Vincent John "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano (14 November 1959-) was the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family from 2004 to 2013, succeeding Joseph Massino and preceding Michael Mancuso. Basciano was struck with two life sentences in 2007 and 2011, due in part to the testimony of former boss Massino.
Biography[]
Basciano was born to an Italian-American family in the Bronx in 1959, and he became affiliated with the Bonanno crime family. Noted for his good looks and excellent grooming, Basciano owned a Bronx beauty salon called Hello Gorgeous, where he later got his nickname from. He was renowned as an efficient mobster, both as an earner and a shooter. He was officially inducted into the Bonanno family in 1991, and became a soldier under capo Patrick "Patty from the Bronx" DeFilippo. Basciano became a captain himself in 2000, and was involved with construction, illegal gambling and heroin trafficking. In 2001, Bonanno associate and drug dealer Frank Pastore threatened to kidnap Basciano's son. Basciano, aggravated by the threat, arranged to have him killed on 15 February 2001. As Santoro was walking his dog near his home in the Bronx, Basciano and mobster Dominick Cicale sprinted out of a car and shot him to death. In July 2004, then-Bonanno boss Joseph Massino was sentenced to life in prison on murder charges, and Basciano stepped in as acting boss. In November 2004, he ordered the death of family associate Randolph "Randy" Pizzolo. That same month, he was arrested for the Santoro murder, and ultimately convicted in 2007 and sentenced to life. In 2011, thanks to the cooperation of Joseph Massino, who recorded conversations he and Basciano had while they were both pending trial, he was also found guilty of the murder of Pizzolo, and was facing a potential death penalty, though he ultimately received a second life sentence.