A Brief History
On April 2, 1992, John Gotti’s Teflon coating wore thin and numerous charges stuck, enough to convict him of murder and a host of other crimes!
Digging Deeper
Gotti was born in New York City growing up in the criminal underground there, eventually rising to become the boss of the Gambino crime family.
Moving up the Mafia ladder, Gotti found himself in position to seize the top job by killing his boss, Paul Castellano. More than just a power grab, Gotti had Castellano murdered partly in self defense, as he feared Castellano would have Gotti himself executed for violating Castellano’s order against his Mafia men dealing drugs.
Gotti earned his nickname, The Teflon Don, in the 1980’s as he was acquitted in three separate trials. Of course, the Teflon was actually made of jury tampering, witness tampering, and threats!
Frustrated by Gotti’s manipulation of the justice system, prosecutors ensured the 1992 trial for murder and racketeering would have an anonymous jury that would be sequestered for the duration of the trial to avoid the usual threats and bribes. A major ace up the prosecutor’s sleeve was the testimony of Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, a thuggish Gotti lieutenant who was permitted to listen to tapes of Gotti speaking ill of Gravano, enough to ensure Gravano’s cooperation.
Gotti was convicted this time, and sentenced to life in prison without parole, serving most of that time in solitary confinement, partly for his own protection.
Gotti was found to have throat cancer and was shipped to a federal hospital facility in Missouri where he eventually died of the cancer in 2002. His death was as cracked as his life, with Gotti choking on blood and vomit!
Testifying at one of Gotti’s earlier trials, a witness claimed the female prosecutor had tried to bribe him with drugs and a pair of the woman’s panties to testify against Gotti! That witness was later convicted of perjury for that statement.
Not only has Gotti been portrayed numerous times in film, by actors such as Joe Mantegna (as fictionalized Gotti, Joey Zasa), Tom Sizemore, and Armand Assante, but a new film is being made with John Travolta as the colorful crime boss.
Many Mafiosi complained that Gotti led a life too much in the public eye and thus brought too much unwanted attention on criminal activity, resulting in many of the prosecutions that followed. In keeping with that love for publicity, Gotti’s daughter and her children starred in a television reality series, Growing Up Gotti. (More like growing up cracked!)
During his time as boss of the Gambino family, Gotti “earned” between $5 and $12 million a year, proving at least for a while, crime does pay! Question for students (and subscribers): Who is your favorite television or movie (real or fictional) crime boss? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Capeci, Jerry and Gene Mustain. Gotti: Rise and Fall. Berkley, 1996.
Gotti, Victoria. This Family of Mine: What It Was Like Growing Up Gotti. Gallery Books, 2009.
