The Mafia Encyclopedia (58 page)

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Authors: Carl Sifakis

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Page 163
almost complete immunity, since Gotti was doomed on the tape evidence alone. However, it was obvious that the prosecution could not dare risk losing its case. A loss would probably leave Gotti free of any future prosecutions under RICO. Gravano's testimony thus was vital.
Gotti was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to life without parole. By the late 1990s it was unclear if Gotti would or even could continue to head the Gambino family from behind bars through his son. John Gotti Jr. was listed as acting boss of the family, but it was apparent that real power was gravitating to John J. D'Amico, a top Gambino capo and close friend of Gotti. Whether he remained a friend was open to question.
The doubts rose from the fact that cold-blooded analysis of the Gotti record proved disturbing to a number of Gambino family wise guys. In the short time before Gotti was tucked away in prison, the membership in the family had dropped from something over 250 to around 150. With Gotti at the head, the family had gained a reputation for dapperness, but Gotti's imposing presence on the TV nightly news exposed many of the capos and soldiers to discerning scrutiny by law enforcement officials. Gotti constantly ordered his men to come to the mob's Ravenite headquarters on Mulberry Street, even though the area was blanketed by FBI cameras. Many of the wise guys knew that quiet discretion and the shadows should have been the call; however, they dared not voice their fears to the boss and knew better than not to show up, since Gotti decreed and carried out the death sentence in such cases.
While all the mobsters hated Sammy "the Bull" Gravano for his ratting, they privately acknowledged the Bull's charge that Gotti's arrogance had done much to bring down the boss and their organization.
Law enforcement circles generally felt that Gotti and his son would become less major factors in the Gambino family. Indeed, crime would probably march on without the Gotti influence.
Gotti, John, Jr. (1964- ): Stand-in boss for his imprisoned father
Prior to his 1992 conviction for murder and racketeering, John Gotti, boss of the Gambino family, made his son a capo. Gotti realized that the "big pinch" was coming, and he prepared to run his crime family from behind bars. When he went to prison, he named his son acting boss, which gave John Jr. the authority to convey his father's orders to the family.
As a relative, Junior was permitted to visit his father in the federal prison in Marion, Illinois, and he did so twice a month. They were separated by a thick Plexiglas partition, and no exchange of notes was permitted and could only talk over a phone monitored by guards; yet it was said that Junior had little trouble deciphering his father's orders on mob affairs. It was believed Gotti made himself clear through eye movements and voice inflections so that sometimes the opposite of what was said was the real message.
John Gotti Jr., accompanied by one of his lawyers
after a brush with the law. In 1998 the junior Gotti
was charged with extorting money from a topless nightclub
named Scores, which has little to do with the scores of sporting events.
A lawyer informed the press that young Gotti had never been to Scores
and "detests those places. He thinks they are degrading to
women and disgusting."
There was considerable doubt that Gotti would be able to continue as boss from behind bars, partly because of his son's arrogant style, which at times alienated Gambino associates. (The press capitalized on his arrogance and labeled him the "baby monster" after he was arrested for his role in two youthful brawls.) Even though the elder Gotti could be extremely vicious, he could also turn on considerable charm. While Gotti was
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Whenever Gotti Faced court action, he could mount support From demonstrations,
such as this one led by his usual lead attorney Bruce Cutler (with bullhorn in hand) and
counting to 1,000 participants charter-bused From his home neighborhood of
Ozone Park and Howard Beach in Queens.
famed for his finely tailored suits, his son dressed like a slob in jogging clothes. And while the elder Gotti lived in a nondescript house in middle-class Howard Beach, his son moved into a $700,000 home in exclusive Oyster Bay on Long Island. Everything about the younger Gotti irritated certain mobsters.
In January 1998 Junior was arrested and indicted along with 139 others. The charges included telecommunications and construction fraud, labor racketeering, loan-sharking and extorting money from a topless nightclub on Manhattan's Upper East Side named Scores, a favorite of celebrities and tourists. The mob reportedly extorted everyone from the owners to the coat-check girls, parking attendants and topless dancers, and the take was said to be in the millions.
Junior's lawyer called the indictment weak and "a bit silly." The only reason Junior was being charged, the lawyer insisted, "is his name." He said young Gotti had never even been to Scores. ''He has nothing to do with Scores. He absolutely detests those places. He thinks they are degrading to women and disgusting."
Obviously the authorities hoped the indictments would cause chaos within the crime family. Lewis D. Schiliro, acting director of the New York office of the FBI, declared, "Yet another generation at the top of the Gambino family chart will soon be gone." And he added about Junior's situation, "It doesn't pay to be No. 1."
Junior did not remain No. 1 for long. Surprising most observers he suddenly copped a plea, not emulating his father by toughing it out in great style. It became known that Junior conferred with his father, who okayed his son making a deal, one that represented closure, assurance that prosecutors would bring no other charges and that his sentence would run between 70 and 87 months. Would this finally break the Gotti hold on the crime family? The betting was that the senior Gotti would try to continue using a pipeline to the mob via his 59-year-old brother, Peter.
Gotti "Fan Club": Imprisoned Mafia boss's loyal supporters
After the second attempt by the government to imprison him, John Gotti was transformed by some into a hero, especially in his home territory of Ozone Park and Howard Beach in Queens. And the support continued even after his conviction in 1992, when his fans staged perhaps the wildest protests ever made on
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behalf of a mob boss. On Gotti's sentencing day in federal court, about 1,000 people arrived on chartered buses outside the court; marchers surrounded the building, chanting ''Free John Gotti" and "Freedom for John."
As word of the life sentence for Gotti spread from the courtroom down to the lobby and out to the street, the angry crowd charged forward, egged on by members of John Gotti Jr.'s crew shouting into bullhorns. The demonstrators tried to storm the building, fighting an outmanned squad of cops and federal guards. The police department rushed in an additional 100 officers to hold back the protesters, but a number of policemen were injured and required first aid in the lobby. Frustrated, the crowd vented their rage on cars parked outside, turning three completely over. Police arrested a dozen Gotti supporters, including one of Gotti's nephews, 22-year-old Joseph Gotti.
Federal officials insisted the entire demonstration had been orchestrated by the Gotti forces. James Fox, director of the FBI's New York office, told the press: "That was an orchestrated and planned event, not spontaneous. It was directed by the crew of John Gotti Jr."
While that may be true, the riot left little doubt that some still maintained a near-mythic adulation of John Gotti despite his crimes. According to his lawyers, Gotti still gets as many as 100 letters a week in prison. Many come from crackpots, but others are from strangers wishing him well, some even ask for advice on coping with crises in their own lives. Occasionally, Gotti deigns to respond.
Dear Mr. Gotti
,
I am writing this letter to you to see if you would write a letter of encouragement to my aunt who is terminally ill with cancer. She and I both are great admirers of yours and if anyone knows about courage it's you
.
I know in my heart a note of best wishes from you would mean so much. God bless you and your family. I pray you'll be reunited with your family in the very near future
.
Gotti was touched enough to have a lawyer write the sick woman and pass on his best wishes, advising her to "stay strong."
One cynic noted that Gotti did not respond in writing himself. That could be because many fans want nothing better than a personal letter from him, something that might become a valuable collector's item in the future.
John Gotti was not the sort to give out freebies.
Gravano, Sammy "the Bull" (1945- ): Turncoat underboss for John Gotti
The headline in the
New York Post
blared "KING RAT!"
The
Daily News
, the city's other main tabloid was a bit more inventive on its front page: "DON'S NUMBER TWO WILL SING THE HITS."
They were talking about Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, John Gotti's underboss in the Gambino crime family. He had decided to "flip," the first time ever that an underboss facing trial with his boss had turned against him. "This defection is unprecedented in the annals of New York organized crime," said Edward McDonald, former head of the eastern district's Organized Crime Strike Force.
Prosecutors were confident in November 1991 that they were about to destroy the image of "the Teflon Don," the best-known mobster since Al Capone and one who had beaten all past charges against him and created a persona of invincibility that infuriated law authorities.
But this time was different. The prosecution had over 100 hours of taped conversations that doomed Gotti with his own words. The Bullso named for his compact muscular body and thick bovine neckhad actually witnessed the damning situations recorded on tape and could provide personal corroboration the authorities had never had before against Gotti.
It could be said that what made Gravano so fascinating to the authorities, the press and the public was his very unwholesomeness. Gravano confessed his guilt to a mere 19 murders.
One newspaper splashed its front page with a tombstone labeled "R.I.P." and listing all 19 Gravano murder victims from Joseph Colucci in 1970 to Louie DiBono and Edward Garafalo two decades later.
Sammy the Bull (left) and John Gotti, during the best of
times before the worst of times.

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