April 2, 1992: The federal government finally succeeds in getting John Gotti convicted and sent to prison.
John Joseph Gotti Jr. was born on October 27, 1940 in The Bronx, New York City, and grew up in East New York, Brooklyn. Then as now, East New York was one of the City's worst neighborhoods. By the time he was 12, he was already running around in the street gang affiliated with the Gambino crime family, one of the infamous "Five Families" of organized crime in New York.
Just like Jimmy "the Gent" Burke of the Lucchese family, thinly disguised as Jimmy Conway for the film Goodfellas, Gotti got his start hijacking trucks for their payloads, at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and did this until he was caught 1968, serving 3 years in prison. He did another 4 years for his role in an attempted hit on one of boss Carlo Gambino's enemies.
Gambino died in 1976, and by the time Gotti got back out of prison, the new boss of the family wasn't, as he had hoped, his mentor Neil Dellacroce, but "Big Paul" Castellano. In 1978, Gotti took part in the Lufthansa Heist at Kennedy Airport, but since he was in power at the time Goodfellas was made in 1990, he could not be shown as a character, and the film does not depict the heist, only showing Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta, hearing a radio report about it while he's in the shower.
In 1985, Dellacroce died of cancer, and Castellano was able to revise his succession plans, deepening the civil war within the Gambino family. Gotti saw his opportunity, and got support from some of the key members. On December 16, Castellano, and his underboss and intended heir, Thomas Bilotti, were shot and killed walking into a meeting of his associates at Sparks Steak House, at 210 East 46th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Gotti quickly consolidated his power, and was the new Gambino boss.
Gotti cultivated an image, dressing in fancy suits and smiling at the TV cameras that covered him, becoming known as "The Dapper Don." The problem was, he learned all the wrong lessons from The Godfather: He thought the lessons were, "Be completely ruthless with your enemies," "Don't get caught," and "Look great."
He seemed to know nothing about honor, or taking care of your community: All great criminal organizations around the world started out as trying to protect the poor people from wealthy landowners, and this was especially true of the Mafia in its origins in Sicily. The main person John Gotti took care of was John Gotti.
He also became known as "The Teflon Don," as the federal government couldn't build a case against him. In 1986, in his first full year in command of the Gambino family, he was acquitted in a racketeering case that had begun before he became boss, when a key witness against him suddenly decided not to testify against him.
In 1989, Gotti was arrested for assault. In the back of the police car, he said to the arresting officers, "Three to one I beat this charge." A year later, he went 6-for-6 on beating the charges that arose from this arrest.
His big mistake was promoting his friend Salvatore Gravano to underboss and heir. Given that his own son, officially John A. Gotti but usually and incorrectly known as "John Gotti Jr.," was only in his late 20s and had only been a "made man" since 1988, the elder Gotti needed a more experienced man.
On December 11, 1990, the FBI arrested Gotti, Gravano, and others at their hangout, the Ravenite Social Club, in Little Italy in Lower Manhattan, for, among other things, the murders of Castellano and Bilotti. Through wiretaps and bugs, the feds had all the evidence they needed to put Gravano, a.k.a. "Sammy the Bull," away for life. So they put pressure on him, and he caved, spilling his guts on Gotti. At the time, he was the highest-ranking Mob guy ever to turn state's evidence.
The trial, prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney John Gleeson, was held at the Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, and the jury was kept anonymous and sequestered, due to Gotti's reputation for jury tampering. Gravano's testimony caused Gotti to lose his cool in court for the 1st time, a sure sign that the charges were going to stick -- and a sure sign that Gotti knew that. On April 2, 1992, after just 14 hours of deliberations, Gotti was convicted on all charges.
ADA John Gleeson
James Fox, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, announced at a press conference, "The Teflon is gone. The don is covered with Velcro, and all the charges stuck." On June 23, 1992, Gotti was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and a $250,000 fine.
ADIC James Fox
Gotti was sent to the federal penitentiary at Marion, Illinois, and was put in solitary confinement. In 1998, he developed throat cancer. His supporters claimed the federal government had given him that cancer by poisoning the dental implants he was given. He died on June 10, 2002, at age 61.
The prosecutions of his brother Peter and his son John left the Gotti family without influence in organized crime. The Gambino crime family still operates, but with far less influence.
ADIC John Fox led the investigation into the 1st World Trade Center bombing in 1993, and retired a year later. He died in 1997, only 59. ADA John Gleeson was appointed a federal Judge in 1994, and served on the bench for 22 years. (UPDATE: In 2022, he was appointed to the United States Sentencing Commission.)
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April 2, 1992 was a Thursday. Baseball was wrapping up Spring Training. Football was out of season. And the NHL was in the middle of a brief strike. But there were 6 games played in the NBA that night:
* The New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 117-96 at the Charlotte Coliseum.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 115-98 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.
* The Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets, 137-114 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 109-105 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the Sacramento Kings, 111-103 at the ARCO Arena. (It's now named the Sleep Train Arena.)
* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz, 118-86 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Clyde Drexler led all scorers on the night with 33 points.
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