 Before the Bonanno wars of the 1960s, Sabella had been a soldier first in the crew of fellow Castellammarese Carmine Galante and later under Joe Notaro, both top Joe Bonanno loyalists.During the conflict between the Bonannos and Gaspar DiGregorio, Mike Sabella initially remained loyal to the Bonanno faction, but eventually the Commission convinced him to join DiGregorio's group.As a result, he was rewarded with a promotion to capo of his old crew.