Little Jimmy avoids jail time
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (March 30, 2023) — A New Rochelle man, a former New Rochelle Board of Education employee, with a long history of drug and alcohol-related arrests pleaded guilty Thursday in Westchester County Domestic Violence Court.
Appearing before Judge Susan Capeci, James “Little Jimmy” Bonanno, 40, of New Rochelle, NY pleaded guilty to Criminal Mischief – 4, an A Misdemeanor and Harassment – 2 (Physical Contact), a Violation. Bonanno admitted to damaging property belonging to his former wife.
Bonanno was sentenced to one year interim probation.
The negotiated plea disposed of several other charges stemming from an incident on November 8, 2021:
- Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Act Manr Injur Child < 17), an A misdemeanor
- Reckless Endangerment 2, an A Misdemeanor
- Unlawful Imprisonment – 2, an A Misdemeanor
Bonanno was ordered to go directly from the courtroom to the Westchester County Office of Probation. He is due back in Westchester County Domestic Violence Court on May 23, 2023 for a compliance hearing.
In 2011, Little Jimmy Bonanno wrote a death threat against Robert Cox on the hull of a boat owned by his father after Cox reported on possible corruption at the New Rochelle Board of Education’s Cliff Street Yard managed by Little Jimmy’s father, a wannabe mobster.
“Little Jimmy” Bonanno is the son of Vincent James “Big Jimmy” Bonanno, who was also in court on Thursday. Big Jimmy is a notoriously corrupt former school district employee who ripped off the district for hundreds of thousands of dollars during a three decade reign.
At a previous court appearance on March 16, 2023 Big Jimmy engaged Robert Cox in a verbal altercation at a Westchester County Courthouse security checkpoint. Full details here.
Big Jimmy is the nephew of the now-deceased Frank Fiumara, a soldier and made man in the Gambino crime family. Despite his last name, Big Jimmy is not connected to the Bonanno family; his mother’s maiden name is Fiumara and so connected to the mafia through his family to the Gambinos.
The two Bonannos were both separated from their employment by the City School District of New Rochelle several years ago following a series of legal maneuvers that ended what for the senior Bonanno had been a three decade reign as “The Overtime King” during which he and collaborators in the civil service office ripped off the district for hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. Bonanno was routinely paid tens of thousands of dollars in overtime annually, despite rarely “working” under his “Working Foreman” title.
The final straw for Big Jimmy tenure as head of the Grounds Maintenance Department within the City School District of New Rochelle after Bonanno, along with district plumber Anthony Raffa were both suspended, after Talk of the Sound reported the pair were found hiding out behind William B. Ward Elementary School in Bonanno’s truck. Just days earlier, Raffa and Bonanno were caught hanging around the Home Depot on Weyman Avenue during work hours by Arthur Riviera, an Aramark consultant and the recently installed Director of Buildings & Grounds.
“Little Jimmy”, the junior Bonanno, has had numerous arrests before, during and after, his employment by the New Rochelle Board of Education, often involving heroin.
He was arrested in August 2018, while working as a custodian at Webster Elementary School in New Rochelle, after he was reportedly found passed out in a vehicle with a hypodermic needle stuck in his arm.
He was arrested in May 2016 after allegedly purchasing heroin near the corner of Main Street and Harrison Street in New Rochelle. Bonanno was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance.
In March 2012, Bonanno was videotaped by this reporter driving school district van E-74 while on personal business (visiting a methadone clinic) and reporting to work an hour late, time for which he was later paid.
Soon after, Little Jimmy and his father, James Bonanno, filed a complaint with the New Rochelle Police Department complaining that they were being video recorded and photographed in public by this reporter. The NRPD and Westchester County District Attorney’s Office decline to pursue a complaint that a reporter was taking their pictures in public.
The duplicitous pair then filed a lawsuit for defamation against Robert Cox, the Managing Editor of Talk of the Sound and Hudson-Westchester Radio, owners of WVOX-AM 1460. Cox filed a counter-claim.
The lawsuit was based on two specific claims, that Talk of the Sound reported that Big Jimmy had district employees do work on his girlfriend’s house in Orange County (true) and Little Jimmy made a death threat against Robert Cox (true). Despite this, Big Jimmy repeatedly testified in a deposition, under oath that, his lawsuit was filed because Robert Cox had said he was a member of the mafia. There was no such reporting but Robert Cox did report Big Jimmy was connected to the mafia through his family (true).
The pathetic, near-comical efforts by Big Jimmy to dismiss two exhibits in the case — an obituary in the Journal News for Frank Fiumara (Jimmy’s uncle through his mother’s side) and AP wire report headlined “AP story. Headlined “Mob Member Convicted In Numbers Game” on the conviction of Frank Fiumara for running mafia operations in lower Westchester — is described in detail in Part V of New Rochelle Board of Education: Criminal Enterprise Masquerading as an Educational Institution.
The last paragraph of the AP story says “Prosecutors says Fiumara ran a multimillion dollar numbers operation out of New Rochelle and shared the profits with the Gambino Crime Family” and said Fiumara was a “Made” member of the Gambino family headed by John Gotti.
Cox was totally vindicated when the Bonannos dropped their lawsuit after their law firm declined to continue to represent them based on their many documented lies. Cox was paid $2,000 to settle a counter-claim against the Bonannos.
The two Bonannos were prominent running characters in our 24 part series: New Rochelle Board of Education: Criminal Enterprise Masquerading as an Educational Institution – Table of Contents
The series resulted in a federal criminal investigation, two criminal indictments and convictions and the “unexpected resignations” of four dozen employers of the New Rochelle Board of Education. John Gallagher, former head of facilities and Big Jimmy’s boss, was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison.
The two Bonannos appear in many past articles on Talk of the Sound:
Custodian in New Rochelle Elementary School Busted (again) for Heroin
Little Jimmy Bonanno Arrested (again)
Jimmy Bonanno Busted for Building and Public Works Violations in New Rochelle
Big Jimmy Bonanno Bounced as Manager of New Rochelle Schools Grounds Crew
Bonannos Reply to Counter Claims in Talk of the Sound Defamation Case, Trial Demands
Talk of the Sound Files Reply to Bonanno Defamation Lawsuit
Bonannos File Defamation Lawsuit Against Talk of the Sound Publisher
More Corruption in the New Rochelle School District Under Service Master Employee John Gallagher
GETTING RESULTS: New Rochelle Board of Education Jeep Cherokee Finds Its Way Home
More Corruption in the New Rochelle School District Under Service Master Employee John Gallagher
New Rochelle Schools Overtime King Driving Brand New Dodge Hemi, Courtesy of New Rochelle Taxpayers
New Rochelle School District Failed to Register Red Garbage Truck For Five Years
Surprise Visit to New Rochelle School District Yard at 47 Cliff Street Raises Numerous Questions