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The 1997 crime drama film Donnie Brasco was based on the book Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia written by Joseph Pistone and Richard Woodley. The movie revolves around FBI agent Joseph Pistone (Johnny Depp) and his efforts to gain crucial information about the Bonanno crime family by going undercover as a jewel thief named Donnie Brasco and forging a relationship with mobster Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero (Al Pacino).
Given that Donnie Brasco is a Hollywood production, we can assume that not everything portrayed on screen exactly reflects real-life events. The real Joseph Pistone served as a consultant for the movie, and while a few scenes were added for entertainment and impact, he said 85 percent was accurate. So, what was real and what was fake?
The undercover assignment
Pistone was a special agent for the FBI when he went undercover as Donnie Brasco in 1975. He was chosen for the assignment because of his Italian heritage and deep knowledge of how the mafia operated. “I’m Italian. I know the Mafia. I grew up in an old Italian neighborhood that was mafia-dominated. I knew these guys,” he said in an interview. What was supposed to be a six-month undercover operation turned into five years, and Pistone, as Brasco, forged relationships with the criminals he worked with.
Brasco’s close relationship with Lefty is seen in Donnie Brasco, which was also true in real life. They were so close that Lefty asked Brasco to be his best man at his wedding in 1977. Pistone said that it was impossible not to form some sort of friendship with the mob, but at the end of the day, he had to remind himself that he was on the job and dealing with gangsters who wouldn’t think twice about killing their best friend.
Who was Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero?
Lefty Ruggiero joined the Bonanno crime family as a street soldier and eventually participated in organized crime operations, bookmaking, and loan sharking. It was Anthony Mirra, a fellow Bonanno soldier, who introduced Pistone to Lefty. The two developed a close bond, with Leftty taking on a mentor role for the newcomer. He guided Brasco through the inner workings of the mob and trusted him enough to vouch for him to the higher-ups in the Bonanno family. Pistone’s undercover work concluded in 1981, right before he was officially inducted into the family. Soon afterward the mob learned that Brasco was an undercover agent.
In Donnie Brasco, Lefty receives a call asking him to meet with the family. He knew that he was a dead man walking, as he was the one who vouched for an undercover agent to infiltrate the Bonanno family. As he gets his coat to leave his home, he tells his wife, “If Donnie calls, tell him if it was going to be anyone, I’m glad it was him.” He leaves the valuables he has on his person before walking out the door. The screen fades to black and a gunshot is heard, implying that Lefty was taken out by his own crime family.
In reality, though, the FBI arrested Lefty in Aug. 1981. The following year, he went on trial for racketeering conspiracy and Pistone testified against him. He reportedly said, “I’ll get that motherf***er Donnie if it’s the last thing I do.” He was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison but was released after 11 years due to his health condition. Lefty suffered from testicular and lung cancer and died in 1994 at 68 years old.