On this day in 2002 flamboyant Gambino crime family boss, John Gotti passed away at the age of 61.
Gotti died in the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, MO after a long batter with cancer. The Dapper Don never shunned the spotlight and was one of the most celebrated gangsters in New York Mafia history. Gotti’s downfall came back in December of 1990 when the Bronx-born mobster was arrested along with Sammy Gravano and Frank Locascio. The new racketeering indictment from the feds charged Gotti with five murders and various other mafia-related crimes. tapes from FBI bugs placed in a room above the Ravenite Social Club on Mulberry St. captured Gotti and others talking about criminal activities and more. These recordings led to Gotti’s underboss and right-hand man Sammy Gravano turning state’s evidence and agreed to testify.
Now retired FBI agent Bruce Mouw said of Gotti “He was a gangster and proud of it. He was an old-fashioned La Cosa Nostra mobster.” Mouw spent 18 years as part of the team that built the case that led to Gotti’s conviction. The leader of one of New York’s most powerful mafia families had become Public Enemy #1 for the feds. John Gotti had beaten multiple cases leading to his infamous nickname “The Teflon Don” before the feds with the help of Gravano were finally able to put him behind bars.
It seems unlikely that modern-day Cosa Nostra will ever see another boss like John Gotti and that may be a good thing as far as the mob’s concerned. Since the days of Gotti, the New York Mafia has transformed itself back into an organization that centers around staying out of the headlines and away from public eye which is the way it was always meant to be. A quote from the 1996 Gotti movie “A Cosa Nostra boss don’t belong on the cover of Time magazine” was certainly spot on.
