Sonny

"Don't make me hurt you, Frankie. I swear to God..."

> «Spill it, Frankie. I **knew** you were up to no good. First you show up talking *crazy* and suddenly every crumb in the city goes *bananas*. And now this *whackjob* out there looking for you... what's that all about, **huh**?» -Sonny frying Frankie for information
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**Sonny Bonnino** is a major antagonist in *Guns, Gore & Cannoli*, serving as the game's first boss. A high-ranking made-man of the Bonnino Mafia, he is the family's current Don, who, following the Drunken Riots, ordered the abduction of Belluccio member Frankie the Fly.

## Description

Sonny Bonnino is a middle-aged Italian-American man with slicked-back black graying hair and thick eyebrows. He dons a long-sleeved hot pink polo shirt, belted white pants and black and white shoes. He wears a golden chain underneath his shirt and carries a large revolver of unknown make inside a shoulder holster. He is a physically imposing individual, not only his broad-shouldered frame and his standing around a head taller than Vinnie in-game, but also appearing even bulkier than in the cutscenes when fought, sharing height and build with any Bruiser type enemy, as well as showing remarkable agility and athleticism for his age.

## Biography

Little is known about Sonny nor his background but due to his lack of an accent, it can be discerned that he was either born to Italian immigrants living in the US or, like many contemporary mobsters, moved to America at an early age.

In 1928, Sonny is shown to be the acting leader of the Bonninos, a major crime family in Thugtown. He is the owner of Bonnino's, a popular nightclub in Thugtown center near the city river. His gang had been at war with the Belluccios, a rivaling mafia clan, for a number of years, when the sudden cannibal riots forced him and his men to barricade themselves in their nightclub. He and his goons are responsible for capturing Frankie The Fly, who had first contacted them "talking crazy", right before the riots took place. Suspecting Frankie was somehow connected to the ongoing madness, he kidnapped Frankie and held him hostage, seeking answers from him.

## Guns, Gore & Cannoli

When Vinnie was told by Rusty that the Bonninos had abducted Frankie, whom he was supposed to find, he raids Sonny's nightclub, killing the guarding gangsters and clearing out the lobby and entertainment strip, before breaking through a boarded up entrance. There he meets face-to-face with Sonny himself with his henchmen in tow in the previously barricaded bar of the joint. When asked to identify himself by the agitated boss, Vinnie threateningly claims to be "The Undertaker" and that his caskets were done, before giving them five seconds to disclose to him the location of Frankie. Angered by Vinnie's cockiness and him letting the zombies into their safehouse, he orders his thugs to kill the gangster, before running off to the back of their hideout's storage hall to find out from Frankie who sent Vinnie to get him.

Sonny and one of his enforcers interrogate a tiedup Frankie, impatiently repeating his previous questions about the latter's knowledge on the current happenings, which his prisoner profusely denies having. As Sonny is about to get physical with Frankie, Vinnie suddenly announces his arrival by shooting the enforcer through the neck, enraging Sonny even more. Vinnie gives Sonny one last chance to walk away and hand over Frankie, but while Sonny is impressed with his intrepidity and determination, he nonetheless refuses, proclaiming that he'll enjoy making Vinnie pay for his insolence and attacks.

A tedious battle ensues, which ends with Vinnie killing all of Sonny's henchmen and mortally wounding Sonny. The bloodied boss, now lying on his back, raises his head at Vinnie as he approaches and is only able to let out a pained groan, before he is shot in the head at point-blank range, splattering blood everywhere. Vinnie remarks that "[Sonny] had more brains than [he] thought", before untying and saving Frankie.

## Boss Fight (Sonny The Coon)

> Vinnie: \*shoots a Baseball Bat Gangster through the throat, who keels over bleeding\* "Hit the bricks, punk! **I'll** take it from here!"
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> Sonny: "You got some balls, you!... walking in here like that. I'm gonna teach you some respect... and I'm gonna have *fun* doing it."
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In-game, Sonny is fought as a boss, he uses a Lupara, a Thompson M1928 and hand grenades. He can run incredibly fast, always moving and jumping on the warehouse's lowered platforms and is supported by Bruisers, who periodically appear from the left to aid Sonny in battle. After the boss fight Vinnie kills him with the Magnum.

## Gallery

Sonny with Louie  and CheechVinnie about to execute SonnySonny threatens FrankieSonny as a multiplayer skin and a US officer
## Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2

A painting of Sonny can be found in his Syndicate City branch nightclub.

## Trivia

* Though not outright stated, Sonny was likely the serving Don of the Bonnino Family or at least the most high-ranking surviving member.
* He is likely not one of the founding members, as Rusty states that the Thugtown gang war had been going on for "as long as he can remember" (Rusty is a long-time resident of Thugtown, living there since at least Frankie the Fly's early adolescence) and Sonny visibly being no older than his 40s. Sonny was most likely the protégé and/or a younger relative of the previous Don, who was given the position after the latter's premature death or retirement, either before or after the Drunken Riots.
* It is unknown whether "Sonny" is a nickname or his actual given name, as it may also be short for "Santino", likely in reference to Santino "Sonny" Corleone, the eldest son of Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
* Sonny's byname, "the Coon", is a dated American slang term for a sly and cunning individual.
* Sonny's surname, Bonnino, appears to be an alternate spelling of the name "Bonino", which is most common in northwestern Italy in the Lombardy region, especially Piedmont, but also Milan.
* Sonny may have been based on Joseph Bonanno, who too was a comparatively young mob boss of his own crime family, who served as an inspiration for Vito Corleone. He was similarly on the losing side in a gang conflict, the Bonanno War, an internal power struggle and was involved in a kidnapping, though it was Bonanno who fell victim to it. Interestingly, during Frankie's interrogation, when Sonny recounts the early stages of the riots, he describes everyone in town as having gone "bananas", possibly in reference to Bonanno's nickname, Joe Bananas.
* Sonny physically resembles actor Robert De Niro, who starred in many mafia crime films, most famously Goodfellas, The Godfather Part II and The Untouchables.
* Sonny, Vinnie and Joe are the only characters to have their full names revealed.
* Sonny can be played in Multiplayer.
* Sonny's boss fight theme is *Bonnino's Last Tarantella*, a violin instrumental rendition of the Tarantella Napoletana, a tarantella melody from Naples, often used as stereotypical Italian music. The notes used are adapted from the most widely known piece with the tune, *Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Me*, performed by Evelyn Knight and the Ray Charles Band.