John Joseph Gotti Jr. was the leader of the Gambino family, one of the most prominent American mafia organizations. He was frequently involved in murders, murder plots, loan sharking, heroin peddling, racketeering, obstructing the justice system, illicit gambling, engaging in undercover activity, filing false tax returns, etc. Gotti, who was raised in a large, impoverished family in New York, began to petty theft at a very young age. He joined the Gambino family as one of their proteges as he grew older and acquired more connections in the criminal underworld, and after taking charge of several organized crimes, he was elevated to the position of family leader. He quickly gained a reputation for being extravagant and boisterous throughout all America. He was also a big topic among American journalists, where he went by the nicknames “The Teflon Don” and “The Drapper Don” due to his perpetual lack of charges against him and his pricey suits. However, he was ultimately found guilty in 1992 of racketeering and murder, received a life sentence, and passed away from throat cancer there ten years later.
Early Childhood & Life
John Gotti was born to Fannie and J. Joseph Gotti in the South Bronx of New York. He was the fifth kid in a family of 13, and his father used to care for such a large family on a modest wage from a day labor job.
When he was 12 years old, Gotti was a janitor in a clandestine club controlled by Carmine Fatico, the leader of the Gambino, the biggest organized crime family in the area. There, he met Aniello Dellacroce, who later served as his tutor.
Gotti rose to the position of “Fulton-Rockaway” gang leader thanks to the influence of the Gambino family. He used to participate in carjackings and robberies. Gotti attended Franklin K. Lane High School but left at the age of 16.
When Gotti was 18 years old, he started hanging out with the Fatico gang. Even though he made an effort to avoid crime, working as a presser at a coat factory and an assistant truck driver for a while, he quickly returned to it.
After being associated with Carmine Fatico, Career Gotti immediately started a full-fledged criminal career. At John F. Kennedy International Airport, he began carrying out truck hijackings alongside his two brothers, Gene and Ruggiero.
He was detained by the FBI in 1968 as a result of the “United hijacking.” He was detained once more for hijacking on the New Jersey Turnpike even after being released on bond. He served about three years at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in the same year.
He and his brother Ruggiero began their employment with Fatico at the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club. Gotti took over the management of Bergin’s illegal gaming. In 1972, he was shortly appointed the acting capo of the Bergin Crew.
When Carlo Gambino dispatched a crew to assassinate his nephew Emanuel Gambino, Gotti was imprisoned for killing the Irish-American criminal James McBratney. His sentence was for four years.
After being freed, Gotti joined the Gambino family in 1977 and was designated the capo of the Bergin Crew. He was regarded as Dellacroce’s ward. In addition, Gotti funded narcotics deals and engaged in the practice of loan sharking.
His youngest son Frank was killed in a minibike crash in 1980, which was caused by a neighbor named John Favara. Despite his apology to Gottis, he was kidnapped and likely killed. He was said to have been killed by Gotti.
He got into a fight with refrigerator repairman Romual Piecyk, and in 1984, Gotti was accused of robbery and violence by the police. He was also charged with racketeering alongside Dellacroce.
Gotti became the acting head of the Gambino family at the same time as Castellano’s arrest. Gotti regarded Castellano as being selfish and far too powerful, thus he was interested in removing him from power permanently.
Following the cancer death of Dellacroce in 1985, Castellano appointed Thomas Gambino as the only acting leader and Thomas Bilotti as the underboss. Gotti began planning his murder. Under Gotti’s direction, Castellano was murdered in 1985.
In 1986, Gotti was formally named as the new head of the Gambino family. DeCicco was chosen to serve as his new underboss. Under his leadership, the Gambino family was regarded as the most powerful American mafia family.
Due to evidence that Gotti had participated in intimidation in the Piecyk case, his bail was withdrawn in 1985, and Gotti was then locked up. In his absence, he elevated Joseph Armone to the position of underboss.
Gotti was exonerated of all charges in 1987, and his co-defendants were likewise freed. He never had any legal charges “stick” with him, which is why the American media dubbed him “The Teflon Don.”
He was detained for murder and racketeering in 1992 when the FBI turned Gotti’s conviction into an organizational criminal campaign and his new underboss Sammy Gravano testified against him.
He received a life sentence and was transferred to the federal penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. He was not eligible for parole at this time. John Gotti Jr., his eldest son, who entered a guilty plea in 1999, was appointed as interim boss.
Gotti was assaulted by fellow prisoner Walter Johnson when he was still housed there until 2002. He was also kept in solitary confinement and only permitted to leave his cell once a day for an hour. Cancer took his life there.
Personal Legacy & Life
After the birth of their first child, “Angel,” in 1962, Gotti wed Victoria DiGiorgio. Together, they had four additional kids: Victoria, John, Frank, and Peter. Frank was only 12 when he lost his life in an accident.
He passed away from throat cancer in 2002 in the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. He was buried next to the grave of his son Frank, and his funeral was held in a non-religious location.
John Gotti’s Net Worth
At the height of his criminal empire, American gangster and crime leader John Gotti had a $30 million fortune (after adjusting for inflation). He was given the moniker “Teflon Don” by the media because he was notorious for avoiding federal indictments for his crimes. In 1992, he was ultimately found guilty of a number of federal charges. He was the head of the New York City-based Gambino crime family.
Trivia
Gotti and his life have been the subject of numerous movie pictures. Getting Gotti, Gotti, Witness to the Mob, Boss of Bosses, Gotti: in the shadow of my father, Mafia’s Greatest Hits, Sinatra Club, etc. are a few of these.
He tried to maintain a normal public image to play down the press and used to offer coffee to FBI agents sent to handle his case because the American press frequently portrayed him as a violent mobster.
When he was the boss of the Gambino family, he used to make an estimated $5 million per year, and the family’s yearly revenue was thought to be around $500 million.