The Gotti Follies

The name Gotti brings to mind the image of John Gotti as boss of the Gambino crime family, dressed in a two thousand dollar suit.  The public doesn’t understand the lasting negative effect John Gotti Sr. had on the Gambinos.  The truth is, John Gotti Sr. helped the feds weaken the crime family through his actions.

The Gambino family had a lot of crews in multiple states.  John Sr. started making all his capos check in every week at the Ravenite club in Little Italy. This made it easy for the law to keep tabs on who was doing what.  He held meetings inside an apartment above the club that the Feds had wired up.  He bragged, and they caught him on tape.  Sammy Gravano, the family underboss, flipped to team USA.

John Sr. went away for life and he left his son John Jr. as the acting boss.  Junior would later talk to the Feds when he had a proffer session.   He gave up guys for crimes.

Then his daughter Victoria had a reality show, “Growing up Gotti.” Today, they are shooting a movie about John Gotti.  I wonder if they will include anything about Gotti’s neighbor, John Favara, a hard-working man who “disappeared” after accidentally hitting and killing Gotti’s son Frank, who at the time he was hit was driving an illegal mini bike and not obeying basic traffic rules.

There is Gotti news in 2016.  John’s brother Gene, who did many years for dealing heroin, will be up for release soon.  

John Gotti Sr.’s grandson, John Gotti, the son of Peter Gotti, was arrested on June 30th for possessing 205 Oxycodone pills, Testosterone, Xanax, Marijuana and 18 methadone pills. He also had over $7k in cash on him along with the drugs, and was arrested while driving with a suspended license.  

On August 4th the NYPD concluded Operation Beach Party with the raiding of the former Queens home of John Gotti Sr., where his grandson John Gotti lived with his father Peter. The NYPD found a safe with $40k and over 500 Oxycodone pills inside.  They also raided the Rebel Ink Tattoo parlor and arrested seven other people involved in the drug crew.  The NYPD seized $200k from one of the players, who was said to be holding it for John Gotti.

Grandson John Gotti is now in a Rikers Island drug rehab where he awaits trial. A judge denied his bid to be freed on a $2 million bond because he is facing 25 years if convicted.

That is not all of the recent news in the Gotti saga. Victoria Gotti had her Long Island mansion raided by the IRS on September 14th. They also raided an Auto Parts store in Queens owned by her ex-husband Carmine Agnello, a made member of the Gambino family who is awaiting trial in Cleveland, Ohio where he ran some scrap yards.  The store is currently being run by Victoria and her three sons, who were all reality stars in her show.

Agnello, now divorced from Victoria, is facing charges for his part in a stolen car ring.

The Gottis are not keeping a low profile, although that seems like the best thing to be doing in their situation. Last year a tape was played in the trial of Vincent Asaro, a Bonanno family capo.  Asaro was inside the auto parts store when one of the Gottis said hello to him.

To continue the life of crime with the Gotti name seems crazy.

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.