Russell Mauro, the man widely believed to have fired the fatal shots into Bonanno crime family boss Carmine Galante in 1979, was himself gunned down in May 1991. According to informant testimony, Mauro was shot to death at the Black Eagle Social Club on May 26, 1991, in a hit involving several Bonanno family mobsters, with Peter Cosoleto believed to be the shooter. The motive for Mauro’s murder was the subject of speculation for more than two decades. Some believed imprisoned boss-in-waiting Joe Massino viewed Mauro as a threat to his rise.
Others suspected powerful figures thought Mauro was an informant or could become one. The uncertainty over why he was killed haunted Mauro’s brother for over 20 years. In a 2016 trial against former Bonanno family captain turned government informant James Tartaglione and others, the defense pressed Tartaglione about his role in Mauro’s murder. Testimony revealed Tartaglione greeted Mauro at the social club, knowing he would be killed, and later helped clean up the blood.
During the trial, Mauro’s brother, seated in the gallery, shouted at Tartaglione, “Why, you piece of shit? ” Justice Mark Dwyer warned him to calm down, but the brother replied, “Judge, I waited 20 years to find out why. ”
When Bonanno boss Joe Massino and his underboss and brother-in-law Sal Vitale both became government informants, they provided conflicting explanations for the killing. Massino testified that Mauro had shot up a bar belonging to John Gotti’s Gambino crime family while drunk and on drugs.
Massino said he told Vitale to ask Gotti to give Mauro a pass, warning that if he did it again, they would kill him. When Mauro repeated the offense a few months later, Massino said, “We killed him. ”
Vitale offered a different reason. He claimed Mauro was murdered because he robbed a Bonanno captain, stealing a $10,000 Rolex watch.
Vitale also stated that powerful Bonanno figure Anthony Spiro believed Mauro’s heavy cocaine use made him weak enough to potentially talk to law enforcement. Born on May 23, 1938, Mauro had a criminal record dating back to 1956, including arrests for assault, weapons possession, and robbery. He was inducted into the Bonanno family in 1978 and served in the crew of captain Alphonse “Sonny Red” Indelicato. After Indelicato’s murder in 1981, Mauro moved to Frank Lino’s crew and later to Sal Vitale’s crew.
Some reports also suggest he served at times as an acting captain. If the testimonies of Massino and Vitale are to be believed, Russell Mauro, the man who killed Carmine Galante, was himself murdered due to his wild behavior and repeated transgressions.