https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/irishman-bufalino-true-story-mob-hit-walnut-creek-14875864.phpNOTE: Spoilers for "The Irishman" are ahead, but only if you consider known facts about real, historical figures to be spoilers in this context.
For what must surely be the first time in movie history, Walnut Creek, Calif. has been name-dropped in a mobster movie.
Near the end of Martin Scorsese's new crime epic "The Irishman," Bay Area viewers will be shocked to hear how the sleepy local suburb figures into the downfall of mafioso Russell A. Bufalino (Joe Pesci). Bufalino, a real-life crime boss from Pennsylvania, is portrayed in the film as the influential benefactor behind the rise of hitman Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), the titular Irishman.
After immigrating from Sicily, Bufalino rose through the organized crime ranks in the early 20th century to become one of America's most feared Cosa Nostra bosses by the 1950s. He had his hand in myriad illegal activities, from gambling to controlling coal mining and trucking unions. In "The Irishman," he's quiet but ruthless, casually ordering hits on men he no longer trusts to follow his orders.
In the final act, Scorsese shows what happened to each of the main characters in real life. In Bufalino's scene, he is shown asking an unnamed associate for a murderous favor.
"There's a pork store up in Northern California, right around Walnut Creek," he says. "You're from up there, ain't ya? You might even know the guy that runs it. Actually, I'm looking for a little favor. For him, not for me. But if you can get him a ticket, like to Australia, you know what I mean."
The dramatized exchange, while no doubt embellished for the screen, did actually happen.
ALSO: "The Crown" shows Princess Margaret's US trip. Here's what her real visit to San Francisco was like.
In 1976, prosecutors say Bufalino asked James "The Weasel" Fratianno and Michael Rizzitello to kill Jack Napoli because he allegedly owed $25,000 to a New York jedieler associated with Bufalino's crime syndicate. Bufalino attempted to extort Napoli, but Napoli made the surprising move of cooperating with law enforcement.
In 1977, Napoli testified that Bufalino threatened to kill him if he didn't pay up. Bufalino was found guilty of extortion and sentenced to four years in prison.
Three years later, Bufalino went back to court — this time for conspiring to kill Napoli.
Fratianno testified that before the 1977 trial, he and Rizzitello, two high-level West Coast Mafia enforcers, were contacted by Bufalino. Fratianno testified that Bufalino said "we want to clip him." He also claimed Bufalino gave them an address in Walnut Creek where Napoli and his family were living, placed there by the Federal Witness Protection Program in the summer of 1976.
Prosecutors said when Rizzitello was later arrested on an unrelated charge, he had a piece of paper in his pocket with the Walnut Creek address.
But Napoli got a lucky break: No one could find him in Contra Costa County. Fratianno admitted in court that after some searching, he was forced to tell Bufalino that the mission failed. Later testimony from a Walnut Creek neighbor revealed the likely reason why: Napoli had been telling acquaintances he was in witness protection, and his cover was compromised. He was moved out of the area in August 1976.
Bufalino actually took the stand in his own defense, which was probably the wrong move. When asked if he was a member of La Cosa Nostra, he said "No, sir," but then admitted he did know a number of alleged crime bosses.
The jury didn't buy his denials. He was found guilty of conspiring to kill a witness and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Bufalino served eight years in Leavenworth before being released in 1989. He died of natural causes in 1994.
As for Napoli, he — wisely — disappeared back into the Federal Witness Protection Program.
