John Joseph Gotti Jr. (years: October 27, 1940 - June 10, 2002) was an Italian-American gangster who became the boss of one of the most influential American Gambino mafia families in New York.
Biography
John Gotti was born in South Bronx, New York to Fanny and J. Joseph Gotti. He was the fifth of 13 children in the family, and his father supported such a large family with his meager salary from his daily work.
John and his brothers grew up in poverty and turned to a life of crime at an early age. Gotti, at the age of 12, worked as a housekeeper in an underground club run by the head of the local largest Gambino organized crime family, Carmine Fatico. Gotti quickly gained fame, becoming one of the largest borrowers of the crime family and a protégé of the junior boss of the family, who later became his mentor, Gambino Aniello Dellacroce, operating in the Ozone Park area of Queens.
Under the influence of the Gambino family, Gotti became the captain of the Fulton Rockway gang. He participated in robberies and car thefts. Gotti went to Franklin K. Lane High School, dropping out at 16.
By the age of 18, Gotti was already associated with the Fatico gang. Although he tried to stay free of crime and worked in a coat factory and a truck driver's assistant for some time, he soon returned to crime. John has consistently participated in murder, murder conspiracies, usury, heroin trafficking, racketeering, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling, clandestine crimes, tax evasion, and more.
Criminal "career"
Gotti began pursuing a full-fledged criminal career immediately after he contacted Carmine Fatiko. He and his two brothers, Gene and Ruggiero, began hijacking trucks at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
In 1968, he was arrested by the FBI for “hijacking United's plane.” Even when he was released on bail, he was again arrested for hijacking on the New Jersey Highway, spending about 3 years in Lewisburg Federal Prison during those years.
He and his brother Ruggiero began working at the Bergin Club of Hunters and Fishermen under the leadership of Fatiko. Gotti started running Bergin's illegal gambling. He soon became an active KAPO (representative of one of the highest "rungs" in the criminal ladder) of the Bergin team in 1972.
In 1973, Gotti was arrested for the murder of the Irish-American gangster James McBratney, along with the team assigned to him by Carlo Gambino, for the murder of his nephew Emmanuel Gambino. He received 4 years of imprisonment.
Upon his release in 1977, Gotti was initiated into the Gambino family. Gotti practiced usury and financed drug deals.
In 1980, his youngest son Frank was killed in a minibike accident at the hands of a neighbor named John Favara. He later apologized to Gotti, but was soon kidnapped and presumably killed. It was believed that Gotti killed him.
Around the same time, after the arrest of Castellano, Gotti became the boss of the Gambino family. Gotti was interested in overthrowing Castellano, thinking of him as greedy and too authoritative.
In 1985, Dellacroz died of cancer, and Castellano made Thomas Gambino the sole acting boss and Thomas Bilotti the junior boss. Gotti began conspiring to kill him. Castellano was assassinated under Gotti in 1985.
Gotti was officially appointed as the new head of the Gambino family in 1986. He appointed Frank DeCicco as his new deputy. The Gambino family was considered the most powerful American mafia family under his command.
In 1985, Gotti went to jail after his bail was canceled over evidence of his involvement in the Piecyk intimidation.
In 1987, all charges were dropped from Gotti and his accomplices were released.
In 1992, after the FBI brought charges against Gotti during the campaign against organized crime, he was arrested and finally convicted of murder and racketeering. He was also sentenced to life in prison when his new deputy, Sammy Gravano, testified against him. …
John Gotti was sentenced to life in prison and sent to federal prison in Marion, Illinois. This time, he didn't have the option of parole. He made his eldest son John Gotti Jr. acting boss, who pleaded guilty in 1999.
Gotti remained in prison until 2002 and faced an attack by Walter Johnson, a cellmate. As a result, he was subjected to solitary confinement and only left his cell for an hour a day. In the same place, 10 years after the announcement of the life sentence, he died of throat cancer.
Personal life
Gotti married Victoria DiGiorgio in 1962, after the birth of their first daughter Angela. They had four more children: Victoria, John, Frank and Peter. Frank died in an accident when he was only 12.
John Gotti died in 2002 at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, Missouri, from throat cancer. His funeral took place in a church institution; he was buried next to the grave of his son Frank.
Films about the famous Teflon Don
Many films have been made about Gotti and his life. Some of them are: "To Catch Gotti", "Gotti", "Witness Against the Mafia", "Boss of All Bosses", "Gotti: In My Father's Shadow", "The Big Heist", "Sinatra Club", etc.
The American press constantly portrayed him as a ruthless gangster, and in order to maintain a normal public image, the famous Don tried to smooth out bad articles about him, and also offered coffee to the FBI agents sent to work on his case.
When he was the head of the Gambino family, his annual income was about US $ 5 million, and the family was estimated to have earned about US $ 500 million under his leadership.
