Original subtitles

[♪]

Gangs rule their territories through ruthless enterprises,

fear,

and a strict code.

Deviate from this code

or challenge their power,

and retribution soon follows...

especially for the violent and powerful

Gambino crime family.

From its stranglehold on New York City

to its epic showdown with the law,

here are three stories

of the secretive criminal organization

thrust into the public spotlight by John Gotti.

First, a changing of the guard

as a ruthless capo kills the boss of bosses

in the middle of Manhattan.

[Nevins Taylor] There's a dead body in the street.

This was shocking.

[Narrator] Next, the new boss's celebrity status

shines a light on the Gambino family's operations.

He was breaking the rules, right?

This is a secret organization.

[Narrator] And finally, the Gambino underboss

breaks the mob's most sacred code

and exposes the family's entire criminal history.

He was very loyal to John, until he heard them tapes.

[Narrator] These are the stories

from the Gotti years of the Gambino Crime Family.

This is Gangland Chronicles.

1985.

New York City.

Five Italian mafia families run the city,

but the Gambino crime family

is the largest, wealthiest, and most brutal among them.

The Gambino family was known to be a ruthless family.

[Narrator] The family officially gets their name in 1957

when underboss Carlo Gambino

orders the hit of the reigning don, or boss,

Albert Anastasia.

Gambino raises the family's profits and power

as the head of the Commission,

the governing body

of the Italian American mafia in the U.S.

When Gambino dies in 1976,

his cousin, Paul Castellano, a capo, rises to the top.

Castellano runs the family

with underboss Neil Dellacroce

and consigliere Joseph Gallo.

Under them are over 20 capos, upwards of 200 soldiers,

and thousands of associates.

By the mid 1980s,

the family is making $500 million a year,

1.4 billion today.

The mob controlled unions.

It was involved in illegal gambling.

It was involved in loan sharking.

[Ruggiano] Plus they were making millions

in legitimate businesses,

all the nightclubs they owned,

all the gay bars they owned,

all the porn stores, everything.

[Narrator] But no matter how much the family is raking in,

Castellano wants a bigger and bigger take.

His greed will trigger

one of the most infamous mob hits in history.

[gunfire]

1985.

Staten Island.

Paul Castellano is making an estimated $15 million a year,

$43 million today.

He would get rolls of bills brought up to him weekly,

but he wanted more.

[Narrator] One capo in Queens

has a major problem with the boss's greedy ways.

His name is John Gotti.

[DeStefano] John Gotti wanted to be a gangster,

and he was a throwback to the era

when the gangsters were this big public persona,

because they were the tough guys.

[Narrator] Gotti is in Castellano's bad books

because members of his crew, including his brother Gene,

have been indicted for running drugs,

which is forbidden.

When Carlo Gambino became the boss,

he put out a rule,

nobody was allowed to sell narcotics anymore

because it brought too much heat to the organization.

[Narrator] Castellano threatens

to bust up the crew and demote Gotti.

Outraged, Gotti goes straight to his mentor,

underboss Neil Dellacroce.

[Gabriel] Neil Dellacroce advised,

"You know, if you go after the boss,

you could potentially be starting a war."

[Narrator] But Gotti begins to plot behind Dellacroce's back

with an ambitious soldier named Sammy "The Bull" Gravano,

and the two see their opening

14 days after Dellacroce dies of cancer.

December 16, 1985.

Midtown Manhattan.

Gotti and Gravano have arranged

for four hitmen to take out the boss.

[Nevins Taylor] And they go to Sparks Steakhouse,

where they are tipped

that Castellano is going to be having an early dinner.

[Narrator] As John Gotti and Sammy Gravano

keep watch from across the street,

Castellano's car pulls up outside the restaurant.

What happens next

changes the Gambino crime family forever.

[gunfire]

December 16, 1985.

Midtown Manhattan.

John Gotti and Sammy "The Bull" Gravano

have hired four hitmen

to take out greedy Gambino boss Paul Castellano.

The two men watch from a distance

as Castellano and his underboss, Tommy Bilotti,

pull up to Sparks Steakhouse.

[gunfire]

Castellano was killed as soon as he got out of his car.

Bilotti tried to evade,

but was killed by another gunman.

There's pandemonium on the street.

I mean, this is the holiday season.

This is midtown Manhattan.

This was shocking.

[Narrator] Gotti has just done the unthinkable.

He's taken out the boss

of the most powerful mob family

in New York City

without getting the blessing from the Commission.

One month later,

the Gambinos come together to choose a new boss.

To no-one's surprise, John Gotti is the only nominee.

Some people were not happy,

but they were not going to say anything,

because at that point, the Gambino family knew

that if they went against John, they were gonna go.

They all voted "yes,"

and John officially became the boss.

[Narrator] But the Gambinos are not prepared

for John Gotti to shine a public spotlight

on the family's business,

and that will set the stage

for the ultimate faceoff with the law.

1986.

New York City.

John Gotti takes stock

and re-evaluates the percentage of the take

he expects from his capos,

and unlike the former boss, Castellano,

he spreads the wealth around.

He saw himself as the new champion of his family.

[Narrator] Gotti is making the most of his new role as boss,

dressing in flashy suits,

eating at fancy restaurants,

going to nightclubs,

and landing on the covers of the papers

and on TV,

earning him the nickname "The Dapper Don."

And, at first,

his fame benefits the entire Gambino family.

[Ruggiano] People wanted to do business with us,

and everybody started making more money

because we had more power.

More doors were opened.

[Narrator] But behind closed doors,

Gotti runs the family the old-school way,

and those members

who don't show the boss the respect he demands

are taken care of.

[gunfire]

Gotti lifts the ban on drug dealing,

and insists on operating out in the open.

He had everybody showing up

to meet him publicly out of the Ravenite Social Club,

his new headquarters,

but not everybody liked it.

This is a secret organization.

But they had no choice.

[Narrator] But operating out in the open

brings extra heat to the organization.

Between 1986 and 1990,

the authorities indict Gotti and other Gambino members

on multiple charges...

but the family skates by, especially the boss, John Gotti.

He has this reputation for Teflon Don,

because no charges would stick.

[Narrator] The Feds make it their mission

to take down John Gotti and the Gambino family

once and for all.

You know, there's a lot of pressure to make the case.

We can't afford any mistakes.

It's gotta be rock solid.

[Narrator] The FBI doubles down on surveillance and wiretaps

at the Ravenite Club,

but they're coming up empty

until they notice something unusual on the tapes.

John Gotti had a very distinctive voice,

so you knew when he was at the table talking,

and then all of a sudden,

his voice would disappear for a half hour to an hour,

so we couldn't see inside the building.

We can only see outside.

We knew he wasn't leaving the premises.

Did we get made?

[Narrator] So far, Gotti is getting the best of the FBI...

but the Gambinos are about to make a costly misstep.

1989.

The Ravenite Club, New York City.

While conducting wiretaps on the Gambino family headquarters,

the FBI discovers

that John Gotti is pulling a disappearing act.

He's not leaving the premises,

and he's not in the hallway, and he's not in the club.

Ultimately, they found out

that Gotti was going to an apartment upstairs

where he would have his secret meetings.

[Narrator] The second floor apartment

is home to an elderly widow of a Gambino soldier.

It's in this apartment

that Gotti really rules the Gambino family.

One night, he's furious

with a soldier named Louis DiBono

for not coming to a meeting when called.

[Gabriel] He was very much about running the family

La Cosa Nostra way, right, with the rules.

He wanted to be the most respected and the most feared.

[gunfire]

[Narrator] After Gotti's rant,

Louis DiBono is found dead in a parking garage...

but the Feds have no way

of tapping into these conversations,

so under cover of night,

the FBI plants a bug in the apartment,

and then... they wait.

[Gabriel] Night one, doesn't go upstairs,

night two, doesn't go upstairs.

He's not going up in the stinking apartment anymore.

Did they know they're bugged?

[Narrator] Finally, on the ninth night of surveillance,

the Feds catch a break.

John Gotti, his underboss, Sammy Gravano,

and his consigliere, Frank LoCascio,

are in the apartment.

[Gabriel] I get a phone call.

"I can't talk, but he's upstairs, audibility is good,

everything's great,"

and they hang up on me...

and then just putting the headset on

and listening to that tape and the conversation they had.

John Gotti, Sammy Gravano and Frank LoCascio

go on this conversation about why they killed Paul Castellano.

I mean, this is four years

after they killed Paul Castellano...

[gunfire]

and it's the first conversation I get on that bug.

We got him.

[Narrator] December 11, 1990.

The FBI enters John Gotti's headquarters,

the Ravenite Club,

with warrants.

[Gabriel] And there's John Gotti sitting down

next to Frankie LoCascio and Sammy Gravano,

and John just looks at me,

he goes, "We were expecting you.

Do you mind if we finish our coffees?"

[Narrator] Gotti,

his consigliere, LoCascio,

and underboss, Gravano,

are charged with racketeering and murder.

The Teflon Don has gotten the best of the law before,

but when a high-ranking mobster

breaks the mafia's code of silence,

the Gambino family is torn apart.

December 21, 1990.

Federal District Court, Brooklyn.

Gotti, LoCascio, and Gravano

are brought before the court for a bail hearing.

Despite being indicted a fourth time

on multiple murder charges and racketeering,

the Teflon Don is confident

his celebrity status will save him.

[Ruggiano] He said, "The public loves me,

and the worst I'll ever get is a hung jury,"

and he truly believed that.

[Narrator] But when the FBI wiretap recordings are played,

John Gotti is blindsided.

On the tape,

he's having a conversation with Frank LoCascio,

badmouthing Sammy Gravano.

Gotti was complaining about Gravano,

implying that Gravano wasn't giving him his share.

[Narrator] Not only is Gotti suggesting

Gravano is a cheater,

but that he's taking advantage of being the underboss

to make more money.

He's blaming murders on Sammy,

saying, "Everybody Sammy kills, he takes over their companies."

I mean, some of them tapes, you know,

were not good for Sammy.

You know, not good for Sammy.

[DeStefano] Gravano was furious.

His blood was boiling.

[Narrator] Gravano is a ticking timebomb

waiting to go off,

and if he blows,

no one in the Gambino family will be safe,

especially Gotti.

December 21, 1990.

Brooklyn Federal Court, New York.

At a bail hearing, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano,

underboss of the Gambino crime family,

hears an FBI recording for the first time

where the don, John Gotti,

bad-mouths him behind his back...

but that's not the worst of it.

Gotti also discusses murders

Gravano has carried out for the family.

I mean, John Gotti

just convicted and sentenced Sammy Gravano

to multiple mandatory life sentences

on that one conversation.

[Narrator] Adding insult to injury,

while they're in jail awaiting trial,

Gotti expects Gravano to take the rap for him.

Gotti says, "Gravano, you are my best friend.

You're going to have to take the fall for me

because the boss has to stay on the street."

[Ruggiano] Definitely he felt disrespected.

I mean, he was the guy's underboss.

He was loyal to him,

and I think he felt he was getting thrown under the bus.

[Narrator] Sammy "The Bull" has a decision to make.

Does he take the rap for Gotti,

or does he violate

the most sacred oath in the Italian mafia?

[Ruggiano] Omertà is a code of silence,

that we don't betray our brothers.

That's the hardest decision

any one of us in that life could make.

[Narrator] After 11 months in jail

while waiting for trial,

Gravano finally makes his choice.

March 2, 1992.

Brooklyn.

Sammy "The Bull" Gravano

takes the stand during John Gotti's trial.

[Nevins Taylor] For nine days, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano

was able to give the inner workings

of the Gambino crime family

and how John Gotti rose to power.

He also detailed the plotting and the execution

of Paul Castellano and Tommy Bilotti.

That was kind of the nail in the coffin for John Gotti.

[Narrator] On April 2, 1992,

John Gotti is found guilty of all charges,

and sentenced to life in prison.

Sammy Gravano's deal with the prosecution

puts him away for five years,

and when he's released,

he enters the witness protection program.

[Gabriel] So the first impact of all of that

is people are angry at Sammy,

but they're angry at John Gotti,

because in essence,

John Gotti brought this upon himself,

but now upon the whole Gambino family.

Now, all of a sudden, the mob doesn't appreciate

this famous, notorious gangster that everybody was in awe of.

[Narrator] After 10 years in prison,

John Gotti dies of throat cancer in 2002.

In New York City,

the Gambino family is back to operating in the shadows,

and it's half the size it was in its heyday.

[Ruggiano] It definitely went more underground.

It's a different mafia

than the family John Gotti ran, for sure.

[DeStefano] Gradually over time, the Gambino family

has become more and more

under the orbit of the Sicilian gangsters,

and you had people now

who controlled the family by committee.

It's kind of like nobody wants to be a boss anymore,

because if you're a boss,

you're going to get all the heat,

and it's a no-win game.

[Narrator] The Gotti years of the Gambino family

serve as a warning for all gangs that follow.

John Gotti, and ultimately Sammy Gravano,

believed that all their efforts

were to keep the Gambino family alive and strong and viable,

but all their efforts and actions

had the reverse effect, and just destroyed that family.