Lefty Ruggiero (born Benjamin Ruggiero; April 19, 1926 – November 24, 1994) was an American mobster in the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for his friendship and mentorship of FBI undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone. When Pistone's operation was ended on July 26, 1981, the FBI intercepted and arrested Ruggiero on August 29, 1981. In November 1982, Ruggiero was sentenced to 15 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy; he was released in April 1993 before his death from cancer. Life Early life Ruggiero was born on April 19, 1926, in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, and grew up in the Knickerbocker Village private housing development in Little Italy, Manhattan. His father, Fiori Ruggiero worked as a truck driver and his mother, Frances, was a household . Ruggiero had two younger siblings named Dominick and Angelina. Ruggiero joined the Bonanno family organization as a young man, serving as a street soldier under caporegime Michael Sabella. Ruggiero soon became successful in bookmaking, extortion and loansharking rackets. He lived in an apartment on Monroe Street in Manhattan in the same building as his friend and Bonanno soldier Anthony Mirra. Ruggiero reportedly owned a cigarette boat that he kept docked on the East River in New York. Ruggiero became good friends with future family boss Philip "Rusty" Rastelli and Mirra. Ruggiero became the part-owner of a fishery in the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan. As a part-owner, Ruggiero was able to put himself on the company payroll with a $5,000-a-month "no-show" job. During the 1970s, he purchased a social club in Little Italy. Operation Donnie Brasco Around the time Ruggiero became a made member in the Bonanno family, Anthony Mirra introduced him to Joseph Pistone. Pistone was an undercover FBI agent posing as an expert jewel thief named Donnie Brasco. Pistone's original mission had been to infiltrate truck hijacking and fencing rings. However, the friendships Pistone developed with Mirra and Ruggiero gave the FBI the chance to infiltrate the Mafia. Brasco started working for Ruggiero, placing bets and helping him make collections for the bookmaking operation in Ruggiero's social club. Ruggiero mentored Brasco and eventually promised to sponsor him for membership in the family. Ruggiero developed a close friendship with Brasco, which caused friction with his old friend Mirra, who had originally introduced Brasco to Ruggiero. Brasco served as best man at Ruggiero's 1977 wedding and frequently advised Ruggiero on handling his son Tommy's