"JOHN GOTTI....THE ILLEST"

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"...In addition, Castellano’s attorneys informed him he was also facing indictment in two other RICO cases. The first was referred to as the “hierarchy” case, which would eventually result in the convictions of Gambino Family underboss Joseph “Piney” Armone and one-time consigliere Joseph N. Gallo. The second case was known as the “Commission” case, for which Castellano would be indicted.

It wasn’t just Castellano who was under siege in the spring of 1985, it was the entire Gambino Crime Family. In addition to the “hierarchy” case, indictments were issued against John and Gene Gotti, Neil Dellacroce and his son Armond, John Carneglia, Willie Boy Johnson, Anthony “Tony Roach” Rampino, and several others. Using the RICO statute, the mobsters were indicted for crimes ranging from murder to loansharking. The indictments were the culmination of several years of work by assistant United States attorney Diane Giacalone, who represented the Eastern District of New York. Described in Mob Star as “outspoken, strong-willed and occasionally tempestuous,” the 31 year-old former tax attorney had grown up in the Ozone Park neighborhood, and while attending school, had passed by the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club daily.

One of the things Giacalone discovered was that Willie Boy Johnson was a confidential FBI informant. She quickly tried to convince Johnson to become a government witness and to testify against his long-time friend John Gotti and his Bergin crewmates. Johnson was in fear for his life, as well as the safety of his family. “I’ll be killed," he told the prosecutor. "My family will be slaughtered.” Gotti was soon made aware of Johnson's treachery. In Gotti: Rise and Fall, Capeci and Mustain reveal his reaction:

‘“I’m gonna give you a pass, and I give you my word no one will bother you,” Gotti told Willie Boy. “After we win this case, you won’t be able to be in the life again. But you’ll get a job, you’ll have your family, and you’ll be all right.’”

Despite Johnson’s plea to be granted bail with the others, Giacalone convinced the judge to keep Willie Boy in protective custody, where he would remain for over a year before the case came to trial. Meanwhile, government informant William Battista found out that Giacalone was looking to bring him into the case. Battista responded by grabbing his wife and fleeing the area, and they have not been seen since.

In the spring of 1985, Paul Castellano turned 70. He would not see 71. Still demanding to hear the Ruggiero tapes, the aging leader backed off again when it was revealed that Neil Dellacroce was dying of cancer. Castellano figured that when Dellacroce died, he could press for the tapes without incurring the wrath of his underboss. When Castellano finally got to hear the tapes during the late summer of 1985, he formulated a plan of action, but still held off while Dellacroce remained alive
Nearly six years would pass before a conviction would occur as a result of the indictments issued against Angelo Ruggiero, Gene Gotti and the others. By that time Paul Castellano was long gone and John Gotti had become the “Teflon Don.”

Castellano’s problems had begun to mount in the early 1980s, as the government set their sights on the mob bosses of New York City’s five organized crime families. With the recent drug indictments of members of Gotti’s crew, Castellano felt he needed to act. To calm the situation, Ruggiero convinced Aniello Dellacroce to approach the irritated boss with a contrived story that they were only sorting out Angelo’s brother’s affairs. Salvatore was neither a member nor an associate of the Gambino Family, and not being a subordinate to Castellano, could not be held accountable for disobeying any family rules. This plan would hold Castellano at bay until the actual FBI tapes could be handed over to defense attorneys.

Castellano did not realize that the information Ruggiero spread across the telephone lines, recorded by FBI phone taps, provided the government with enough probable cause to enter and bug his palatial estate. By early 1984, the Gambino Family boss was facing an indictment as the result of an investigation into another crew, that of former capo Roy “the Killing Machine” DeMeo. Despite the fact that Castellano had DeMeo killed, when the indictment was issued, the boss and DeMeo crewmembers were facing charges of “murder for hire, drug dealing, an international car-theft operation, child pornography, and prostitution.”

In addition, Castellano’s attorneys informed him he was also facing indictment in two other RICO cases. The first was referred to as the “hierarchy” case, which would eventually result in the convictions of Gambino Family underboss Joseph “Piney” Armone and one-time consigliere Joseph N. Gallo. The second case was known as the “Commission” case, for which Castellano would be indicted.

It wasn’t just Castellano who was under siege in the spring of 1985, it was the entire Gambino Crime Family. In addition to the “hierarchy” case, indictments were issued against John and Gene Gotti, Neil Dellacroce and his son Armond, John Carneglia, Willie Boy Johnson, Anthony “Tony Roach” Rampino, and several others. Using the RICO statute, the mobsters were indicted for crimes ranging from murder to loansharking. The indictments were the culmination of several years of work by assistant United States attorney Diane Giacalone, who represented the Eastern District of New York. Described in Mob Star as “outspoken, strong-willed and occasionally tempestuous,” the 31 year-old former tax attorney had grown up in the Ozone Park neighborhood, and while attending school, had passed by the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club daily.

One of the things Giacalone discovered was that Willie Boy Johnson was a confidential FBI informant. She quickly tried to convince Johnson to become a government witness and to testify against his long-time friend John Gotti and his Bergin crewmates. Johnson was in fear for his life, as well as the safety of his family. “I’ll be killed," he told the prosecutor. "My family will be slaughtered.” Gotti was soon made aware of Johnson's treachery. In Gotti: Rise and Fall, Capeci and Mustain reveal his reaction:

‘“I’m gonna give you a pass, and I give you my word no one will bother you,” Gotti told Willie Boy. “After we win this case, you won’t be able to be in the life again. But you’ll get a job, you’ll have your family, and you’ll be all right.’”

Despite Johnson’s plea to be granted bail with the others, Giacalone convinced the judge to keep Willie Boy in protective custody, where he would remain for over a year before the case came to trial. Meanwhile, government informant William Battista found out that Giacalone was looking to bring him into the case. Battista responded by grabbing his wife and fleeing the area, and they have not been seen since.

In the spring of 1985, Paul Castellano turned 70. He would not see 71. Still demanding to hear the Ruggiero tapes, the aging leader backed off again when it was revealed that Neil Dellacroce was dying of cancer. Castellano figured that when Dellacroce died, he could press for the tapes without incurring the wrath of his underboss. When Castellano finally got to hear the tapes during the late summer of 1985, he formulated a plan of action, but still held off while Dellacroce remained alive.
Thinking that Castellano would have them killed Gotti and Ruggiero began plotting “Big Paulie’s” demise. They first lined up support in their own family from Gravano, DeCicco, Armone and Robert DiBernardo---an independent operator without his own crew, who was a good earner for the family. The conspirators then “reached out” to the Bonanno, Colombo and Lucchese Families. The Genovese Family, led by long-time Castellano ally Vincent “the Chin” Gigante, was not included in the Gambino Family’s restructuring plan.

When Neil Dellacroce died on December 2, 1985, Castellano refused to go to the wake, claiming he wanted to avoid government surveillance. This breach of mob family etiquette only strengthened resistance against him. Castellano then named his driver/body guard, Thomas Bilotti, to the position of underboss. Castellano announced he was going to close Dellacroce’s Ravenite social club and reassign the old Fatico Bergin members to other crews.

Castellano’s reorganization plans would meet a swift and deadly response. "

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"..."I Forgotti!"
The newly crowned boss of the Gambino Family was busy preparing for two trials. The first was for assaulting Romual Piecyk, a refrigerator repairman.

On September 11, 1984 the beefy looking, 6-foot-2 Piecyk, 35, found his car blocked by a double-parked automobile outside the Cozy Corner Bar in the Maspeth section of Queens. No stranger to criminal acts, Piecyk laid on his horn until the owner of the offending vehicle appeared. Frank Colletta, a Gambino Family associate, smacked Piecyk in the face and ripped $325--the repairman’s weekly pay---from his shirt pocket. Piecyk jumped out of the car and began fighting with Colletta. Just then John Gotti exited the bar and entered the fray by slapping Piecyk across the face. Gotti then made a motion to withdraw something from his waistband, and as he did, he warned Piecyk, “You better get the fuck out of here.”

Gotti and Colletta returned to the bar while Piecyk went to notify the police. He then returned to the Cozy Corner in the company of two officers, who arrested the two Gambino hoods. A few days later Piecyk testified before a grand jury. Gotti and Colletta were indicted and charged with felony assault and theft. More than a year would pass before the case came to trial. By that time, Gotti’s face had been seen all over the newspapers and television in the wake of the Castellano/Bilotti murders.

With the trial approaching Piecyk was in fear for his life. He purchased a handgun and temporarily moved his pregnant wife out of their home. A week before the trial was to get under way, a sergeant from the Queens District Attorney’s detective squad stopped at the Piecyk home to discuss the case.

“I ain’t testifying,” Piecyk told the sergeant.

In his report, the detective noted that Piecyk was afraid of Gotti’s men. He had received anonymous phone threats and said the brakes on his work van had been cut. The threats prompted Queens District Attorney John J. Santucci to request an anonymous jury. The trial, scheduled to begin March 2, 1986, was delayed five days while Justice Ann B. Dufficy considered, and then denied, the prosecution’s request. On March 5, Piecyk spoke to a New York Daily News reporter. He denied receiving any threatening phone calls or having his vehicle tampered with. Piecyk then stated that he would appear as a witness for John Gotti.

“I am not going to go against Mister Gotti," he said. "I’m going in his behalf. I don’t want to hurt Mister Gotti.”

Testimony finally began on March 19. The next day when Piecyk was scheduled to take the stand, he didn't show. Members of Santucci’s staff went to pick him up, but he could not be located. Despite his disappearance, law enforcement believed he had not met with foul play but rather was too scared to appear in court. Assistant District Attorney A. Kirke Bartley, Jr. told the judge that the prosecution was unable to proceed, due to the absence of the People’s witness.

Late on Thursday, March 20, Piecyk was located at Mercy Hospital in Rockville, Long Island. The reluctant witness had gone there to have elective surgery performed on his right shoulder, thinking that he could avoid having to testify. At Friday’s court session, Bartley told Justice Dufficy that Piecyk would appear in court on Monday. Gotti’s defense attorneys, who claimed that Piecyk had assaulted Colletta and that their client had simply come to his aid, called the story a “sham.” Bruce Cutler, appearing for the first time in defense of the soon-to-be christened “Dapper Don,” claimed, “We don’t know where he is, what hospital, who his doctor is.”

Gotti’s other attorney, Michael Coiro, Jr., who would later be found guilty of helping Angelo Ruggiero hide drug profits, told the court, “I think it’s obvious the complaining witness is reluctant to testify.”

On Saturday morning when Piecyk check out of the hospital, detectives from the Queens district attorney’s office took him into protective custody as a material witness. On Monday afternoon, sporting dark glasses and with his right arm in a sling, he took the witness stand to begin two hours of direct examination by prosecutor Bartley. In the hushed, packed courtroom in State Supreme Court in Queens, Piecyk was asked if he saw in the courtroom the men who had assaulted him.

“I do not,” Piecyk replied.

When pressed to describe the men who had assaulted him, Piecyk stated, “To be perfectly honest, it was so long ago I don’t remember.” He claimed that his pocket had been ripped and his cigarettes and money taken, but he could not recall what had happened beyond that.

With this testimony, Justice Dufficy declared Piecyk a “hostile witness” and the trial was recessed. On March 25, prosecutor Bartley tried to resurrect the case by asking to introduce Piecyk’s grand jury testimony. Dufficy denied the request and dismissed the assault and robbery charges against the two defendants. The New York Daily News printed its famous headline, “I FORGOTTI” in front page trial coverage. The Queens district attorney’s office considered filing perjury charges against Piecyk but ultimately declined.

Yet this was not the last to be heard from Romual Piecyk. On August 27, 1986, during the jury selection for Gotti’s RICO trial, prosecuted by Giacalone, Piecyk appeared at the Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn. After being denied the opportunity to speak in the courtroom, Piecyk held an impromptu press conference outside the courthouse. He told reporters that Gotti was being treated unfairly by the media, who had portrayed him as a “human monster.” Piecyk’s appearance coincided with an affidavit he'd prepared for Gotti’s lawyers that admitted the mob boss had never threatened or intimidated him. These actions took place after Gotti had been denied bail. In that decisionl, Federal Judge Eugene H. Nickerson had cited the fact that Piecyk had been “frightened” into changing his mind during Gotti’s assault trial.

The Piecyk assault trial, the first of four trials, was over. The second trial, Giacalone’s RICO trial, was scheduled to begin on April 7, 1986 just two weeks after the conclusion of the Piecyk case. Meanwhile, the basis for the third trial---the assault of a carpenter’s union official---commenced with the wounding of John F. O’Connor on May 7, 1986."

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"...Last Arrest
On the night of December 11, 1990 FBI agents and New York City detectives swooped down on the Ravenite social club and arrested Gotti, Sammy Gravano and Frank Locascio. Thomas Gambino was also arrested, but at another location. Following his arrest, the New York Times published an editorial that would show that sympathy for the mob boss went beyond his hired cronies. The editorial read in part:

“They arrested John Gotti the other night the same way they arrested him before, flamboyantly and theatrically…why all the melodrama, including handcuffs and a platoon of 15 FBI agents? The only obvious purpose is for the prosecution to preen for the cameras.

“Angered by the Times editorial, James M. Fox, the assistant director of the FBI’s New York office replied in a letter that did not appear until January 19, 1991. The note pointed out that

while it was true 15 law enforcement officers were dispatched to make the arrest, Gotti was surrounded by 26 underlings;
only one photographer (from the New York Post) was present;
that every FBI prisoner is handcuffed in compliance with regulations;  
the federal government was only involved in one previous arrest of Gotti.}
Although this was the fourth indictment since Gotti’s bloody rise to leadership, it was the first time he was charged with the murders of Castellano and Bilotti. Bolstering the government’s claim in these accusations would be the testimony of Philip Leonetti, the former underboss of the Philadelphia Crime Family. Leonetti had become a government witness and was prepared to testify that Gotti bragged at a meeting of Philadelphia crime leaders that he had ordered Castellano’s execution.
A week after the arrests, defense attorney Gerald Shargel was in court requesting that the tapes from the Cirelli apartment be kept from the public, claiming they would damage the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Shargel told Judge I Leo Glasser that the three defendants (Gambino had been released on bail) were confined to their cells for 24 hours a day, interfering with their right to meet with counsel.

Four days before Christmas 1990, Judge Glasser denied bail for Gotti and the other two men, claiming, “There are no conditions of release that will reasonably assure the safety of any person in the community.” Meanwhile, after months of arguing between law enforcement agencies as to who would prosecute the case, a new controversy arose when it was revealed that the tapes had recorded Gotti discussing fixing the jury in the O’Connor trial. Morgenthau, whose office lost the case, was enraged that this information, recorded during the trial, was not brought to his attention until a year later. The Manhattan district attorney claimed the information could have led to a mistrial or separate state charges of jury tampering. The FBI’s response to withholding the information included the possibility that the “disclosure of the bugging might have compromised” their investigation and subsequent indictment.

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"...On January 18, 1991 Judge Glasser ordered an MCC official to end the “punitive conditions” under which the three defendants were forced to exist, which included 23-hour lockdowns. The official pointed out that the “administrative detention” was in part due to the judge’s denial of bail, because of the violent charges against them. Judge Glasser responded that his directive was intended to protect the outside community, “not the population at the MCC.”

At the same hearing Prosecutor John Gleeson presented a sealed motion to remove defense attorneys Bruce Cutler, Gerald Shargel and John Pollok from the case, claiming that they were caught on the Ravenite tapes and could be called as witnesses to testify. Judge Glasser gave the defense three weeks to respond. Leaving the courthouse, Cutler told reporters, “We’re optimistic that we’re going to remain as lawyers for these men.”

On February 22, the three defense attorneys, represented by counsel, appeared before Judge Glasser. Gleeson presented several tape recordings from Gotti’s Ravenite headquarters. Calling the lawyers “house counsel” for the Gambino Crime Family, Gleeson played a tape where Gotti complained, “Where does it end, the Gambino Crime Family? This is the Shargel, Cutler and who-do-you-call-it crime family.” Gleeson claimed the three should be disqualified, not only because their taped conversations were evidence but also because the tapes “raised a specter of improper conduct.” The prosecutor further argued that “the lawyers had conflicts of interest because they had previously represented other defendants who could be witnesses in the Gotti trial.” One tape had Gotti calling the lawyers “high-priced errand boys.” After his court appearance Cutler stated, “We are proud of the way we have represented these men.”

Despite the fact that Gotti was behind bars and could possibly remain there for the rest of his life, Vincent Gigante and Anthony Casso were still seeking revenge for the murder of Castellano. Just weeks before Gotti’s arrest, Edward Lino, one of the shooters at Sparks Steak House, was gunned down. On April 13, Bartholomew “Bobby” Boriello, a close friend, confidant and chauffeur to both John Gotti and his son, Junior, was murdered outside his Bath Beach home in Brooklyn. In each killing, Gotti was unaware that it was a Gigante plot.

Federal prosecutors won a tactical victory on July 26, when Judge Glasser disqualified Cutler, Shargel and Pollok from representing the defendants. The defense lawyers claimed the taped conversations fell under the attorney-client privilege, but Glasser disagreed. One legal expert reviewing the judgement said the decision was “not common.” The trial’s commencement, scheduled to for September 23, was now in doubt (it would eventually be rescheduled for January 21).

On June 2, after constant pressure from the news media, Judge Glasser unsealed the FBI tapes of conversations recorded in the Ravenite, the club’s hallway, and from the Cirelli apartment. Gotti’s recorded conversations with Frank Locascio and Sammy Gravano spilled out into the newspapers and onto the six o’clock news. Included in these gems were the private conversations between Gotti and Locascio about Gravano, which would later lead to his defection.

In early August, Gotti, Gravano and Tommy Gambino appeared before Judge Glasser. The judge wanted to know if they had obtained new counsel. Gotti whined about having Cutler removed from the case. Calling Gleeson a “bum,” Gotti stated, “He can’t handle a good fight, and he can’t win a fair trial.” When Glasser asked Gravano if he had a new lawyer, Sammy responded with an incredulous, “In five days? It took six months to get rid of my lawyer, and you give me five days to find a new one? From the MCC, that’s pretty hard.” Glasser gave the men another week and told them he might consider appointing counsel if they didn’t have representation by then.

There was much speculation as to who would take the case. Names being thrown around included F. Lee Bailey, Albert Krieger, Jay Goldberg, Benjamin Brafman, James LaRossa, William Kunstler and Alan Dershowitz. When asked by reporters if he were interested, Kunstler replied, “No lawyer worth his or her salt should take this case while Gotti’s being deprived of Bruce Cutler. It’s wrong, politically and legally. But someone will succumb to the money or the publicity or both.”

Some lawyers, speaking anonymously, didn’t want to touch the case, due to Gotti’s demeaning attitude towards attorneys. In addition, Gotti had been recorded on tape bragging about how he had made the careers of both Cutler and Shargel. Once, when he was upset with Shargel, Gotti stated that he had “a better way than an elevator” to show Shargel out of the attorney’s law office, which happened to be on the 32nd floor of an office building on East 58th Street. On August 20, Gotti selected Albert J. Kreiger as his attorney and Benjamin Brafman to represent Gravano. Thomas Gambino would be severed from the case and tried separately.

Against the objections of defense counsel Judge Glasser ordered that the jurors in the case would be sequestered and their names kept secret to “protect the integrity” of the trial. Along with this setback, the defense counsel had a more pressing issue to deal with – the defection of Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano on November 8, 1991. "

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"...Final Trial
On the first day of jury selection, January 20, 1992, the prosecution called for the removal of another Gotti defense team member. George L. Santangelo, who was representing Frank Locascio, was accused by the government of being another of Gotti’s “house counsel.” The defense reacted by seeking the removal of John Gleeson, claiming he had “an intense personal interest in the case” due to losing the earlier RICO trial. When Glasser ruled in favor of the prosecution and removed Santangelo, Locascio pointed to the flag behind the judges bench and shouted, "That’s the American flag – not a swastika!” Santangelo was replaced by Anthony M. Cardinale.

As the jury selection process got under way, approximately 500 prospective jurors were handed a 21-page questionnaire to complete. A week later, while the selection was still going on, prosecutors asked the judge to limit the cross-examination of three government witness by the defense. The prosecution was trying to prevent the defense from “inflaming the jury” by having the witnesses describe the graphic details of the murders they were involved in. The three witnesses were Gravano, Philip Leonetti and Peter Chiodo, a Genovese Family capo who had admitted involvement in four murders. During the trial, Chiodo’s sister would become the target of mob hit men. She was wounded after returning home from dropping her children off at school.

One day while the completed questionnaires were being reviewed, Judge Glasser informed Gotti that flyers depicting Gravano as a “rat who lies” had been left on automobiles around the courthouse and in the neighborhood around the Ravenite. Glasser advised Gotti, “It might be a very good idea if you could put an end to it.”

The jury selection proved to be a tedious one, as outside influences affected the process. Most of the problems were caused by the print media, who published what was supposed to be sealed information regarding six additional murders Gotti was rumored to be charged with. In addition, the New York Post published a headline article claiming that jurors were “petrified” of serving. In the courtroom on February 6, an irritated Judge Glasser let the defense know, “I am giving serious thought to moving the trial to another venue if this kind of media coverage and poisoning of the jury pool continues.”

An angry Gotti, seated with his attorneys, waited for the judge to leave before blurting out, “Where is he going to move it, Stuttgart, West Germany?” Gotti then called the judge a faggot. Turning to the prosecution table, the well-coifed mob boss complained, “When was the last time those punks washed their hair?”

On February 11, a jury was finally seated and on the following day, the opening statement by US Attorney Andrew Maloney was delivered. Maloney told the jury, “This is not a complex case.  These defendants will tell you in their own words what it’s about.” In describing Gravano’s anticipated appearance, the prosecutor stated, “He is no different and no better than John Gotti.” He then broke the news to the jurors that Gravano had been involved in 19 murders.

Defense attorneys Krieger and Cardinale delivered their opening remarks on February 13. Krieger began by apologizing for his client for the language the jurors were going to be subjected to on the government’s tapes, claiming Gotti had grown up on the streets and that, “he learned to speak what they speak.” While the lawyer admitted that profanity laced every sentence, he assured the jurors that, “It never intruded on his conversations with women and children.” Of Gravano, Krieger described the government’s key witness as “a little man full of evil…cunning, conniving, selfish and greedy…who has tried to clear his slate by admitting to 19 murders.”

The early days of the trial were taken up by the testimony of FBI Agents George Gabriel and Lewis Schiliro, who described the Gambino Crime Family organization to jurors and explained the various audio and video tapes from the Ravenite Club surveillance. On February 19, Deena Milito testified. Fighting back tears, she described her relationship with her father Louis Milito, whose body was never recovered after he disappeared on May 8, 1988. Prosecutors claimed Gotti ordered his death. Also called to the stand was Jack Zorba a gambler whose small operation was closed after a pointed message, caught on tape was, was delivered to him, “You tell this punk, I, me, John Gotti, will sever his mother-fuckin’ head off.”

The jury next heard in Gotti’s own words how he told Locascio about how he had ordered the murders of Robert DiBernardo, Louis Milito and Louie DiBono. This conversation had been recorded in the Cirelli apartment above the Ravenite on December 12, 1989. It was this tape, where Gotti blamed Gravano for requesting these murders, which chased Sammy into becoming a government witness. Gotti’s defense lawyers tried to elicit from FBI Agent Schiliro that the mob boss did not speak with “Churchillian” eloquency and used exaggerations routinely in his speech.

During the last week of February, the prosecution slowly put their case together on the Castellano murder charge. Beginning with the tapes, where Angelo Ruggiero is caught discussing heroin sales with Gene Gotti and John’s former attorney Michael Coiro, the prosecution moved on to talk about Castellano’s ruling on drugs. This sets the scene for Gotti to want to murder the Gambino Family boss to save his brother and friend Angelo. Two witnesses then testified that they saw John Carneglia and Anthony Rampino, associates of John Gotti, in front of Sparks Steak House the evening of the shooting. Both witnesses kept what they saw a secret for over a year and a half after the killing, out of fear for their lives.
"

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"...On Monday, March 2, 1992 the moment everyone anticipated arrived: Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano was sworn in.

There are three side notes to events that took place while Gravano’s testimony was going on. On March 3, the trial was interrupted when an elderly women let out a mournful wail in the courthouse corridor. Anna Carini said she had come to spit in the face of Gravano because she held him responsible for the deaths of her two sons, Enrico and Vincent. The two, however, did not appear on Sammy’s hit list. The following day, Judge Glasser dismissed two jurors. Although Glasser sealed the record on his decision, it was rumored that one, a 20 year-old man, asked to be dismissed because his girlfriend was frightened. Finally, as in an earlier Gotti trial, a bomb threat was called in which temporarily halted the proceedings.

The prosecution’s case after the Gravano testimony was anti-climatic. Videos were shown to back up much of Gravano’s claims and then prosecutors moved forward to bolster the other charges in the indictment. Chief among these was the obstruction of justice charge involving New York Police detective William Peist, who through Gambino associate George Helbig provided intimate details of the police intelligence department’s activities to the mob.

During this stretch in the case, additional audiotapes were played, including conversations that included attorneys Gerald Shargel and Bruce Cutler. The last charge the prosecution covered was a count to defraud the government. Called to the stand was an IRS supervisor who testified that Gotti had not filed taxes for the previous six years.

Near the end of the prosecution’s case, the defiant and arrogant attitude that Gotti had expressed during previous trials spilled out, and Judge Glasser admonished him. The judge interrupted the testimony of a witness, ordered the jury out of the courtroom and then stood and glared down at Gotti from the bench. “Mr. Gotti, this is addressed to you. If you want to continue to remain at this trial and at that table, I am going to direct you to [stop] making comments which can be heard in this courtroom, [and making] gestures which are designed to comment upon the character of the United States attorney,” the judge sternly said, “I will have you removed from the courtroom. You will watch this trial on a television screen downstairs. I am not going to tell you that again.”  

On March 23, amid yet another bomb threat to the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse, Andrew Maloney announced that the government was resting its case. The long awaited Gotti defense was a total shambles. The only defense witness lawyers were permitted to call was a tax attorney who claims he advised Gotti not to file tax returns while under indictment. Five other witnesses were ruled ineligible for a number of reasons, causing an outburst from attorney Cardinale that resulted in a contempt charge issued by Glasser. “What happened to our defense?” a disappointed Gotti inquired. “I should have put on a little song and dance.”

John Gleeson began the government’s summation on March 27, telling the jury that the combined evidence – Gotti’s taped words and Gravano’s testimony – provide “absolutely overwhelming evidence” to convict John Gotti. Describing the “Dapper Don” as the leader of the Gambino Crime Family, Gleeson stated, “Murder is the heart and soul of this enterprise.”

Both defense lawyers attacked Gleeson and Gravano in their summations. Cardinale described Gleeson’s attitude as, “get Gotti at any cost” and claimed the prosecution’s case was “nothing but a gloried frame-up.” Krieger called Gravano a “sick serial killer,” and said he delivered “John Gotti’s head on a silver platter.” Krieger told the jurors Gravano would receive a minimal sentence of no more than 20 years for his part in 19 murders as “long as he fulfilled his sick and distorted and manic promise to supply the testimony that you heard here.”

On March 30, the prosecution gave its rebuttal summation. John Gleeson, who had handled the bulk of the prosecution’s case, asked the jury to, “Look at all the evidence as a whole.” He pointed out that during the defense’s summations, they ignored the evidence and instead attacked him and Gravano.

In a move that almost proved disastrous U.S. Attorney Maloney completed the government’s summation. He pointed to the defendants and told the jurors, “this is the leadership of the Gambino Crime Family. If you accept the proof of what you are dealing with here, the boss of a murderous and treacherous crime family and his underboss, you would be less than human if you didn’t feel some personal concern.” Defense lawyers jumped to their feet, screaming objections, which Judge Glasser quickly sustained. After the jury left the courtroom defense attorneys angrily demanded a mistrial. Glasser rejected their demands.

The following day, after a third juror was dismissed at the request of the prosecution, Judge Glasser spent nearly four hours giving final instructions to the jury. As the day’s court session ended, Gotti stood, pointed toward the prosecution table and called out to reporters, “the 1919 White Sox,” indicating that the prosecutors had fixed the case."

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"...The "Velcro" Don
The jurors began their deliberations on the morning of Wednesday, April 1. After just 13 hours, the jury returned the following day, having found Gotti guilty of all the charges and Locascio guilty of all except one gambling count. James M. Fox, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York office, uttered his famous line, “The don is covered with Velcro, and every charge stuck.” This was followed by Andrew Maloney’s comment, “It’s been a long road. Justice has been served and it feels awfully good.” Meanwhile, prosecutor Gleeson told reporters, “We are very proud of what we’ve done. We have a great deal of admiration for a very courageous jury.” Judge Glasser set his sentencing date for June 23.

The calls of guilty were not yet through ringing in the courtroom when the organized crime pundits were selecting a new boss for the Gambino Crime Family. The New York Times was already reporting that law enforcement authorities had revealed that 73-year-old capo James Failla was appointed acting boss by Gotti when he was arrested in December 1990. In addition to Peter Gotti and John’s son, Junior, whom the “experts” claimed would not be good choices, other names being bandied around were Thomas Gambino, Joe Arcuri, Joseph “Butch” Corrao, Nicholas Corozzo, Robert Bisaccia and Daniel Marino.

Appeals for new trials normally take place after the defendant has been sentenced. However, John Gotti was no normal defendant. A veritable dream team of lawyers took up his cause a day before sentencing was to take place. The team of attorneys, in addition to Krieger, Cardinale, Mitchell and Cutler, included William M. Kunstler and Ronald L. Kuby. The group was requesting a delay in the sentencing and a motion to set aside the verdict due to affidavits from two jurors who came forward to claim the conviction verdict was unfair. One juror, the last one to be removed, stated she was replaced because she claimed she saw FBI Agent George Gabriel, while sitting at the prosecution table, “flash” a signal to fellow agent Louis Schiliro on the witness stand. The other juror was alleged to have been concerned about his wife’s health, but was kept on the jury and pressured into a quick verdict. Judge Glasser rejected the appeal.

On June 23, 1992, John Gotti and Frank Locascio stood before Judge Glasser to receive their sentence. The session lasted less than ten minutes. Asked if he had anything to say, the 51 year-old Gotti silently shook his head, no. Bruce Cutler, barred from representing his famous client during trial, was permitted to stand with him during the sentencing. Cutler responded for Gotti, “No, your honor.” Judge Glasser told Gotti, “the guidelines in your case require me to commit you to the custody of the Attorney General for the duration of your life.”

When asked if he had anything to say before sentence was pronounced, Frank Locascio produced a handwritten statement. “First, I would like to say emphatically that I am innocent.” After denying every charge against him, Locascio continued, “I am guilty though; I am guilty of being a good friend of John Gotti. And if there were more men like John Gotti on this earth, we would have a better country.” Judge Glasser handed down a repeat sentence: life in prison without parole. After the sentencing, Gotti patted his co-defendant on the shoulder and said, “We have just begun to fight.”

In September 1998, the New York Daily News reported that Gotti put out a murder contract on his former consigliere. By now Gravano’s book, Underboss, had been released, and Gotti was infuriated about comments Sammy related about Locascio, after an incident when the three were in the MCC in 1991. Gotti had belittled Locascio in front of other inmates after he had stolen some oranges and gave one to Gravano before offering one to Gotti. According to Gravano, an emotionally upset Locascio claimed, “The minute I get out, I’m killing this motherfucker.”

Meanwhile, outside the courthouse a riot, allegedly organized by John A. “Junior” Gotti, was in full force. An estimated 800 to 1,000 demonstrators, who arrived in 12 chartered buses, began with flag-waving and chanting. When the sentence was announced, violence began. The rioters targeted cars parked in front of the courthouse. Some were turned over, others the crowd jumped upon and shouted, “Free John Gotti!” Eight police officers were injured during the melee and a dozen protestors were arrested."

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"...Years in Layaway
John Gotti had been in prison less than a year before the government began investigating his son. Although not a true junior to his father, he still bore the nickname. In March 1993, a grand jury was probing Junior’s role in the Gambino Family hierarchy. The younger Gotti, a power weight lifter, met with his crew on Wednesday nights at the Our Friends Social Club in South Ozone Park, Queens. During the investigation, about twelve gang members were subpoenaed. One of those called was Carmine Agnello, who was married to Junior’s sister, author Victoria.

Agnello, who ran a scrap metal operation in Queens, claimed that “scar tissue near his brain has dulled his powers of recall so badly the feds might as well subpoena one of his rusted-out clunkers for all the help he would provide.” While seemingly humorous, Agnello’s memory problems were actually documented in sealed court papers filed with Judge Nickerson, who presided over the Giacalone RICO trial.

In August 1996, the HBO movie Gotti aired. Gotti was played by actor Armand Ansante while two future Sopranos stars had key roles; Vincent Pastore played Gotti sidekick Angelo Ruggiero and Tony Sirico was Gene Gotti. While Ansante made an excellent Gotti, little about the film was factually correct. The producers were set on portraying Gotti as a hero, with Sammy Gravano, played by William Forsythe, as the villain. They even had Gravano avenging the killing of Frank Gotti by shooting the John Favara character to death. Gotti, in his fourth year at Marion at the time, was not permitted to view the film.

During the mid-1990s many stories made the news regarding Gotti in prison. The fact that the mob boss was jailed for life did little to keep him, his family or his followers out of the newspapers and public eye. These stories discussed how many hours Gotti was in lockdown each day. Some reporters claimed he was allowed out of his cell for only one hour each day. Other reports had him being transferred to the new “super security” federal prison in Florence, Colorado. One story had Gotti being beaten to a bloody pulp after using a racial slur around another prisoner. A New York Times article in October 1996 said at a recent meeting of the Commission, members decided that, since Gotti had no chance of ever receiving a parole, he was about to “abdicate” his leadership of the Gambino Family. It was difficult to determine how much truth there was to these stories, because Bruce Cutler, now relegated to the role of mouthpiece for the Gotti family, denied every rumor and report.

Gotti’s continued leadership of the Gambino Crime Family was the hot topic of discussion in the late fall of 1996. On November 24, Jerry Capeci, in his New York Daily News role, reported that his sources had confirmed that, “Under pressure from the Commission,” Gotti was ready to relinquish control of the family. Supposedly, Junior Gotti was serving as acting boss of the family, with Peter Gotti, John “Jackie Nose” D’Amico and Nicholas Corozzo (a Gotti co-defendant in the Giacalone trial), serving as advisors. Capeci’s sources stated that the new Gambino leader was to be Corozzo.

If Corozzo did indeed ascend to the throne of the Gambino Family it was a short reign. On December 18, Corozzo was indicted on racketeering charges in Florida that included attempted murder, loansharking and arson. Represented by his nephew, Joseph Corozzo, Jr., who would later represent Gotti, Nicholas “Little Nicky” Corozzo was held without bail. In August 1997, Nicholas Corozzo pled guilty to federal racketeering charges in Florida; he received a term of five to ten years. Later that year, he again pled guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to charges of racketeering and bribing a jail guard.

While Gotti continued to waste away in prison, his one-time underboss Sammy Gravano was living the high life. Fresh from prison, after testifying and ending the three-trial win streak Gotti had held against law enforcement, the man who had admitted to taking part in 19 murders had co-authored a book.  He also had a movie deal in the works. At the same time relatives of Gravano’s victims were preparing to sue him in a civil action, while a New York State victims' rights attorney was looking to separate Gravano from his profits under the “Son of Sam” law. Years later, a judge would rule against the victim’s families, claiming the law was a state statute and Gravano had been convicted of federal crimes. In July 1997, Gravano would make his last appearance as a government witness by testifying against Genovese Family boss Vincent “the Chin” Gigante. Gravano’s testimony helped convict the mob boss, known as the “Oddfather,” who for years feigned insanity as a means of avoiding prosecution.

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"...The Years Were Not Kind
The last half of the 1990s were not good ones for the former Teflon Don…or for his family. The government was in hot pursuit of Junior and they watched his every move. In March 1997, State Organized Crime Task Force investigators raided Junior’s social club in Queens and seized over $350,000 in cash, which the officers suspected came from illegal operations. Junior gave them the implausible story that it was money he received from his 1990 wedding to Kimberly Albanese.

Even John Gotti’s old social club, the Ravenite, couldn’t escape the law. In October 1997, U. S. Marshals seized the building and threw out whoever was in the club. Later sold, the building was refurbished and the once infamous clubhouse was turned into a boutique.

In January 1998, Junior was arrested along with 39 others, in a massive federal indictment that charged him with a plethora of crimes, from the mob basics, loansharking and extortion, to a modern day telecommunications scam. Adding insult to injury – at least in the view of the Gotti family – was a June 2 indictment charging Junior in a November 1996 robbery of a drug dealer, in which he allegedly stole two kilos of cocaine, four guns and $4,000 in cash. This time Junior’s mother came to his defense. In a rare interview, Victoria Gotti called the New York Daily News and stated sarcastically, “He doesn’t have enough money, so he gets involved with drugs? Please! Can’t they come up with something better than that? ...I wish every mother in America had a son like mine.”

Junior’s indictment and subsequent legal woes proved to be a family affair, with mom, dad and his two sisters playing key roles. Prosecutors first approached young Gotti with a deal, worked through Gravano nemesis Ronald Kuby, who was representing one of Junior’s co-defendants. The deal was contingent upon all the defendants accepting it. Gotti family legal stalwarts – Cutler and Shargel – initially represented Junior, but later, attorney Sarita Kedia emerged as his main counsel.

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

"...Junior nixed the prosecution’s first deal, but with one of his co-defendants becoming a government witness, the acting boss of the Gambino Family was having second thoughts. In early July 1998, Federal Judge Barrington Parker set a January 1999 trial date. Junior had already been in jail for over five months and his lawyers were determined to get bail for him. This long legal battle was finally resolved, and on October 1, Junior was allowed to return home. The Gottis had to come up with a $10 million dollar bail, the bulk of which came from Victoria and her husband Carmine Agnello’s Old Westbury, Long Island mansion. The balance was provided by sister Angel and 25 other family members and friends. There were other conditions that had to be met as well, as Junior was whisked away to his Mill Neck, Long Island home in Victoria’s Mercedes. The New York Daily News reported:

“He will wear an ankle bracelet and be unable to leave his home under almost any conditions. The only exception is for legal strategy meetings with his co-defendants at lawyers’ offices, and that would have to be approved by White Plains Federal Judge Barrington Parker.

“FBI agents will make random searches of his home, and approved visitors – with the exception of immediate family members – will be kept in one monitored room.

“Gotti’s home phone will be tapped, and he won’t be allowed to use either a fax machine or cell phone, but he’ll have a second phone for private talks with attorneys. Still, he’ll have access to his swimming pool and tennis courts.”

The government prosecutors had frozen Junior’s properties, causing him to claim that he was on the brink of insolvency. Outside the Federal Courthouse in White Plains, New York, Junior railed at reporters, “Who’s the racketeers.”

Part of the bail agreement was that Junior had to pay for a 24-hour private security firm to monitor his every move. The cost of the security was $21,000 a month. Due to the government’s seizures, by early December Junior was screaming poverty. This, along with new charges being generated by the government, was beginning to wear the 34-year-old Gotti down.

As Junior began to give more consideration to a new plea deal from the government, he started to receive pressure from both his mother and father to go to trial. Just after Christmas, Junior rejected the government’s latest deal. By early January of 1999, three key defendants, including John D’Amico, had accepted plea agreements. With the additional charges the prosecutors were putting together, the January trial date was pushed back to April 6. By mid-March, only Junior and one other Gambino associate were left to stand trial, out of the 40 men originally indicted. On April 1, Junior told Judge Parker he could no longer afford the 24-hour security and asked to be sent back to jail.

On April 6, the day jury selection was to begin, Junior shocked his family and friends by accepting a government offer to serve 77 months for extortion, loansharking, gambling, mortgage fraud and tax evasion. In addition, he forfeited $1.5 million in cash and property. On October 18, 1999, over six months after pleading guilty, John A. “Junior” Gotti entered a medium-security federal prison in Ray Brook, New York, 300 miles from home and family.

In the middle of Junior’s long legal wrangling, it was suddenly announced that his father had been transferred to the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. John Gotti had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Acting as spokesperson for the family, Cutler stated, “Doctors found a tumor near his tonsils and lymph nodes at the back of Gotti’s throat. It’s serious. It’s life-threatening.”

In late September 1998, The Dapper Don was operated on. Doctors removed a cancerous tumor, but were optimistic that a full recovery would take place.

[C_R_O_N_I_C_I]

...More Family Woes
The next family member to fall to law enforcement was Carmine Agnello.  On one of her visits to see her father in Marion prison, Victoria listened during the taped session as John Gotti asked, “So what’s the story with Carmine? Does he get in the backseat of the car and think someone has stolen the steering wheel?” This was only one of the demeaning remarks that showed the disrespect Papa Gotti had for his son-in-law. The events of January 2000 would have little effect in changing Gotti’s perception of Agnello.

In April 1999, undercover police from the Auto Crimes Division in Queens set up an undercover sting operation in the Willets Point section near Shea Stadium. The sting was set up to catch thieves selling stolen auto parts. Before the month was out in walked Agnello to inform the undercover operators that they would have to sell him parts at half price in order to stay in business. Rebuked by the officers, Agnello twice attempted to burn down the operation to make his point. He was later indicted and charged with coercion, conspiracy, grand larceny and arson, not to mention restraint of trade and enterprise corruption.

On January 25, 2000, Agnello was taken into custody and held on $10 million dollars bail, prompting his then attorney, Marvyn Kornberg, to utter his famous line, “That’s not bail, it’s a telephone number.” Three Agnello associates were also indicted. Queens' prosecutors moved quickly to freeze Agnello’s assets, and they even took the unusual step of having police follow Victoria and surround an ATM machine at a Pathmark store to keep her from withdrawing money from the family accounts.

It seems as though, of all the Gotti family members, the stunningly attractive Victoria is the most intelligent, as well as the most talented and successful. The author of several best-selling novels, Victoria had handled the majority of the arrangements to bail out brother Junior a year earlier, only to see him sent away for six-plus years. Now she was looking at the prospect of seeing her husband incarcerated for a lengthy prison term.

After hearings, the bail was reduced so that Victoria, using $125,000 from a book advance, could free her husband with the help of friends and family. Agnello’s return to his Old Westbury mansion would be short, but certainly not sweet. Information from the investigation alleged that Agnello was having an affair with one of his employees. Despite initial denials by both himself and his wife, the following year Victoria would divorce Agnello, ending 15 years of marriage to the hot-headed 38 year-old mobster.

Meanwhile, on March 7, 2000, Agnello was arrested again. Named in a sweeping federal indictment, FBI agents awakened Agnello one morning and hauled him into a Brooklyn Federal Courthouse where he was charged and held without bail. This time Victoria was unsuccessful in her attempts to bail him out. He remains in jail as of this writing awaiting trial.

The one offspring who seemed to keep a low profile was Peter Gotti, the youngest of the children. In early April 2001, Peter was pulled over at a Rego Park, Queens police sobriety check point, where he was arrested for driving without a license. After spending the night in jail, he was fined $80. The beefy 26 year-old had a long record of traffic violations, and he'd had his license suspended or revoked on four separate occasions. In 1994, he'd allegedly attacked a policeman who was in the act of issuing him a traffic citation.

In the years since John Gotti’s 1992 imprisonment, if there has been anything to make the former Teflon Don happy, it would had to have been the arrest of his former underboss Sammy “the Bull” Gravano. On February 24, 2000, Gravano, his wife and two children were arrested in Arizona for their participation in a statewide drug ring that distributed the new designer drug, Ecstasy.

A subsequent indictment was issued against Gravano and his son Gerard in New York, charging them with conspiring with Israeli mobsters to distribute Ecstasy. As a June 4, 2001 trial date approached, Gravano and son agreed to plead guilty. On May 25, Gravano appeared in the same Brooklyn Federal Courthouse where he had testified against John Gotti. While the families of Gravano’s murder victims listened, Sammy told Judge Allyn Ross, “I loaned money to people” who purchased Ecstasy. Gravano was scheduled to be sentenced in September 2001. That same month Gravano goes on trial in Arizona. It’s unlikely that within the next fifteen years, the Mafia’s most celebrated “rat” will be a free man.

Finally, on April 18, 2001 the New York Daily News announced that John Gotti “has taken a turn for the worse.” They reported that the cancer doctors thought had gone away had returned, and now the Dapper Don was suffering from its advanced stages and was expected to last just two months. Gotti’s lawyer, Joseph Corozzo, told reporters that John was putting up a brave front. “He’s forced to be in a wheelchair,” the attorney stated, but emphasized that Gotti “insists on getting about on his own without assistance. John is defiant to the end.”

[Rud]

ILL READ ALL THAT WHEN IVE GOT A WEEK TO SPARE




peace

[Doggystylin]

LOL hes almost made two pages by himself

[West Coast Veteran]

i rather be the Burmese General/Triad Leader who makes 60 Billion dollars a year off heroin from the golden triangle...

[HBKid_Jr]

Me an Gotti both from Queens,  I used to go to his fire work shows on the 4th of july