Benjamin Ruggiero – The much feared mobster

Benjamin Ruggiero was nicknamed ‘Lefty’ and popularly called ‘Lefty two guns’ and ‘Lefty guns’. It was in Manhattan’s Little Italy neighborhood, where he was born on 19th April, 1926. Ruggiero at a very young age had joined the Bonanno Mafia family and worked under Michael Sabella as street soldier.

His personal life

He is said to have lived at Knickerbocker Village, in an apartment that was located at Monroe Street and had immense fascination for fish. He boasted of having several fish tanks that had both fresh and salt water within his apartment. Tony Mira, his close friend also lived with him and is known to have introduced him to Joseph Pistone, the undercover FBI agent, also called Donny Brasco or Don the Jeweler,  who was considered to be an unconnected jeweler, peddling in stolen jewelries. This was actually a plan by the FBI and Pistone to enter the mob.

Ruggiero as a soldier was regarded to be prolific in loansharking, extortion and bookmaking. He also became an enforcer for the Bonanno family. He preferred being a wise guy, since he felt that he could do anything legitimately, the reason why he had earned a reputation for being a killer and feared Mafioso.

Popularity

Since he threw dice using the left hand, he had earned the name ‘Lefty’. As he preferred to carry two guns when going for a hit, he had earned the nickname of ‘Two Guns’. During those days, mobs had used abused and old guns for their hits that were of little value, something that Ruggiero knew about. He had clipped over 30 people, but had acquired huge debts because of gambling. By 1977, he is known to have owned over $160,000 to Nicholas Marangello, a Bonanno soldier, from whom he had loaned from after losing his bets. In order to be promoted to a made man within the Bonanno family, he was made to pay back the debt in full, after which in 1977 he became the made man.

In the same year, he got introduced to Donnie Brasco by Mira, who then became close. Ruggiero had Brasco introduced to the Mafioso associate life and employed him, to make collections. With the death of Carmine Galante, there began internal strife within the family.

On 30th August 1981, he got picked up by the FBI, on the way to a social club of Marangello, where he was supposed to have been killed. He was offered safety by the FBI for exchange of testimony against the Bonanno Mafia Family, to which he refused, citing Omerta law. He got charged under RICO Act in 1982 and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment.