orders," he was reported to have said, "or I'll blow up your house." The underling, obviously cowed, apologized and swore it wouldn't happen again. "You bet it won't," Gotti was quoted as saying. ''I got to make an example of somebody. Don't let it be you." Seasoned officers swore that if they had shut their eyes and just heard words, they would have been sure it was the ghost of Albert Anastasia talking.
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All the law could do was watch Gotti, around whom odd things had a way of happening. Something or other happened to 51-year-old John Favara, a friend and neighbor of Gotti living in the Howard Beach section of Queens. In 1980 Favara ran over and killed Gotti's 12-year-old son, Frank, in a traffic mishap officially declared accidental. Four months later Favara was shoved into a car by some men as he left his job in a furniture plant and was never seen again.
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According to police, after the death of young Frank, the Favara family was deluged with anonymous threatening letters and phone calls and their car was spray-painted with the word "murderer." From informers police got reports that Favara had been chainsawed to death and then dumped in a car that was put through a demolition machine and reduced to a one-square-foot block. There was no word on who the chainsawer could have been.
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But there were more important things than a simple murder to worry about. Trouble was brewing in the Gambino family. Dellacroce was so ill he might never stand trial, but many of the young mafiosi worried about Paul Castellano standing up to the prospect of living out the rest of his life behind bars. There was worry that he might start thinking of swapping mob secrets for his freedom.
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Gotti didn't seem worried. Then Castellano named a mobster close to him, Thomas Bilotti, to the position of capo, the equal of Gotti. If Dellacroce died, the story went, Castellano was going to name Bilotti underboss, and if he, Castellano, went to prison, Bilotti would take over as godfather. Gotti would be out in the cold.
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Dellacroce died on December 2, 1985. Two weeks later Paul Castellano and his protégé Bilotti were shot to death outside a Manhattan steak house. Gotti was in.
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Within eight days it seemed Gotti was in charge of the biggest Mafia family in the nation. He was the center of attention at a party in a reputed meeting place of the Gambino family, the Ravenite Social Club at 247 Mulberry Street in Little Italy.
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"All the big shots from the family were there," an investigator was quoted, "and Gotti walked in like he owned the joint. He obviously had no fear of anyone."
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In 1986, Gotti faced federal prosecution on racketeering charges that could take him out of action for some time. But Gotti probably marked a new trend in the Mafiaback to younger bosses, as was the case in the 1920s and 1930sbecause with the government hitting the mobs hard and going after the leaders, the Mafia worried whether the old dons could take the heat. If even one talked, the damage would be enormous. Younger bosses would have a different outlook. A 20-year sentence could mean getting out in six or seven years with good behavior. They could do such time standing on their heads; they could hang tough. Toughness was John Gotti's middle name.
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And Gotti was adding a touch of coolness. Heading for an appearance in a federal courtroom, he insisted a female radio reporter enter before him. "I was brought up to hold doors open for ladies," he said.
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It was the same sort of elegance that Al Capone, up until then a firm believer in violence, developed after becoming top boss when Johnny Torrio bowed out in 1925.
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Gotti faced intensive federal prosecutions in the late 1980s, and it seemed highly likely that the young mob boss would almost certainly be convicted and would have to be replaced, if only temporarily, by a new leader of the Gambino family. But it was soon evident that even from behind bars Gotti was not about to hold still for being replaced. Given Gotti and his supporters' propensity for violence, it remained doubtful as well that the other New York crime families would dare to interfere with the powerful Gambinos. As one insider is reputed to have said, "When the Gambinos spit, the other families drown."
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That meant any real opposition would have to come from within the family, and no one seemed capable of moving on Gotti, or his handpicked caretakershis brother Peter and a childhood buddy, Angelo Ruggeriowhile he was imprisoned for his trial. Then in early 1987, shocking government attorneys, Gotti beat the rap.
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Next an effort was made to convict Gotti on RICO (1970 Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act) charges. The lead prosecutor was Diane Giacalone, but her case was ill prepared and promised little chance of success, partially due to backbiting between the prosecutors and the FBI team investigating Gotti, members of which felt they could eventually produce a stronger case. Gotti and his cohorts were acquitted, and the mob leader's reputation was truly made. He became known as the "Teflon Don" against whom criminal charges simply could not be made to stick. It made grand press for Gotti, but his days were numbered.
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The FBI produced a solid RICO case against him based on 100 hours of incriminating tapes. And they convinced Gotti's underboss, Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, to flip and testify against his chief. Gravano, who confessed to 19 murders, was out to save his own neck, and some criticized the government for granting him
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