John Joseph Gotti

John "Teflon Don" Gotti

John Gotti

John Joseph Gotti, Jr. (October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City.[1] Gotti and his brothers grew up in poverty and turned to a life of crime at an early age. Operating out of the Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens, Gotti quickly rose to prominence, becoming one of the crime family's biggest earners and a protégé of Gambino family underboss Aniello Dellacroce.

After the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicted members of Gotti's crew for selling narcotics, Gotti took advantage of growing dissent over the leadership of the crime family. Fearing he and his men would be killed by Gambino crime family Boss Paul Castellano for selling drugs, Gotti organized the murder of Castellano in December 1985 and took over the family shortly thereafter. One of the key details was waiting for the moment after the death of Aniello Dellacroce, who died a few weeks earlier from natural causes, Dellacroce was underboss of the Gambino crime family. He rose to the position of underboss when Carlo Gambino moved Joseph Biondo aside.

This left Gotti as the boss of one of the most powerful crime families in America, one that made hundreds of millions of dollars a year from construction, hijacking, loan sharking, gambling, extortion and other criminal activities. Gotti was one of the most powerful crime bosses during his era and became widely known for his outspoken personality and flamboyant style, which gained him favor with much of the general public. While his peers avoided attracting attention, especially from the media, Gotti became known as the "The Dapper Don" for his expensive clothes and personality in front of news cameras. He was later given the nickname "The Teflon Don" after three high-profile trials in the 1980s resulted in his acquittal, though it was later revealed that the verdicts were the result of jury tampering, juror misconduct and witness intimidation. Law enforcement authorities were not impressed with his style or reputation, however, and they continued gathering evidence against Gotti that helped lead to his downfall.

Gotti's underboss Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano is credited with the FBI's success in finally convicting Gotti. In 1991, Gravano agreed to turn state's evidence and testify for the prosecution against Gotti after hearing Gotti on wiretap make several disparaging remarks about Gravano and questioning his loyalty. In 1992, Gotti was convicted of five murders, conspiracy to commit murder, racketeering, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling, extortion, tax evasion, and loansharking. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole and was transferred to United States Penitentiary, Marion. Gotti died of throat cancer on June 10, 2002, at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.

According to former Lucchese crime family boss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, "What John Gotti did was the beginning of the end of 'Cosa Nostra'"