
Former boss Joseph Massino used to hold the party in his restaurant, Casablanca, in Queens.
Cammarano’s promotion to acting underboss and street boss, exclusively reported Monday in The Daily News, is a sign that the beleaguered family is trying to rebuild after the prosecutions and defections of its members in recent years.
Bocelli’s owner did not return a call seeking comment about the Christmas party.
John