The Last Godfather: The Takedown of New York Mafia Boss Joe Massino
Date: October 16, 2025
Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Cost: Free for Museum Members or with Museum Admission
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Joe Massino, the last man standing among New York’s old-school Mafia bosses, survived in the role for more than 20 years through savvy tactics and keeping a low profile. But after the FBI flipped several key members of his crime family, Massino’s days of freedom were numbered. For the first time on a public stage, retired FBI agents Jeff Sallet and Kim McCaffrey, along with former mobster Paul Cantarella, will tell the epic story of how it all went down.
Featured Speakers
Jeffrey Sallet
was an FBI special agent for 24 years, concluding his service as the Associate Deputy Director. As the FBI’s number three, he oversaw all agency personnel, budget, administration and infrastructure/technology. Jeff also oversaw inspection/internal investigations, insider threat programs, integrity and compliance.
Jeff started as a special agent in 1997 in the New York Field Office, where he investigated public corruption, labor racketeering, organized crime, and counterterrorism cases. He was the case agent on the investigation of Bonanno crime family boss Joseph Massino. Sallet incorporated forensic accounting techniques with traditional organized crime investigative methods to probe Massino and the hierarchy of the Bonanno family. This investigation led to the conviction and eventual cooperation of Massino, who became the first-ever official New York Cosa Nostra boss to cooperate with the government. The investigation also led to the indictment and conviction of more than 100 members and associates of organized crime and helped to solve more than 30 cold case murders. This investigation also resulted in the conviction of Vito Rizzuto, the leader of the Montreal Mafia, on RICO charges for the 1981 triple homicide of three Bonanno family captains in Brooklyn, New York. Jeff received the Attorney General's Director's Award in 2005 for his work on the Massino investigation.
While assigned to the New York Field Office, he was also the office’s co-lead financial investigator for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In this role, Jeff was responsible for tracking Al-Qaeda financial assets, identifying funding for the terrorist attacks, and vetting hundreds of financial leads being investigated by FBI agents. In 2005, Jeff was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters, where he managed organized crime investigations in the northeastern United States.
In 2007, Jeff transferred to the Providence Resident Agency in Rhode Island, a satellite office of the Boston field office, where he served five years as the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent. In this position he was responsible for all counterterrorism, public corruption, civil rights, government fraud and organized crime investigations within Rhode Island. Jeff was also the program coordinator for all organized crime cases being investigated by the FBI's Boston Field Office. During his tenure as the SSRA of the Providence Resident Agency, Jeff led an investigative effort that resulted in the conviction of longtime New England crime boss Luigi "Baby Shanks" Manocchio on racketeering charges. The investigation resulted in the near dismantlement of the Rhode Island faction of the New England Cosa Nostra.
In 2012, Jeff was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge in the Boston Field Office, where he oversaw white-collar crime, public corruption, health care fraud, and civil rights matters. Sallet led the coordinated law enforcement investigation of the Boston Marathon bombings, which resulted in the identification and capture of the suspects in approximately 104 hours. Jeff was prominently featured on the National Geographic Channel's Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers, which detailed the initial investigation and response.
Jeff was promoted to Chief of the Public Corruption/Civil Rights Section in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in 2014. In this capacity, he had oversight and responsibility over all public corruption, civil rights, international human rights, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), antitrust, international money laundering, and threat finance investigations within the FBI. Jeff was named Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Field Office in 2015 and Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office in 2017. In these roles, Jeff fostered strong partnerships with local, state and federal agencies to increase collaboration and strengthen the safety of communities. In recognition of his achievements in New Orleans and Chicago, Jeff received the 2019 Presidential Rank Award, a prestigious award conferred by the President of the United States.
In 2019, Jeff was named the FBI’s Chief Financial Officer/Chief Property Officer and Associate Executive Assistant Director of the Finance and Facilities Division. In this role he was responsible for the oversight and execution of more than $10 billon government funding, including all budget, procurement and accounting operations.
In 2020, Jeff was named the Executive Assistant Director of the Human Resources Branch. In that position, he oversaw the Human Resources, Training, Security, and Finance and Facilities divisions as well as the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Office of Disciplinary Appeals. During his tenure, he was responsible for the FBI’s global response to maintain workforce resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jeff has been frequently interviewed by television and newspaper reporters due to his expertise in organized crime, public corruption, civil rights, crisis response and other investigative matters.
Kimberly McCaffrey
is a retired Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation with more than 25 years of investigative experience. As a special agent, Kimberly incorporated forensic accounting with traditional methods to investigate organized crime, terrorism, terrorism financing, fraud and corruption. Kimberly has worked in the New York and Baltimore Field Offices, as well as FBI HQ. She is a certified public accountant in the state of Maryland. She currently works as a contractor investigating complex financial crimes specializing in asset forfeiture.
Paul Cantarella
was inducted as a made man in the Bonanno crime family in 1996, following in the footsteps of his father and former captain Richard Cantarella. Exposed to organized crime from a young age, Paul’s path seemed set—until his arrest changed everything. While in custody, he discovered that friends, family, and longtime associates were cooperating with authorities. Facing a lengthy prison sentence, Paul was forced to make a life-altering decision: remain loyal to the code of silence or choose freedom and a future with his wife and two young children.
In 2003, Paul entered the witness protection program and began a new chapter in Phoenix, Arizona. Since then, he has built several successful businesses and shared his story publicly through outlets such as the History Channel, popular podcasts, and his own reality series, UnProtected.