You are viewing this post: Mobster Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano Everything To Know? The 47 Top Answers
Are you looking for an answer to the topic “Mobster Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano Everything To Know“? We answer all your questions at the website Bangkokbikethailandchallenge.com in category: Bangkokbikethailandchallenge.com/digital-marketing. You will find the answer right below.
Keep Reading
Debra Gravano is the former wife of Sammy The Bull, also known as Sammy Gravano, the former American mobster who rose through the ranks of the Gambino crime organization to become its underboss. In the following article you will find everything you need to know about the gangster family.
Sammy Gravano was once a notorious, ruthless gangster who helped take down John Gotti’s New York crime empire.
He was a high-level mafioso who orchestrated and carried out murders for Gotti in the 1980s.
Gravano quietly cooperated with the FBI in 1991 and helped arrest 39 gangsters, including Gotti, leader of the Gambino crime family.
Mobster Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife: Who Is Debra Gravano?
Debra Gravano, the former wife of former mobster Sammy The Bull, aka Sammy Gravano, divorced him in 1996. Her real name is Debra Scibetta.
Debra Scibetta grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, one of three children of first-generation immigrants, unaware that her upbringing would lead her down an unexpected path.
Worst of all, she was completely unaware of her husband’s role in the heinous crime until the early 1990s.
Sammy and Debra married in 1971. In 2001, Debra pleaded guilty to involvement in many criminal activities with her husband and received several years of probation.
Debra Gravano Age: How Old Is She?
Debra Gravano, Sammy Gravano’s ex-wife, is between 65 and 70 years old.
She has not revealed much information about her personal life to the public and the media. Since her arrest, she seems to have deced not to be in the spotlight to focus solely on her blood family.
advertisement
Debra opened a restaurant but it seems it has since closed or passed through different hands. She reses in Phoenix, Arizona where she enjoys being surrounded by her loving children and grandchildren.
Debra Gravano Son: Where Is He Now?
The son of Debra Gravano and Sammy Gravano is Gerard Gravano. They also have a daughter named Karen Gravano.
Gerard Gravano has been linked to the Gambino family’s illegal activities. In the late 1990s, it was his association with the leader of a local youth gang known as the “Devil Dogs” that helped get his father into the drug trade.
In 2001, the younger Gravano, then 24, pleaded guilty in New York to federal conspiracy charges, two counts of illegally running a business and suggesting to sell and transport hazardous substances in Arizona.
What Happened To Sammy The Bull?
Sammy The Bull, aka Sammy Gravano, shared his regrets in life and how he killed people as a 76-year-old bald grandfather.
On the ABC News special “Truth and Lies: The Last Gangster,” Gravano claimed he tried to keep his son Gerard and daughter Karen away from his illegal activities, but the lives of the Cosa Nostra had an impact on them.
Mafia Underboss Sammy Gravano Breaks Silence After 20 Years
Images related to the topicMafia Underboss Sammy Gravano Breaks Silence After 20 Years
See some more details on the topic Mobster Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano Everything To Know here:
Mobster: Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife …
Learn About Mobster: Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano? Age & Son. Sammy The Bull is an American Crime Boss, What …
Source: showbizcorner.com
Date Published: 11/28/2021
View: 7177
Mobster: Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka … – Press Informant
Mobster: Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano? Everything To Know. Published. 5 months ago. on. January 28, 2022.
Source: pressinformant.com
Date Published: 10/24/2021
View: 9986
Mobster Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife
Debra Gravano is the former wife of Sammy The Bull, Aka Sammy … Here”s everything you need to know about the gangster family in the …
Source: 44bars.com
Date Published: 4/2/2021
View: 338
Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife … – TG Time
Close to 30 years subsequent to giving an assertion that brought the sol Gambino wrongdoing family to its knees, infamous gangster Sammy “The Bull” Gravano …
Source: www.tvguidetime.com
Date Published: 2/6/2022
View: 2829
Crime Boss Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife, Debra Gravano
Check out this post to learn more about Crime Boss: Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano? Everything to know how old is Sammy the Bull? Age Explored, Does Sammy The Bull Have A Son, Sammy The Bull Net Worth in 2022, Age, Height, Bio, Net Worth, Relationship, Family, Career and News.
Who is Sammy The Bull’s wife, Debra Gravano? The most notorious hit men in mafia history have spoken openly about his violent crimes. Salvatore “Sammy The Bull” Gravano was just 13 years old when he earned his nickname and the attention/welcome from a local gang after a fight on the street near his home in Benson Hurst, Brooklyn.
Who is Sammy The Bull’s wife, Debra Gravano? The most notorious hit men in mafia history have spoken openly about his violent crimes.
About 30 years after he made a statement that brought the Gambino powerful crime family to its knees, notorious crook Sammy “The Bull” Gravano said he did indeed have his regrets.
Sammy The Bull aka Sammy Gravano was married to his wife Debra Gravano.
The duo exchanged vows in 1971 and warmly welcomed their two children, Karen and Gerard.
Reportedly, Debra’s only brother Nicholas “Minimal Nicky” was killed in 1978.
Worst of all, though, she didn’t know her husband’s hand in the merciless affair until the mid-1990s, which appears to be around the time they reportedly split.
Sammy The Bull is currently 76 years old since he was born on March 12, 1945 in New York City, USA.
The youngest of three children (and their only son), Sammy was born to parents Giorlando “Gerry” and Caterina “Kay” Gravano.
Sammy The Bull actually has a son named Gerard Gravano.
Like his father, Gerard was involved in the family’s criminal activities.
From now on he has a family with four great children.
Italian-American criminal Sammy The Bull has an estimated net worth of $500,000, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Likewise, he was just a teenager when he was discovered by the mafia.
All of his income came from his job as a mafioso.
A former boss of the New York City-based Gambino crime family, he is best known for helping the Federal Bureau of Investigation take down John Gotti, the famous family boss.
In the midst of this, Gravano opens up about his violent crimes in ABC’s Truth and Lies: The Last Gangster.
Debra filed for legal separation when Sammy entered the US government’s witness protection program, leading them to split for good in 1996.
Sammy The Bull confessed his violent behavior on ABC’s Truth and Lies: The Last Gangster, where he opens up about his regrets and more.
Likewise, he even said that being a gangster was a curse on his life.
I hope you enjoyed the information, profile about , age, height, bio, wiki, profile and news. Share it with your friends and family to keep them updated.
Sammy Gravano
American gangster (born 1945)
Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano (born March 12, 1945) is an American former mobster turned underboss of the Gambino crime family. Gravano played a major role in prosecuting crime family boss John Gotti by agreeing to testify as a government witness against him and other mobsters in a deal in which he admitted his involvement in 19 murders.[2 ]
Originally a gangster for the Colombo crime family and later the Brooklyn faction of the Gambino crime family, Gravano was part of the group that conspired to assassinate Gambino boss Paul Castellano in 1985. Gravano played a key role in planning and executing Castellano’s murder with Gotti, Angelo Ruggiero, Frank DeCicco and Joseph Armone.
Shortly after Castellano’s assassination, Gotti elevated Gravano to underboss, a position Gravano held at the time he became a government witness. In 1991, Gravano agreed to turn over the state’s evidence and testify for the prosecution against Gotti after hearing that the boss had made several derogatory remarks about Gravano at a listening device that implicated them both in multiple murders. At the time, Gravano was the most senior member of the Five Families, breaking his blood oath and collaborating with the government. Because of his statements, Gotti and Frank Locascio were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1992. In 1994, a federal judge sentenced Gravano to five years in prison; However, since Gravano had already served four years, the sentence was less than a year. He was released early and joined the US witness protection program in Arizona, but left the program in 1995.
In 1997, Gravano was consulted several times for author Peter Maas’ biographical book about his life Underboss. In February 2000, Gravano and nearly 40 other ring members — including his ex-wife Debra, daughter Karen, and son Gerard — were arrested on federal and state drug charges. In 2002, Gravano was sentenced to twenty years in prison in New York. A month later, he was also sentenced to nineteen years in prison with execution in Arizona. He was originally scheduled to be released in March 2019 but was released in early September 2017.
Childhood and early life[edit]
Salvatore Gravano was born on March 12, 1945 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York to Giorlando “Gerry” and Caterina “Kay” Gravano.[3] He was the youngest of three children and had two sisters. Both of Gravano’s parents were from Sicily; his mother was brought to the US as a child, while his father was in the crew of a freighter when he disembarked in Canada and entered the US illegally.[3] Gravano’s father ran a small clothing factory and ensured a good standard of living for the family.[3] Early on, one of Gravano’s relatives remarked that he looked like his Uncle Sammy. From that point on, everyone called Gravano “Sammy” instead of “Salvatore” or “Sal”.[3]
At the age of 13, Gravano joined the Rampers, a prominent street gang in Bensonhurst. He found out that some people had stolen his bike and went to fight the thieves. Made men watching from a cafe saw him take on a few people at a time and they handed Gravano his bike back. As he was leaving, one of the made men remarked how little Sammy “fighted like a bull”, hence his nickname “The Bull”.[4]
Gravano had dyslexia, was bullied, and did poorly at school.[5] Teachers labeled him a “slow learner,” twice denied promotion in class, and also twice beat school officials.[5] Gravano was sent to a school for “diets”; but just before he turned 16, the school refused to keep him any longer.[5] Gravano’s father attempted to redirect and discipline his son, including requiring him to attend Mass, but had little success.[6]
In 1964, Gravano was drafted into the United States Army and served at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. As a soldier, Gravano mainly worked as a canteen cook. He rose to the rank of private and was honorably discharged after two years.[5]
In 1971, Gravano married Debra Scibetta; they had two children.[7] His daughter Karen Gravano began appearing on the VH1 reality series Mob Wives from 2011 and published a book in 2013 called Mob Daughter: The Mafia, Sammy “The Bull” Gravano and Me!
Later in his mafia career, Gravano was ordered to help organize the murder of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Scibetta.[8] Gravano is also the brother-in-law of Gambino caporegime Eddie Garafola and Mario Garafola. Gravano was a childhood friend of Colombo family associate Gerard Pappa.
Staff of Colombo[edit]
The Mafia had a long presence in Bensonhurst through the Profaci family, which grew into the Colombo family. Despite his father’s attempts to dissuade him, Gravano, like many of his Ramper peers, drifted into the Cosa Nostra. He was first associated with the Cosa Nostra in 1968 through Anthony Spero, whose uncle Shorty was an associate of the Colombo crime family under future boss Carmine “The Snake” Persico. Gravano was initially involved in crimes such as theft, kidnapping and armed robbery.[10] He quickly turned to extortion, loan raking, and ran a lucrative poker game in the back room of an after-hours club he co-owned.[4]
Gravano became a particular favorite of family boss Joe Colombo, who used Gravano to picket outside FBI headquarters in Manhattan as part of his Italian-American Civil Rights League initiative. Gravano’s rise was so sudden that it was widely assumed that he would be one of the first to be made when the membership books of Cosa Nostra were reopened (they had been closed since 1957).[9][5]
In 1970, Gravano committed his first murder – that of Joseph Colucci, a colleague of Spero’s, with whose wife Tommy Spero was having an affair.[5] Gravano described the experience as follows:
When that Beatles song played, I became a killer. Joe Colucci would die. I wanted to kill him because he was planning to kill me. I felt the anger inside me. … Everything went in slow motion. I could almost feel the bullet leave the gun and enter his skull. It was strange. I didn’t hear the first shot. I didn’t see any blood. His head didn’t seem to move. … I felt like I was a million miles away, like this was all a dream.[9]
The Colucci murder earned Gravano respect and approval from Persico.[5] Gravano later became a mentor to Colucci’s son Jack, who became involved in the construction industry as a Gambino employee.
man made [edit]
In the early 1970s, Colombo soldier Ralph Spero, Shorty’s brother, grew jealous of Gravano’s success, fearing he would become a made man in front of his son Tommy. This rivalry culminated in the death of Ralph Ronga, another Colombo family collaborator on Ralph Spero’s crew. After Ronga’s death, a rumor had spread that Gravano had attempted to pick up Ronga’s widow Sybil Davies at a bar, although Gravano claimed Davies was the one who hit him. Ralph Spero used this rumor to gain support for killing Gravano, or as an excuse to kill Gravano himself. While Shorty Spero believed Gravano rather than Ralph, he and the Colombo hierarchy decided that it was best for Gravano to leave the Colombo family and join the Gambino crime family to avoid conflict.
Now with the Gambinos, Gravano became an associate of capo Salvatore “Toddo” Aurello. Aurello quickly took a liking to Gravano and became his mob mentor.[5] Around this time, Gravano took a construction job (he later claimed he had considered quitting the criminal life).[9] However, a former employee falsely claimed to New York City Attorneys that Gravano and another employee were responsible for a 1969 double homicide.[5] After Gravano was indicted, he desperately needed money to pay his legal fees. He quit his job in construction and went on a self-proclaimed “robber rampage” for a year and a half.[9] A week after the trial began, prosecutors moved to drop the charges. Gravano later said of this legal issue:
That pinch [arrest] changed my whole life. From then on I never, ever stopped for a second. I was like a madman. Never stopped stealing. Never stopped robbing. I was obsessed.[9]
Gravano’s heist impressed Aurello, who suggested him for membership in the Gambino family shortly after the membership books were reopened. In 1976, Gravano was officially inducted into the Gambino family as a made man.
Gambino Soldier [ edit ]
In 1978, boss Paul Castellano allegedly ordered the assassination of Gambino associate Nicholas Scibetta. A cocaine and alcohol user, Scibetta participated in several public brawls and verbally abused George DeCicco’s daughter. Since Scibetta was Gravano’s brother-in-law, Castellano asked Frank DeCicco to first inform Gravano of the upcoming hit. Upon learning of Scibetta’s fate, an enraged Gravano said he would kill Castellano first. However, Gravano was eventually calmed down by DeCicco and accepted Scibetta’s death as the punishment deserved by his behavior. Another part of the motive for the murder was that Scibetta was suspected of being gay.[7] Gravano later said, “I decided against Nicky. I took an oath that the Cosa Nostra came first.”[13] Scibetta was dismembered and his body was never found except for an arm.[7]
Gravano later opened an after-hours club in Bensonhurst. The bar was the scene of a violent altercation one night, involving a rowdy gang of bikers who wanted to ransack the place.[9] A scuffle ensued, in which Gravano broke his ankle and the bikers were driven off. Gravano then went to Castellano and received permission to assassinate the gang’s leader. Together with Milito, Gravano hunts down the leader, wounding him and killing another member of the gang.[5] Castellano was stunned when he learned that Gravano, who was bent over by a crutch, was personally involved in the attack.[5]
Construction tycoon[ edit ]
Like his predecessor Carlo Gambino, Castellano preferred to emphasize more elaborate schemes such as construction, trucking, and garbage disposal over traditional street-level activities such as loansharking, gambling, and kidnapping. Castellano had a special interest in the construction business.[9] Gravano began changing his boss’s cowboy image of him when he got into the plumbing and drywall business with his brother-in-law, Edward Garafola.[5] Gravano’s construction and other business interests soon earned him a reputation as a “good earner” within the Gambino organization and made him a multi-millionaire, enabling him to build a large estate for his family in rural Ocean County, New Jersey . Gravano, inundated with money, also invested in trotting horses to race at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Gravano also became the operator of a popular nightclub, The Plaza Suite, in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn.[5] Gravano was reportedly making $4,000 a week from the Plaza Suite alone.[5] Gravano also used the club as his building club headquarters.
Murder of Simone[edit]
Gravano further flattered Castellano when he got involved in a civil war that had broken out within the Philadelphia crime family. In March 1980, longtime Philadelphia boss Angelo Bruno was murdered by his consigliere, Antonio Caponigro, without commission approval. The commission summoned Caponigro to New York, where they sentenced him to death for his transgression. After Caponigro was tortured and killed, Philip Testa was installed as Philadelphia’s new boss and Nicky Scarfo as consigliere. The Commission then awarded contracts to Caponigro’s co-conspirators, including John “Johnny Keys” Simone, who also happened to be Bruno’s cousin. Gravano received the Simone contract.[9]
After befriending Simone through a series of meetings, Gravano, with the assistance of Milito and D’Angelo, kidnapped Simone from the Yardley Golf Club in Yardley, Pennsylvania (part of suburban Trenton, New Jersey) and drove him into a wooded area Staten Island.[9] Gravano then granted Simone’s request to die barefoot in fulfillment of a promise he had made to his wife and by the hands of a made man. After Gravano removes Simone’s shoes, Milito shoots Simone in the back of the head, killing him.[9] Gravano later expressed his admiration for Simone as a so-called “human man” and commented positively on the serenity with which he accepted his fate.[9] Despite the fact that Gravano was praised for the murder by Castellano, he revealed that it was a hit he’ll never be proud of.
Murder of Fiala[ edit ]
In the early 1980s, the Plaza Suite was a thriving establishment.[14] Guests often had to wait an hour to get in, and the club featured quality live acts like singers Chubby Checker and the Four Tops.
In 1982, Frank Fiala, a wealthy businessman and drug dealer, paid Gravano $40,000 to rent the Plaza Suite for a birthday party he was throwing himself. Two days after the party, Gravano accepted a $1,000,000 offer from Fiala to purchase the facility, which Gravano had valued at only $200,000. The deal was structured to include $100,000 in cash down payment, $650,000 in gold bullion under the table and a $250,000 payment at closing.[9]
Before the transaction was finalized, Fiala started acting like he already owned the club. Upon exiting the Plaza Suite, Gravano called Garafola and set up an ambush outside the club involving Garafola, Milito, D’Angelo, Nicholas Mormando, and Michael DeBatt. Later that night, Gravano confronted Fiala in the street as he exited the Plaza Suite amidst a group of people and asked, “Hey, Frank, how are you?”[14] when Fiala turned, surprised to see Gravano , Milito came up behind him and shot him in the head.[9] Milito stood over the body and shot Fiala in the eye while Fiala’s entourage and the crowd in the street broke up screaming.[9] Gravano then went to Fiala’s corpse and spat on him.[9]
Gravano was never charged with the crime; he had made a $5,000 payoff to New York City Police Department Homicide Detective Louis Eppolito to ensure the investigation did not turn up any leads.[14]
Although Gravano evaded criminal charges, he incurred Castellano’s wrath over the unauthorized murder. Gravano then tried to keep a low profile for nearly three weeks, during which time he called his crew together and made the decision to kill Castellano if necessary.[5] Gravano and Milito were then called to a Manhattan restaurant for a meeting with Castellano. Castellano had received the details of what Fiala had done, but he was still angry that Gravano hadn’t come to him for permission to kill Fiala first. However, Gravano was spared the execution when he convinced Castellano that he had kept him in the dark to protect the boss should anything go wrong with the hit.[5]
Fiala’s murder presented Gravano with one final problem in the form of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The high publicity generated by the incident sparked an IRS investigation into Gravano and Fiala’s deal to sell the Plaza Suite, and Gravano was subsequently charged with tax evasion. Gravano was represented by Gerald Shargel and acquitted at trial.[5]
D’Angelo was later killed by a Colombo family associate who was celebrating that he had been nominated for membership. The killer was then assassinated himself on the orders of the Colombo family.[5]
Alignment with Gotti[edit]
After Fiala’s murder, Gravano continued to focus on its construction business, branching out into the lucrative concrete paving industry. New York City’s cement industry was controlled by four of the five families, who made millions of dollars by manipulating bids and controlling contracts.[5] Gravano said in 1998, “I literally controlled Manhattan. You want concrete poured in Manhattan? That was me. Tishman, Donald Trump, all these guys – they couldn’t build a building without me.”[15]
Gravano eventually got involved in a falling out with his business partner Louie DiBono, a member of another Gambino crew.[9] A meeting was held with Castellano, at which an angry Gravano accused DiBono of withholding $200,000 in subcontract payments and threatened to kill DiBono.[9] Gambino’s underboss, Neil Dellacroce, intervened on Gravano’s behalf and Castellano urged the two men to end their business partnership, although Gravano’s standing with the boss diminished as a result of the incident. However, Dellacroce was the mentor to rising star John Gotti, and when he learned that Dellacroce had supported Gravano, Gotti was impressed.
During this time, the FBI had intensified its efforts against the Gambino family, and in August 1983 three members of Gotti’s crew – Angelo Ruggiero, John Carneglia and Gene Gotti – were charged with heroin trafficking. Castellano was against anyone in the family dealing in narcotics. Castellano plotted to kill Gene Gotti and Ruggiero if he believed they were drug dealers. Castellano asked Ruggiero for a copy of the government surveillance tapes that contained Ruggiero’s conversations. To save Gene Gotti and Ruggiero, Dellacroce stalled the claim. After all, one of the reasons for Gotti’s murder of Castellano was to save his brother and Ruggiero. The FBI had bugged Ruggiero’s house and phone, and Castellano decided he needed copies of the tapes to justify his upcoming move to Dellacroce and the other family capos.
Indicted both for his connection to Roy DeMeo’s stolen auto ring and as part of the Mafia Commission trial, Castellano learned that his own home had been bugged based on evidence from the Ruggiero tapes, and he became furious. In June 1985 he again asked Dellacroce to get him the tapes.[16] Both Dellacroce and Gotti tried to persuade Ruggiero to comply if Castellano explained beforehand how he intended to use the tapes, but Ruggiero refused, fearing he was endangering good friends.
Three months later, Gravano was approached by Robert DiBernardo, another Gambino member who acted as a go-between for Gotti. DiBernardo tells him that Gotti and Ruggiero wanted to meet him in Queens.[5] Gravano arrived to find only Ruggiero present. Ruggiero tells Gravano that he and Gotti planned to assassinate Castellano and asks for Gravano’s support.[5] Gravano was initially non-binding, initially wanting to consult with Frank DeCicco. Speaking to DeCicco, both men expressed concern that Castellano would appoint his nephew Thomas Gambino as acting boss and his driver Thomas Bilotti as underboss if he were convicted and sent to prison.[9] Neither man appealed to Gravano or DeCicco for lead material, and they eventually decided to support the attack on Castellano.[9]
Murder of Castellano[ edit ]
Gravano’s second choice to become boss after Castellano’s murder was Frank DeCicco, but DeCicco felt that John Gotti’s ego was too big to play a subservient role.[9] DeCicco argued that Gotti’s boldness, intelligence, and charisma made him well suited to be “a good boss”, and he convinced Gravano to give Gotti a chance. However, DeCicco and Gravano also made a secret pact to kill Gotti and take over the family as boss and underboss, respectively, if after a year they were dissatisfied with Gotti’s leadership. The conspirators’ first task was to meet with other Gambino members, most of whom were unhappy under Castellano, and enlist their support for the strike. They also recruited longtime capo Joseph “Piney” Armone to the conspiracy. Armone’s support was crucial; he was a respected veteran of the family and it was believed that he could help rally Castellano supporters to the new regime.[17]
The next step was to clarify the planned hit with the other families. It has long been a firm rule in the mafia that killing a boss without the support of a majority of the commission is forbidden. In fact, Gotti’s planned attack would have been the first covert attack on a boss since Frank Costello was almost killed in 1957. Knowing that going directly to the other four bosses would be too risky, the conspirators enlisted the support of several prominent gangsters of their generation in the Lucchese, Colombo, and Bonanno families.[17] Gotti and Ruggiero then sought and received the approval of key Colombos and Bonannos figures, while DeCicco enlisted the support of top gangsters allied with the Luccheses. They didn’t even think of approaching the Genovese; Castellano had particularly close ties to Genovese boss Vincent “Chin” Gigante, and reaching out to a major Genovese figure, even one of her generation, could have been a tip. Gotti could thus claim he had the support of “off-the-record contacts” from three out of five families.[17] With the death of Neil Dellacroce on December 2, 1985, the last restriction on a move by Gotti or Castellano against the other was lifted. Gotti, furious that Castellano chose not to attend his mentor’s wake, wasted little time on strikes.[5]
Castellano, unaware of the conspiracy against him, invited DeCicco to meet with capos Thomas Gambino, James Failla, and Danny Marino on December 16, 1985 at the Sparks Steak House in Manhattan. The plotters felt the restaurant would be a prime spot for the attack, as the area would be bustling with bustling crowds of holiday shoppers, making it easier for the assassins to get involved and escape.[4] Plans for the assassination were finalized on December 15, and the next afternoon the plotters met for the last time on the Lower East Side. At Gotti’s suggestion, the shooters wore long white trench coats and black Russian fur hats, which Gravano saw as a “brilliant” idea.[9]
Gotti and Gravano arrived at the restaurant just before 5 a.m. and after walking around the block, parked their car opposite the intersection and within sight of the entrance.[9] Around 5:30 a.m., Gravano spotted Castellano’s Lincoln Town Car stopping at a nearby intersection and alerted the team of hitmen stationed outside the restaurant via walkie-talkie of Castellano’s approach. Castellano’s driver, Thomas Bilotti, stopped the car just outside the entrance. As Castellano and Bilotti exited the Lincoln, they were ambushed and killed in a hail of bullets.[18] As the men decked out in hats and trench coats disappeared into the night, Gotti calmly drove the car past the front of the restaurant to take in the scene.[5] When Gravano looked at Bilotti’s body from the passenger window, he remarked: “He’s gone.”[18]
The new regime[edit]
After Castellano’s death, Gallo—the sole surviving member of the hierarchy—convened a three-person committee to temporarily run the family, consisting of himself, Gotti, and DeCicco. However, it was an open secret that Gotti was the acting boss in all but name, and almost all the capos in the family knew that he was the one behind the murder. Gotti was officially hailed as the new boss of the Gambino family at a meeting of 20 Kapos on January 15, 1986. Gotti, in turn, chose DeCicco as his underboss and made Gravano his capo after Toddo Aurello announced his desire to retire.[5]
On April 13, 1986, DeCicco was killed when his car was bombed after visiting Castellano loyalist James Failla. The bombing was carried out by Victor Amuso and Anthony Casso of the Lucchese family, on orders from Vincent Gigante and Lucchese boss Anthony Corallo, in order to avenge Castellano and Bilotti by killing their successors. Gotti also planned to visit Failla that day, but canceled, and the bomb was detonated after a soldier riding with DeCicco was mistaken for the boss. Bombs had long been banned by the mafia out of concern they would endanger innocent people, leading Gambinos to initially suspect “zippers” – Sicilian mafiosi working in the US – were behind it; Zippers were known to use bombs.[23]
Murder of “Nicky Cowboy”[edit]
The first person on Gravano’s kill list after Castellano’s assassination was Nicholas “Nicky Cowboy” Mormando, a former member of his crew.[9] Mormando had become addicted to crack cocaine and was suspected by Gravano of addicting his friend and colleague Michael DeBatt to the drug. According to Gravano, Mormando began to act “like a renegade…berserker”.[9] The last drop came when Mormando announced he no longer wanted to be in the crew and was planning to start his own gang. Gravano decided he “couldn’t take any chances” because Mormando “knew too much” and got permission from Gotti to kill Mormando.[9]
Gravano arranged for Mormando’s assassination en route to a meeting at Gravano’s restaurant in Bensonhurst, Talis.[9] After assuring Mormando of his safety, Gravano told him to pick up Joseph Paruta on the way. Paruta climbed into the back seat of the car and shot Mormando twice in the back of the head.[9] Mormando’s body was then dumped on a vacant lot, where it was discovered the next day.[9]
Consigliere and Underboss[ edit ]
FBI surveillance photo dated June 6, 1988 of Vic Amuso and Gravano, the Lucchese crime family boss
Gotti was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in May 1986 while awaiting trial on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). He was forced to rely heavily on Gravano, Angelo Ruggiero, and Joseph “Piney” Armone to handle the day-to-day affairs of the family while he was in charge from his prison cell.
In June, Gravano was approached by Ruggiero and, allegedly at Gotti’s behest, received orders to assassinate Capo Robert DiBernardo for making negative comments about Gotti’s leadership. Gravano was friends with DiBernardo and tried to call off the murder until he had a chance to speak with Gotti after his trial.[9] Ruggiero claims to have met with Gotti again and tells Gravano that the boss wants to kill DiBernardo immediately.[9] Gravano arranged a meeting with DiBernardo, during which Joe Paruta, a member of Gravano’s crew, shot DiBernardo twice in the back of the head while the underboss looked on.[9] Gravano later learned that Ruggiero owed DiBernardo $250,000 and realized that Ruggiero may have fabricated Gotti’s orders or simply lied to Gotti, which DiBernardo was accused of doing to pay off the debt and improve his own standing in the family ] In any case, DiBernardo’s death proved profitable for Gravano, as he took control of the late man’s Teamsters Local 282.
Gotti’s trial eventually ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury and the boss was freed from prison. Gravano’s specific position within the family varied between 1986 and 1987. With Gotti’s permission, Gravano initiated the murders of Tommy Spero and several other Gambino associates. In 1986, Gotti underwent a racketeering trial. Jury selection for the racketeering case began again in August 1986,[24] with Gotti appearing in court alongside Gene “Willie Boy” Johnson (who refused to produce the state’s evidence,[25]), Leonard DiMaria, Tony stood despite being exposed as an informant Rampino, Nicholas Corozzo and John Carneglia.[26] At this point, the Gambinos were able to compromise the case when George Pape concealed his friendship with Boško Radonjić and was appointed juror #11.[27] Through Radonjić, Pape contacted Gravano and agreed to sell his vote to the jury for $60,000.[28] On March 13, 1987, they acquitted Gotti and his co-defendants of all charges.[26] Angesichts früherer Mafia-Verurteilungen, insbesondere des Erfolgs des Prozesses gegen die Mafia-Kommission, war Gottis Freispruch eine große Überraschung, die seinen Ruf weiter steigerte.[29] Die amerikanischen Medien nannten Gotti „The Teflon Don“ in Anspielung auf das Scheitern jeglicher Anklagepunkte.[30]
FBI-Überwachungsfoto von Gravano, Louis Saccenti, Thomas Carbonaro und John Gammerano
Da DeCicco tot war, blieben die Gambinos ohne Unterboss. Gotti beschloss, die Stelle mit Joseph Armone zu besetzen.[31][32] 1987 wurde Joseph N. Gallo durch Gravano als Consigliere ersetzt, und 1990 wurde Gravano zum Unterboss befördert, um den amtierenden Unterboss Frank LoCascio zu ersetzen. Zu dieser Zeit galt Gravano als “aufstrebende Kraft” in der Bauindustrie und mischte sich in seinem beliebten Restaurant Tali’s in Bensonhurst oft unter Führungskräfte großer Baufirmen und Gewerkschaftsfunktionäre.
Gravanos Erfolg war nicht ohne Kehrseite. Erstens erregte sein schneller Aufstieg in der Gambino-Hierarchie die Aufmerksamkeit des FBI, und er wurde bald unter Beobachtung gestellt. Zweitens spürte er bei Gotti Eifersucht wegen der Rentabilität seiner legitimen Geschäftsinteressen.[5] Dennoch behauptete Gravano, allein aus seinen Gewerkschaftsaktivitäten jedes Jahr über 2 Millionen Dollar an Gotti zu schiessen.[5] Ab Januar 1988 forderte Gotti gegen Gravanos Rat[35] von seinen Capos, sich einmal pro Woche mit ihm im Ravenite Social Club zu treffen.[36]
Zeuge der Regierung werden [ bearbeiten ]
Gotti, Gravano und Locascio wurden oft von den Wanzen aufgezeichnet, die überall im Ravenite platziert waren (versteckt im Hauptraum, im Flur im ersten Stock und in der Wohnung im Obergeschoss des Gebäudes), als sie über belastende Ereignisse diskutierten.[37] Am 11. Dezember 1990 überfielen FBI-Agenten und NYPD-Detektive das Ravenite und verhafteten Gravano, Gotti und LoCascio. Gravano bekannte sich schuldig wegen Erpressung, und Gotti wurde wegen fünf Morden (Castellano, Bilotti, DiBernardo, Liborio Milito und Louis Dibono), Verschwörung zum Mord an Gaetano Vastola, Kreditharken, illegalem Glücksspiel, Behinderung der Justiz, Bestechung und Steuerhinterziehung angeklagt. 38][39] Basierend auf Bändern von FBI-Wanzen, die bei vorgerichtlichen Anhörungen abgespielt wurden, wurde der Gambino-Regierung eine Kaution verweigert. Gleichzeitig wurden die Anwälte Bruce Cutler und Gerald Shargel von der Verteidigung von Gotti und Gravano ausgeschlossen, nachdem die Staatsanwälte erfolgreich behauptet hatten, sie seien „Teil der Beweise“ und könnten daher als Zeugen geladen werden. Staatsanwälte argumentierten, dass Cutler und Shargel nicht nur über mögliche kriminelle Aktivitäten Bescheid gewusst hätten, sondern auch als „interne Anwälte“ für die Familie Gambino gearbeitet hätten.[40][41] Gotti stellte anschließend Albert Krieger ein, einen Anwalt aus Miami, der mit Joseph Bonanno zusammengearbeitet hatte, um Cutler zu ersetzen.
Die Bänder schufen auch eine Kluft zwischen Gotti und Gravano, wo der Gambino-Boss seinen neu ernannten Unterboss als zu gierig beschrieb und versuchte, Gravano als die Hauptkraft hinter den Morden an DiBernardo, Milito und Dibono darzustellen. Gottis Versöhnungsversuch schlug fehl,[46] was Gravano desillusioniert von der Mafia zurückließ und zweifelte an seinen Chancen, seinen Fall ohne Shargel, seinen ehemaligen Anwalt, zu gewinnen.[47][48] Gravano entschied sich schließlich dafür, die Beweise des Staates vorzulegen, und stimmte offiziell zu, am 13. November 1991 auszusagen. He was the first member of the hierarchy of a New York crime family to turn informer, and the second confessed underboss in the history of the American Mafia to do so after the Philadelphia crime family’s Phil Leonetti.
Gotti and LoCascio were tried in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York before District Judge I. Leo Glasser. Jury selection began in January 1992 with an anonymous jury and, for the first time in a Brooklyn federal case, fully sequestered during the trial due to Gotti’s reputation for jury tampering.[51][52] The trial commenced with the prosecution’s opening statements on February 12;[53][54] prosecutors Andrew Maloney and John Gleeson began their case by playing tapes showing Gotti discussing Gambino family business, including murders he approved, and confirming the animosity between Gotti and Castellano to establish the former’s motive to kill his boss.[55] After calling an eyewitness of the Sparks hit who identified Carneglia as one of the men who shot Bilotti, they then brought Gravano to testify on March 2.[56][57][58] On the stand, Gravano confirmed Gotti’s place in the structure of the Gambino family and described in detail the conspiracy to assassinate Castellano, giving a full description of the hit and its aftermath.[59] Gravano confessed to 19 murders, implicating Gotti in four of them.[60] Krieger, and LoCascio’s attorney, Anthony Cardinale, proved unable to shake Gravano during cross-examination.[61][62] After additional testimony and tapes, the government rested its case on March 24.[63] Among other outbursts, Gotti called Gravano a junkie while his attorneys sought to discuss his past steroid use.[64][65]
On June 23, 1992, Glasser sentenced Gotti and LoCascio to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and a $250,000 fine. Gotti surrendered to federal authorities to serve his prison time on December 14, 1992.[39][66][67] On September 26, 1994, a federal judge sentenced Gravano to five years in prison. However, since Gravano had already served four years, the sentence amounted to less than one year.[68]
Later life[edit]
Book and interviews [ edit ]
Later in 1994, Gravano was released early and entered the U.S. federal Witness Protection Program. The government moved him to Tempe, Arizona, where he assumed the name Jimmy Moran and started a swimming pool installation company.[69]
However, in 1995, Gravano left Witness Protection and relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona. A federal prosecutor later said that Gravano did not like the constraints of the program.[70] Gravano began living very openly, giving interviews to magazines, and appearing in a nationally televised interview with television journalist Diane Sawyer. It was reported that he had undergone plastic surgery to his face.[71] In 1996, his wife Debra divorced him.[72]
In 1997, Gravano was consulted several times for the 1997 biographical book about his life, Underboss by author Peter Maas. In it, Gravano said he became a government witness after Gotti attempted to defame him at their trial. Gravano finally realized that the Cosa Nostra code of honor was a sham. At this time, Gravano also hired a publicist, despite the fact Gravano complained often about the publicity-seeking Gotti. After the publication of Underboss, several families of Gravano’s victims filed a $25 million lawsuit against him. Also in 1997, New York State took legal action to seize Gravano’s profits from the book.[73]
During an interview Gravano had with the newspaper The Arizona Republic, he said federal agents he had met after becoming a government witness had become his personal friends and even visited him in Arizona while on vacation. Gravano later said that he did not want The Republic to publish the story, but relented after the paper allegedly threatened to reveal that his family was living with him in Phoenix. The story so incensed his former mob compatriots that they forced the Gambinos to put a murder contract on him.[74] The FBI alleged that Peter Gotti ordered two Gambino soldiers, Thomas “Huck” Carbonaro and Eddie Garafola, to murder Gravano in Arizona in 1999.[75]
Drug conviction [ edit ]
By the late 1990s, Gravano had re-engaged in criminal activity. He partnered with a local youth gang known as the “Devil Dogs” after his son, Gerard, became friends with the gang’s 23-year-old leader, Michael Papa. Gravano started a major ecstasy trafficking organization, selling over 30,000 tablets and grossing $500,000 a week.[76]
In February 2000, Gravano and nearly 40 other ring members—including his ex-wife Debra, daughter Karen, and Gerard—were arrested on federal and state drug charges. Gravano was implicated by informants in his own drug ring, as well as by recorded conversations in which he discussed drug profits with Debra and Karen.[11]
On May 25, 2001, Gravano pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to drug trafficking charges.[11] On June 29, 2001, Gravano pleaded guilty in Phoenix to the state charges.[69]
In 2002, Gravano was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, a thyroid disorder that can cause fatigue, weight loss with increased appetite, and hair loss.[77]
On September 7, 2002, after numerous delays, Gravano was sentenced in New York to 20 years in prison.[70] A month later, he was also sentenced in Arizona to 19 years in prison to run concurrently.[78] Gravano served his sentence at ADX Florence, part of it being in solitary confinement.[79] Gerard Gravano received nine years in prison in October 2002.[80] Debra and Karen Gravano also pleaded guilty and received several years on probation. In November 2003, Sammy and Karen were ordered to pay $805,713.41 as reimbursement for court costs and investigative expenses relating to an earlier drug ring judgment.[78]
On February 24, 2003, New Jersey state prosecutors announced Gravano’s indictment for ordering the 1980 murder of NYPD detective Peter Calabro by murderer Richard Kuklinski.[81] Gravano denied any involvement in Calabro’s death and rejected a plea deal, under which he would have received no additional jail time if he confessed to the crime and implicated all his accomplices.[82][83] The charges against Gravano were dropped after Kuklinski’s death in 2006.[84]
In August 2015, Gravano’s request to leave prison early was denied for reasons citing his “longstanding reputation for extreme violence”.[85]
In 2013, National Geographic Channel dramatized Gravano’s ecstasy ring in a scene in the Banged Up Abroad episode “Raving Arizona”, televised worldwide. The episode told the story of ecstasy dealer “English” Shaun Attwood, who was Gravano’s main competitor in the Arizona ecstasy market.[86][87]
Gravano was listed as being in the Arizona state prison system at a CO Special Services unit. He was initially scheduled to be released in March 2019, however, was released early on September 18, 2017.[88][89][90]
In December 2020, Gravano started a YouTube channel and a podcast titled Our Thing.[91]
Sammy ‘The Bull’ Gravano, The Mobster Who Betrayed John Gotti
Before working with the FBI and putting John Gotti behind bars, Gambino underboss Sammy “The Bull” Gravano was one of the most feared killers in mob history.
Sammy “The Bull” Gravano has broken the cardinal rule that anyone entering a life of organized crime must follow: don’t talk to the authorities. The Mafia calls this code of silence “omertà” and the penalty for violating it is death.
For decades, the mafia ruthlessly enforced this code, which has long allowed it to thrive and avoid large-scale prosecution. And when a man decides to turn against the mafia and work with the police, he knows his days are numbered.
But Salvatore “Sammy The Bull” Gravano, Brooklyn mobster and underboss of the Gambino crime family, not only ripped through one of the most powerful mob bosses in the country by breaking the code of silence in 1992, he then lived around the story to tell. This is the amazing story of Sammy Gravano, the feared killer turned FBI whistleblower.
The early life of Sammy the Bull before he became a mafia killer
Sammy The Bull Gravano was born in Brooklyn in 1945 and grew up in Bensonhurst, a predominantly Italian-American borough of Brooklyn. Although he was christened Salvatore, one of his relatives once remarked that he looked a lot like his Uncle Sammy – and that’s how he would be known from then on.
Young Sammy Gravano got caught up in crime at an early age, beginning with some petty shoplifting. When he was seven years old, he started stealing two cupcakes a day from a neighborhood store on his way to school. When he was eventually caught by an employee, he received a stern warning, but that didn’t stop him from committing to far more serious crimes.
A well-told story has it that Gravano first became aware of the mafia at the age of ten, when local gangsters saw him fighting with several older thugs who had stolen his bike. One of the mobsters remarked that Gravano had bravely challenged several larger children and fought “like a little bull”, and the nickname he would keep for the rest of his life was coined. Meanwhile, others say the nickname generally reflected his small, muscular build and overall aggressive demeanor.
The really brawny boy wasn’t a good student; Teachers labeled him a slow learner and he was held back twice. Gravano later attributed this to severe dyslexia, which he says explains a lot of the anger from his early days.
Initially, he was actually mocked about his abilities at school, but the bullying stopped after Gravano fought back. Over the next several decades, Sammy Gravano’s life continued to be defined by violence.
Sammy Gravano joins the mob in bloody fashion
Sammy Gravano left school at 16, by which time he was already spending much of his time with a local youth gang called the Rampers. Then, after serving two years in the army because he was drafted into the Vietnam War, he returned to New York and soon officially joined the mafia.
He was first brought into mob life by an associate of the Colombo family who started him off with robbery jobs. But he soon began to rise in the world and cement his position as a successful young racquet.
Sammy The Bull quickly earned a reputation for being both a good earner and a man willing to brutally murder anyone he was asked to.
His first murder occurred in 1970 when he shot and killed Colombo employee Joe Colucci, who bosses learned had been secretly plotting to kill another Colombo employee without permission. Gravano later compared the murder to the well-known scene from The Godfather, in which aspiring gangster Michael Corleone commits his first murder:
“Remember when Michael walked up to her, he couldn’t hear anything? Do you remember how his eyes glazed over and there was only the sound of the train in the background and how he couldn’t hear her speak? That’s how I felt when I killed Joe Colucci.”
The newly minted killer continued to rise with the Colombos, but his run with the family ended when a superior became jealous and intimidated by Gravano’s rapid rise. He was accepted into the Gambino family, which officially made him a member in 1976.
Though he quickly impressed the Gambinos, Gravano’s loyalty was tested two years later when the family decided to kill his brother-in-law, Nicholas Scibetta, who had developed a serious drug problem and had reportedly offended a supervisor’s daughter in some way (again others Reports claim he was targeted for his homosexuality). The Mafia has a complicated relationship with drugs, but its members are generally expected to avoid becoming addicted to them. Becoming a drug addict meant the mafia couldn’t trust Scibetta to keep his mouth shut when he was arrested for drug-related offenses. That meant he had to go.
Gravano tried in a strange way to protect his brother-in-law. Instead of murdering him, he brutally beat him. He hoped this would be enough for the bosses and spare Scibetta’s life. However, it didn’t work and Gravano soon had to kill his brother-in-law. A single hand was the entire body of Scibetta ever recovered.
But it wasn’t all just bloodshed for Sammy The Bull. He made steady money from gambling and loan raking and even started a construction and plumbing business with his friend Edward Garafola. Thanks to his success, he rose further in the Gambino organization and became a millionaire. He built a family home in Ocean County, New Jersey, invested in trotting horses, and ran the Plaza Suite nightclub in Bensonhurst. In the early 1980s it became such a popular eatery that patrons had to wait an hour to get in.
Sammy The Bull Gravano had more than cemented his place in the mob, but trouble was on the horizon.
An unsanctioned murder leads to regime change
Sammy Gravano already had a strained relationship with family boss Paul Castellano in the early 1980s. And a particular incident in the Plaza Suite in 1982 only made matters worse.
Gravano had arranged to sell the club to Frank Fiala, a local drug dealer. But before the deal was even finalized, he began smashing the wall of Gravano’s office to start remodeling and pretend he already owned the house.
An enraged Gravano confronted Fiala, who flashed an Uzi submachine gun and threatened to kill Gravano right there. Gravano then withdrew from the club, and as Fiala exited the building, one of Gravano’s crew shot him in the head. Gravano claims he then personally urinated in Fiala’s open mouth.
Castellano was angered by this unauthorized murder, and Gravano was now in danger of ending up on the wrong end of a hit himself. Luckily he was able to talk his way out of it.
But he called a meeting with his crew anyway. Gravano wanted to make sure they would help him kill Castellano if the need ever came up.
As luck would have it, it became necessary just three years later.
The murder of a crime boss
In 1985, another Gambino mobster who disliked Castellano, John Gotti, arranged to meet Gravano. Gotti had never liked Castellano as godfather to the Gambino family. And with news that Castellano would soon be acquiring whistleblower tapes showing Gotti’s involvement in the heroin trade, Gotti decided the time had come for a change in leadership.
Gravano and Gotti, united by a common interest, orchestrated an attack on Castellano. Upon entering the Sparks Steak House in midtown Manhattan on the night of December 16, 1985, the boss was gunned down by several hit men while Gravano and Gotti looked on from a nearby car.
Within a month, Gotti was the new head of the Gambino family. Gravano, meanwhile, has been promoted to consigliere. For years, Gravano served as Gotti’s main muscle, brutally murdering anyone who got in his way.
But Gotti’s status as boss made him more of a target for the authorities than ever. He was tried several times in the late 1980s on various charges including assault and racketeering. But with bribes and simple jury intimidation, he repeatedly evaded conviction, earning him the nickname “Teflon Don.”
But few escape justice forever, and both Gotti and Gravano eventually found themselves headed for trials they could not bribe themselves out of.
Sammy the Bull and John Gotti compete against each other
Gotti and Gravano were both arrested on racketeering charges in December 1990 when the FBI raided the Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy.
Once in custody, Gotti attempted to pin many of the hits he ordered on Gravano, claiming Sammy The Bull was a rabid dog who killed for his own benefit. The FBI sensed an opportunity and played tapes of these conversations to Gravano. Feeling betrayed, he agreed to testify against Gotti in exchange for a reduced sentence.
In March 1992, Gravano did just that. He testified on the witness stand against Gotti and others over the course of nine days, revealing stories of racketeering and murder, of which he said he involved himself in 19 and involved Gotti in 10 .
With Gravano’s testimony, the state was finally able to assemble enough evidence to convict the Teflon Don (along with nearly 40 other gangsters).
In April 1992, Gotti was sentenced to life imprisonment. Thanks to his collaboration, Gravano only received a five-year sentence (less than a year due to the time already served) and then entered the witness protection program. Gotti died in prison from cancer in 2002.
But even with Gotti dead, Sammy The Bull Gravano was by no means safe. He had made a new life for himself in Arizona as a small business owner named Jimmy Moran. He even founded a swimming pool installation company under this pseudonym. However, Gravano didn’t like this quiet new life. And just a year later he left the program.
Sammy Gravano stays brave after crossing the mob
After leaving the program because he didn’t like the restrictions imposed, you’d think a former mobster with an enormous goal on his back would try to hold back, but that wasn’t the case at all. Gravano became very generous in giving interviews to the press after leaving the program. He even appeared in a nationally televised interview with Diane Sawyer in 1997 and proved quite brave and boastful.
When asked if he worried about this making him a target, Gravano replied that if he encountered any mob killers, they would be the ones going home in body bags:
“They send a hit team down, I’ll kill them. You better not miss it because even if they catch me there will still be a lot of body bags going back to New York. I am not afraid. I don’t have it in me. I may be too distant. If it happens, fuck it. Bullet to the head is pretty fast. you walk like this It’s better than cancer. I’m not meeting you at some damn farm in Montana. I’m not sitting here like a prick with a fake beard. I’ll tell you something else: I’m a fucking pro. When someone comes to my house, I have a few little surprises for them. Even if they win there could be surprises.”
And while he did escape the mob’s murderous vengeance, he found it impossible to stay away from the crime.
In Arizona, he joined forces with a local gang called the Devil Dogs after his son befriended the gang’s leader and soon started a large ecstasy organization that was making $500,000 a week.
In February 2000, Gravano and his family (wife Debra, daughter Karen and son Gerard) and 47 other members of the drug ring were arrested. Informants in his own drug ring, not to mention recorded drug-winning conversations with his wife and daughter, eventually implicated him. In May 2001, Gravano pleaded guilty to directing a massive illegal drug operation in Arizona and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but was released in early 2017.
Gravano is now free, living openly and even still giving interviews while producing his own podcast and hosting his own YouTube channel where he talks about his time in the mafia. Speaking to The Arizona Republic shortly after his release, he remained seemingly fearless of the mortal danger that always loomed over him because of the life he once led and the way he left it.
“I was a boxer,” he said. “I know what it’s like to get hit. I know what it means to fight. And you lose your fear.”
Then he added: “If it happens, it happens. If they start shooting, I’m a little scared.”
Liked this article about Sammy Gravano aka “Sammy the Bull”? Next, learn about Richard Kuklinski, the most prolific hitman in American Mafia history. Then read about the Dapper Don’s son, John Gotti Jr., who followed in his father’s footsteps before finally retiring from crime.
Related searches to Mobster Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano Everything To Know
Information related to the topic Mobster Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano Everything To Know
Here are the search results of the thread Mobster Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano Everything To Know from Bing. You can read more if you want.
You have just come across an article on the topic Mobster Who Is Sammy The Bull Aka Sammy Gravano Wife Debra Gravano Everything To Know. If you found this article useful, please share it. Thank you very much.
Articles compiled by Bangkokbikethailandchallenge.com. See more articles in category: DIGITAL MARKETING