Joe Bilotti: Old School Gambino

It was just before 6pm on December 16, 1985 when the black Lincoln pulled up and parked in front of Sparks Steak House in Manhattan.  The streets were busy, but four men dressed in trench coats and fur hats moved with purpose.  The passenger was Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino crime family.  As he stepped out of the car, the men opened fire on him. The driver emerged and ducked a little to look towards Paul before he was shot in the back.

The forgotten man was Tommy Bilotti, Castellano’s driver and the new underboss of the family.

Tommy had a brother named Joe that passed away last week.  Joe was real Cosa Nostra, not like the clowns that run around playing the role in Brooklyn and Staten Island.  Guys who were in the life consider Joe the ultimate wiseguy. He kept a low profile, both before his brother Tommy was murdered by John Gotti’s crew and after.

The Billotti brothers were both known as tough guys with their hands.  They used that fear to build up a massive gambling business.  This proved a natural segway into their next business, which was loansharking.  They both prospered because of their talent as businessmen.

One of the men on record with Tommy was a man named Joe Watts, a childhood friend who grew up with the Bilottis in the South Beach section of Staten Island.

Joe Watts was known as “the German” because he was part German.  He managed the loan shark business for Tommy until Tommy was gunned down outside Sparks Steakhouse.

John wanted to get rid of Paul Castellano and Tommy Bilotti because he was caught up in the web of a heroin trafficking case and pure greed. Gotti and a few others plotted to take over the family, but they were not sure when to do it.

One plan was to put plastic down in the Watts home and invite Tommy over and murder him.

Then another man would take Tommy’s place as Paul's driver and murder him.

Instead, they settled on the midtown Manhattan spectacle.

Once Tommy was murdered, Sammy Gravano, the man who would later become John Gotti’s underboss, met with Joe Bilotti at a diner.  He told Joe that his brother’s murder was just business.

Joe Watts was urging John Gotti Sr. to murder Joe also, lest he seek revenge.  Joe agreed that he would accept it and not cause trouble.

John Gotti rewarded Joe Watts with Tommy’s loansharking book/business and it made him a millionaire.  No wonder Joe Watts was in on the murder of the boss.  He was one of the shooters.  Joe Watts might have made some money and had a few good years but he has been locked up for years.

In 2011 Joe Watts was handed another prison sentence of 13 years for his participation in another murder. At 69 years old who knows if he will see freedom.

Joe Billotti outlived John Gotti.  He was able to see him go away after Sammy Gravano helped team USA put him away.  Gotti would die inside, never again a free man.

He continued to take part in Gambino family business.  He was seen meeting with members of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra family in Florida in recent years.

Joe was a successful guy who most people don't know had a cigar factory in the Dominican Republic.  

So we say goodbye to another old timer who lived the life.

30 years after the Rise of John Gotti

30 years is a long time, and on the street it is even longer.  Things change fast in the criminal world.  In 1985 the world was just starting to learn about Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel. When most people thought of the mafia, Don Corleone came to mind.

There soon would be another name that everyone would know.  It was John Gotti, a gambling-addicted street thug from Queens, New York.  Gotti was a capo in the Gambino crime family, having taken over the crew of the Fatico Brothers.  The problem was, his brother Gene and his best friend Angelo Ruggiero were dealing heroin on a massive scale.  They had inherited the business from Angelo’s brother Sal, who died in an airplane crash while on the run from the Feds.  

The boss of the Gambino family was Paul Castellano, and he had a rule against dealing drugs.  It is funny because he still gladly took the cash from Gotti’s crew and other heroin dealers in the family. Paul was more of a white collar criminal and had made millions with his legitimate businesses.

Gotti was strictly blue collar, a meat and potatoes street guy.  He had been away for hijacking and murder.  He had a huge gambling habit and his headquarters were the Bergin Hunt and Fish club on 101st Avenue Ozone park Queens. A small place that probably never saw a hunter of animals in its membership rolls. The truth was, Paul Castellano was afraid of John Gotti and what he represented. Paul was what the mafia should have been and Gotti was its past.

John Gotti had big plans and Paul Castellano was standing in the way.  Paul was on trial and was facing a lot of time. Paul's underboss had died and he named his driver, Tommy Bilotti, as the new underboss.  This did not sit well with Gotti and the family.  So John Gotti put together a hit team that would deal with the Paul Castellano problem.

The hit team dressed in matching coats and Russian fur hats and as soon as Paul stepped out of his car they made their move.  It was over in seconds with Paul  Castellano and Tommy Bilotti lying dead in the street.  

John Gotti was watching as they were gunned down.  Thomas Gambino, a capo in the family and son of the late boss, watched as his cousin was gunned down in front of the steak house.

The hit changed everything for the mafia.  They stopped being a mythical criminal enterprise and they became front page.  

John Gotti soon held a meeting of all the capos and they voted him in as boss.  He had broken every rule of the mafia by killing his boss.  He did not have permission from the commission or any of the four other New York families.

The hit took place in Midtown Manhattan on a busy street as hundreds of people walked nearby the scene.  This made Gotti a household name. It also pushed the FBI to make an all out push to take down the mafia.  

They hit it hard and Gotti would die in prison.  The other families were hit just as hard.

Things had to change or they would not survive.  

Gotti had moved his headquarters from Queens to Little Italy.  He held court daily in the Ravenite Social club.  

I've spoken to guys in Nicky Corozzo’s crew and they used to disappear when Nicky went to the Ravenite. Nobody wanted the heat that came from a trip to the club.  Gotti made it easy for the FBI.  He had his capos come to the club on a weekly basis.

Today the Ravenite is no more.  It is now a high end shoe store.  Gotti died in prison and his son John Gotti Jr. went in and flapped his lips to the Feds when he was queen for a day.

The Bergin Hunt and Fish Club is vacant after a failed Italian Ice place took over.

The Gambino family is now run by secretive Sicilians that never meet at clubs.

The family uses diners at three in the morning for its meetings.  You will no longer see guys in 2000 dollar suits.  It's a jeans and t-shirt club that must stay secret if it is to survive.

Joe Watts

The rule for a long time was that you had to be 100% Italian to be inducted into a Mafia Family.

The rules were changed by the Commission in the 1980’s to include those who had an Italian father.  That way, guys like John Gotti Jr. could be inducted into the Gambino family. Some of the toughest, most loyal and biggest moneymakers are the non-Italians that were close to the Mafia. One man served the Gambino family from the days of Carlo Gambino to the dark days of Junior Gotti.  The man? Joseph Watts, a German who was one of John Gotti Sr.’s most loyal men.

When John Sr. barked, it was Joe Watts that would bite.  He was so trusted that he was in on the planning and the hit of Gambino Boss Paul Castellano.  The spectacular murder took place in midtown Manhattan during rush hour.  Joe Watts was a back up shooter wearing a fur cap and trench coat.  It has been said that Joe took over Tommy Bilotti’s Shylock loans after the murder.  Joe was known as a Shylock’s Shylock who gave out huge loans.

Frederick E. Weiss ran a real estate company but his real money maker was carting.  He made a fortune with others dumping solid waste.  Frederick leased an 80 acre site known as Port Ivory on Staten Island which bordered a protected area.  He would haul asbestos and medical waste and then dump it in the landfill illegally.  It was a huge money maker that pulled in a reported 7 million dollars.   On September 11, 1989 Weiss was on trial for RICO when he walked out of his apartment towards his car at 8:30am.  The shooters were waiting for him and they opened fire killing him before he hit the ground.  Weiss had sealed his own fate when he dropped his Gambino family lawyer.  John Gotti Sr. suspected that he was cooperating with the Feds so he ordered a hit on him.  Joe Watts was given the contract and he put together a crew to carry it out.  He had guys dig a hole and they had a house set for where the murder was to take place.  Weiss was supposed to come to the house and Joe Watts was waiting in the garage with a pistol but he never showed up.  It really didn't matter because three shooters from the New Jersey DeCavalcante family murdered him the next day.  

Joe Watts ended up getting taken down in a number of cases so he was locked up for a long time.  Junior Gotti hated Joe Watts because he thought Joe had made sure he was not able to kill Daniel Marino the Gambino Capo.  Junior Gotti has a book out now, which I am sure is a self serving pile of shit.  The guy went in and flapped his mouth to the prosecutors and he still pretends he is a stand up guy.  I do not care that he is a rat but I do care that he talks bad about those that have also cooperated.  He is no different.

There is a new book out by John Alite that gives the inside details of the Gotti family and their rule over the Gambino Family.  One of the things included in the book is a word for word transcript of John Jr.’s talk he had with the Feds.  He gave up Joe Watts and Daniel Marino for a murder.  He also told the Feds about a murder his father committed.  Too bad he won't tell them where they buried the poor man who worked at Castro Convertibles.

Joe Watts never killed Weiss but he pleaded guilty to murder because it was the best deal he could get. Weiss was a Government witness who was murdered so he could not testify.  The Government wanted to send a message that they would not let anyone murder their witnesses.  Joe Watts was able to plead out to 13 years and a 250k fine.  He will be 82 years old when he gets out.

Big Joey Massino (Part I)

Joey Massino went on record with Rusty Rastelli, the boss of the Bonanno family in 1973, and Rusty put him in for induction when he opened the books in 1975 after 19 years of remaining closed.  Joey passed because he felt he didn't need it at the time.  Joey had been involved in killing a Family associate named Tommy Zummo.  The killing had not been authorized, Joey had done what is known as “Cop A Sneak” a killing not okayed by the family.  Rusty would have killed him if he found out that Joey had done the hit.  Instead, Rusty thought highly of him. So, on June 14, 1977 he was inducted into the Bonanno Family in a bar along with some others.  Carmine Galante, the acting boss, Stevie Beef the Consigliere, Nicky Glasses, Capo and Al Walker ran the ceremony.  Those along with Joey to be made that day were Joe Chili, Joe Indelicato, Anthony Spero and Manny from the Bronx.    

Joey was soon back to work after the Boss of the Gambino Family, Paul Castellano, asked the Bonanno boss for a favor.  Paul’s daughter had been dating a man named Vito Borelli and Vito had been going around talk bad about Paul.  The Gambinos were having trouble setting him up for a hit so Paul reached out for Rusty for help.  Joey ended up helping the shooter, John Gotti, take him out.  This helped him become even closer to the Gottis during their reign.  He was also highjacking cargo out of JFK and he did well at that.  

One of his arrests came after he and his crew had taken a truck and they were driving it down the street.  Joey was following behind it when he saw an FBI Agent following the truck.  Joey pulled up next to up to the truck and told them the FBI was behind them.  Joey was recognized by the FBI and he was arrested.  Joey’s defense in the trial was simple: the truck had cut him off and he was yelling at the men.  The jury bought his story and he was found not guilty.

One of the most storied hits in the Mafia is the shooting of Carmine Galante in the rear of Joe and Mary’s Italian restaurant.  The picture of Carmine dead with a cigar clenched in his teeth is a classic.  Carmine was made acting boss while Rusty was away but it went to his head.  He stopped listening to Rusty’s directions and started making his own moves.  He angered the other families and the Commission with his actions.  Carmine felt safe because he had imported a bunch of Sicilians or “Zips” but he thought wrong.  The Zips sided with Rusty.  Cesare Bonventre, one of his bodyguards, turned on him during the hit.   Cesare was made a Capo after the hit but he would not last long.  

Joey had gone into hiding in Pennsylvania because the FBI had built a case on him.  While he was there, Rusty sent word that he was going to kill Cesare and Baldo Amato.  Joey went to bat for Baldo because he was listening to his Capo and doing what he was told.  Cesare was another story, he had been shaking down drug dealers but he forgot to kick up the cash.  Cesare had taken 10-15 kilos of heroin from Anthony Aiello Sr (roughly 600k) and he had not kicked up a cent.  Anthony was friends with Rusty and told him what went down, so Rusty sent for Cesare.  Cesare came to the meeting at Marty Rastelli’s home with John Ligamatti, another Capo.  Rusty questioned Cesare and Cesare denied it.  He turned to John and said, “Come on, lets go.” That is the type of attitude you cannot use when dealing with the Boss of the family.  And that is why Cesare was found in two 55 gallon drums in a warehouse.  

Joey turned himself in rather than staying low, and he got a short sentence. But, in 1986 while he was away, Rusty died.  He was voted in as boss while he was still away.   He made Sal Vitale, his brother-in-law, his underboss but he ran the family most of the time by panel.  Joey started closing the social clubs.  He also made it a rule that you had to be a full Italian to be made, and he also required that a guy be around them for 8 years before he could be proposed to be made.  Everyone was forbidden to mention his name, you instead had to tug your ear.  He told guys they no longer had to go to weddings and wakes, it was up to them.  He built the family back up and he had 17 Capos that reported to Sal Vitale, Tony Green and TG  Graziano.

 

He got about 4k a month from his Capos.  They had a book that he and Sal Vitale split.  Joey and Sal also 500k in Shylock cash on the street that they made a couple grand a week from.  He got 30k a year from the Feast Of San Gennaro because a Bonanno was the president of the Feast.  If anyone wanted a good booth or lights they had to pay.  The family had a Baccarat game they split with the Gambinos for the last 60 years that was held in coffee shops from November through mid-January.  Everyday at noon all the coffee shops would close and the one that was open hosted the game.  For a while he was getting 10k a month from a trucking company at JFK until changing times caught up and it dropped to 800 a month.  Every year at Christmas he got about 160k from his Capos, so Joey Massino was doing pretty well.  He used to meet Capos in the “weeds” in Queens, a street that had weeds on it. The FBI was playing catch up until it all came down.   Next week more on Joey Massino.

Gene Gotti & Gambino Family

Gene Gotti, the younger brother of John Gotti,  will be released on September 19, 2018 at the age of 72. Gene was given 50 years on July 8, 1989.  At the time he went away his older brother John was the boss of the Gambino family.  John then went away for life in 1992 and later his son John Junior took over for him.  Junior would later break all the rules by talking to the FBI and giving up Danny Marino and Joe Watts. The Garbage Man Peter Gotti, another brother of John Gotti, was even worse for the family.  

The new Gambino family is run by the Sicilian faction, but maybe Gene will fit in with them.  Gene has maintained a steady stream of visitors who speak to him on many family topics including his brothers and nephews.  Many of these men were heroin dealers like Gene, and some continue to push their poison to the masses.  Gene Gotti, Angelo Ruggiero, John Carneglia and Sal Ruggiero ran a multimillion dollar heroin empire and it was running smooth until Sal was indicted and had to go on the run.  

Sal worked with many people including mob criminal attorney Michael Coiro and criminals including Joseph Guagliano, Anthony Moscatiello, Oscar Ansourian, Edward Lino, Mark Reiter, William Robert Cestaro, Salvatore Greco, Joseph Lo Presti, Vincent Lore, Anthony Gurino and Caesar Gurino.  He would also deal with a lot of those that would go away for the Pizza Connection.   The drug cash was flowing into John Gotti's Bergin crew and Sal was an unofficial member because of the ban on drugs in the Gambino Family.  The ban is funny because Carlo Gambino profited off drugs, the Zips, the Cherry Hill Gambinos all paid him.  The new boss, Big Paul Castellano, had made a pact with Genovese Boss Chin Gigante “deal and die”  they were to not discuss it, just kill those that had anything to do with drugs.  They rightly figured that if guys were caught dealing they would be facing so much time that they would flip.  

On May 6, 1982 Sal Ruggiero and his wife boarded a Learjet in New Jersey bound for Florida where Sal was going to look at a McDonalds franchise that was for sale. The day was perfect and the sky a clear blue and over the Atlantic the jet requested permission to descend.  It descended but went into a dive straight into the ocean where it killed everyone aboard.

Angelo lost his brother (who had been a fugitive running his drug empire while on the run) and also his partner.   Angelo and Gene had to move fast because the Feds identified Sal’s body and they would be looking for his hideouts.  Sal had died when they had just gotten a large load of heroin.  Angelo started cleaning out Sal’s hideouts but according to the lawyer, turned crew member Michael Coiro Gen found the heroin.  This would all come out because the FBI had been watching Angelo because of his connection to the Gotti’s.  They had wiretaps and bugs in his home and they were listening when all this was going down.

Angelo was able to get a copy of an affidavit in support of a warrant to bug his home.  It came via a Genovese soldier and Angelo knew that he and Gene Gotti would soon be indicted for running Sal’s heroin business. It all came crashing down on August 8, 1983 when the FBI arrested Angelo, Gene Gotti and others for drug dealing.  It was soon learned that the tapes had provided the evidence the FBI needed to bug Gambino Boss Big Paulie’s home on Staten Island.

Paulie ordered his ailing underboss Neil Dellacroce to have have Angelo turn over the tapes so he could hear them.  The Gotti brothers Gene and John knew that the tapes would mean certain death for all of them.  They held off by making up excuses and when Dellacroce died and Big Paulie did not attend his funeral they used that to fuel the fire.  They started planning to murder Big Paulie.   On December 16, 1985 John Gotti struck, killing Big Paulie and his underboss Tommy Bilotti in Midtown Manhattan.  John Gotti was now the Gambino boss and he upped his brother Gene to Capo of his Bergin crew.  Gene would be found guilty of drug dealing in 1989, almost 7 years after his arrest. He went through 3 trials where jurors were threatened and bribed until he was given 50 years.  The Gambino family as it is stands today is no long Gene’s family.