Pizza Connection - Gaetano Badalamenti - Head of the Sicilian Mob

The Pizza Connection 

Badalamenti “Don Tanino” or "Boss of all Bossess" was born in 1923 and died of heart failure in 2004.


Drug dealing was his main downfall - heading a operation that brought in more than 1.65 billion dollar of drug money from the Middle East (heroin)  and South America (cocaine). From 1975 to 1984 the successful drug operation was able to fly under the radar by using pizzerias as fronts and laundering their money into Swiss Bank accounts.

Even though drug dealing is frowned upon in the Mafia, a couple of things gave the Pizza Connection a pass. One was the Badalamenti was the Don of the Sicily mob and he was technically not part of the American mafia, but part of the Palermo, Sicily, mafia, and almost everyone in the Pizza connection was Sicilian immigrants. And the other thing is, like in true mob fashion - when there is enough money involved, some how it makes it easier to look the other way, and the American families did profit from hush money to let them deal on their turf. One other thing, the Mafia was born in Sicily and the Americans really had no choice but to look away, and a kind jester of money made everything work.  

In fact, Badalameni was on a Capo on the Commission, through breaking rules and doing activity that the Commission was not interested in being a part of, he was kicked off. This in turn, got the Don and his crew dubbed the "Don of Losers", but this did not deter him or his ambitions. In fact, he would be the only Don that disobeyed the Commission and suffered no consequence.

Although Badalamenti ran and own many rackets and companies, brought in more money than all the other families and had more powerful connection in Sicily, the same reason why the Mafia frowned upon drugs is the same reasons why he would eventually be brought down.

Manhattan U.S. Courthouse. October 24, 1985. The government calls it the biggest drug and mafia case ever to come to trial in the United States. The press calls it the Pizza Connection. More 22 mobsters mostly Sicilians where brought up on one of America's biggest RICO cases ever.

The long and unbelievably complex trail in New York turned into a circus. During the trial, two defendants were killed and one shot. At the end, all the others, but one, went to prison, including Badalamenti who was given 45 years.

After running many rackets, including a billion dollar drug ring and being responsible for as many as 100 murders, Badalamenti, would died an old weak man in prison in 2004.

He died with only this to say about the drug dealing ring. "Drugs are bad for business. The money was never worth the risk. Only greedy pigs touched drugs. "Not men of honor.'' -Spoken like a true criminal-