Michael Zaffarano (1921 – February 14, 1979), also known as "Mickey", was a capo in the Bonanno crime family who worked in the pornography industry.
Zaffarano handled porn theatres and national porn film distribution for the Bonanno family. He owned several pornographic movie theatres in Times Square in Manhattan and around the country. Zaffarano's office was in Times Square on the upper floor of The Pussycat Theatre. Zaffarano was a portly, heavyset, tall and handsome man with a brooding face. He had dark brown, piercing eyes, a broken nose, and a scar on his forehead. Bonanno boss Natale Evola in 1972 chose Zaffarano to initiate New York organized crime arbitration efforts with Paolo Violi in Montreal, Canada. Zaffarano had a long history of dealing with disputes and internal mob hostilities. Zaffarano survived the turbulent 1960s. His brother-in-law was Joseph Asaro, a made man in the Bonanno family and a second-generation mobster. Zaffarano's father had worked for Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone while Capone was still living in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Zaffarano eventually got caught up in the federal Mi-porn operation.
On February 14, 1979, Zaffarano died of a heart attack while evading FBI agents trying to arrest him.
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