Gerard Chilli was born in 1935 in New York City, he joined the Bonanno crime family sometime in his early 20's. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Bonanno crime family until he was promoted to Capo in 1979 following the murder of Carmine Galante. He was identified as a bonanno capo in 1986 by the Federal Government. On January 15th 1984 Chilli's 30 year old son Joseph was murdered along with 38 year old Thomas Sbano the stepson of Benjamin Ruggiero. They were found shot inside a convertible in a parking garage on 299 Pearl Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.