John Gotti
John Gotti[1][note 1] (/ˈɡɒti/ GOT-ee, Italian: [ˈɡɔtti]; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American mafioso and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City.He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino boss Paul Castellano in December 1985 and took over the family shortly thereafter, leading what was described as America's most powerful crime syndicate.While his peers generally avoided attracting attention, especially from the media, Gotti became known as "The Dapper Don" for his expensive clothes and outspoken personality in front of news cameras.[22] During this time, he befriended fellow mob hijacker and future Bonanno family boss Joseph Massino, and was given the nicknames "Black John" and "Crazy Horse.Gotti was not yet a made man due to the membership books' having been closed following the 1957 Apalachin meeting, but Fatico named him acting capo of the Bergin crew soon after he was paroled.[30] Remo Franceschini, a member of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) from 1957 to 1991 who specialized in organized crime;[31][32] when asked in 1993 why he knew at an early stage that Gotti would become a major figure in the Mafia, said: "He was charismatic and a leader.[38] Gotti was released in July 1977, after two years' imprisonment; he was subsequently initiated into the family, now under the command of Castellano, and immediately promoted to replace Fatico as capo of the Bergin crew.However, the driver of the van, Parnell "Stacks" Edwards, failed to follow orders; rather than driving the vehicle to the scrapyard, he parked it near a fire hydrant and went to sleep at his girlfriend's apartment.[2] However, on March 18, 1980, Gotti's youngest son, 12-year-old Frank, was run over and killed on a family friend's minibike by a neighbor named John Favara.One account said that while Favara was dismembered alive with a chainsaw, his remains were stuffed into a barrel filled with concrete and dumped in the ocean or buried somewhere on the lot of a chop shop.[47] In January 2009, court papers filed by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn contained allegations that mob hitman Charles Carneglia killed Favara and disposed of his body in acid.[63] Armone's support was critical; as a respected old-timer who dated back to the family's founder, Vincent Mangano, he would lend needed credibility to the conspirators' cause.[70] Several days after the murder, Gotti was named to a three-man committee to temporarily run the Gambino family pending the election of a new boss, along with Gallo and DeCicco.[28] His newfound notoriety had at least one positive effect; upon the revelation of his attacker's occupation, and amid reports of intimidation by the Gambinos, Piecyk decided not to testify against Gotti thanks to Boško "The Yugo" Radonjić, the head of the Westies in Hell's Kitchen.[86] Jury selection for the racketeering case began again in August 1986,[87] with Gotti standing trial alongside his ex-companion Johnson (who, despite being exposed as an informant, refused to turn state's evidence[88]), Leonard DiMaria, Tony Rampino, Nicholas Corozzo and John Carneglia.[91] In the trial's opening statements on September 25, Gotti's defense attorney Bruce Cutler denied the existence of the Gambino family and framed the government's entire effort as a personal vendetta.[93][94] Despite Cutler's defense and critiques about the prosecution's performance, according to mob writers Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain, when the jury's deliberations began, a majority were in favor of convicting Gotti.[99] Prior to their convictions, Gotti demoted Gallo, who retired to allow Gravano to take his place, while slating Frank LoCascio to serve as acting underboss in the event of Armone's imprisonment.Gallo and Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo shot Weiss in the face, killing him instantly, with Anthony Capo serving as the getaway driver in the hit."[116] O'Connor, a leader in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) Local 608 who was later convicted of racketeering himself,[117] was believed to have ordered an attack on a Gambino-associated restaurant that had snubbed the union and was subsequently shot and wounded by the Westies.In a December 12 conversation with Locascio, Gotti plainly acknowledged ordering the murders of DiBernardo and Liborio Milito — the latter being one of Gravano's partners killed for insubordination.[122] State prosecutors linked Gotti to the case with a recording of him discussing O'Connor and announcing his intention to "bust him up," and the testimony of Westies gangster James McElroy.Jules J. Bonavolonta, director of the FBI's organized crime division in New York, stated, "With all this media coverage he's beginning to look like a folk hero... What the public should realize is that he is the boss of the largest Cosa Nostra family, that he surrounds himself with ruthless killers and that he is flat out a criminal.To the outrage of Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau and state organized crime taskforce chief Ronald Goldstock, the FBI and federal prosecutors chose not to reveal this information to them.[125] Gotti, Gravano and Locascio were often recorded by the bugs placed throughout the Ravenite (concealed in the main room, the first-floor hallway and the upstairs apartment) discussing incriminating events.At the same time, attorneys Cutler and Gerald Shargel were disqualified from defending Gotti and Gravano after prosecutors successfully contended they were "part of the evidence" and thus liable to be called as witnesses.[149][150][151] On the stand, Gravano confirmed Gotti's place in the structure of the Gambino family and described in detail the conspiracy to assassinate Castellano, giving a full description of the hit and its aftermath.[156] Five of Krieger and Cardinale's intended six witnesses were ruled irrelevant or extraneous, leaving only Gotti's tax attorney Murray Appleman to testify on his behalf.[156][161] Among other outbursts, Gotti called Gravano a junkie while his attorneys sought to discuss his past steroid use,[162][163] and equated the dismissal of a juror to the fixing of the 1919 World Series.[171] Despite his imprisonment and pressure from the Commission to step down,[172] Gotti asserted his prerogative to retain his title as boss until his death or retirement, with his brother Peter and his son John Jr. relaying orders on his behalf.
John A. GottiTeflon Don (disambiguation)John GaddiJohn GaddyNew York CityNew YorkMCFP SpringfieldSpringfieldMissouriSt. John CemeteryCrime bossPaul CastellanoPeter GottiVictoriaRichard V. GottiGene GottiRichard G. GottiCarmine AgnelloGambino crime familyConviction(s)Life imprisonment without the possibility of parolemafiosocrime syndicateprotégéAniello DellacroceunderbossOzone Park, QueensindictmentTeflonacquittalsjury tamperingjuror misconductwitness intimidationSalvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravanoturn state's evidencewiretapconspiracy to commit murderracketeeringobstruction of justicetax evasionillegal gamblingextortionloansharkinglife in prisonUnited States Penitentiary, MarionIllinoisthroat cancerUnited States Medical Center for Federal PrisonersSpringfield, MissouriAnthony "Gaspipe" CassoLucchese crime familythe BronxSan Giuseppe Vesuvianoprovince of Naplesmade menEugene "Gene" GottiinitiatedcaporegimeEast New YorkBrooklyntruancyFranklin K. Lane High Schoolstreet gangsmafiosicement mixerAngelo RuggieroWilfred "Willie Boy" JohnsonJohn Jr.Carmine FaticosoldierAlbert Anastasiatruck hijackingsJohn F. Kennedy International AirportBonanno familyJoseph MassinomentorAniello "Neil" DellacroceUnited AirlinesNew Jersey TurnpikeNorthwest AirlinesLewisburg Federal PenitentiaryparoledBergin Hunt and Fish ClubenforcerindictedApalachin meetingRavenite Social ClubCarlo GambinoJames McBratneyStaten Islandplea bargainRoy CohnmanslaughterNew York City Police Departmentorganized crimenatural causeswhite-collarno-show jobinformantsdrug dealsLufthansa heistgetaway vanscrapyardminibikeJohn Favaradismemberedchop shophitmanCharles CarnegliaFloridaassaultrobberyAssistant U.S. Attorneystreet credibilityheroinRoy DeMeosecond indictmentthe Commissionlife imprisonmentThomas BilottiThomas GambinoFrank DeCiccoJoseph "Joe Piney" ArmonesoldiersSammy "the Bull" GravanoRobert "DiB" DiBernardo