John Gotti

Born October 27, 1940, in New York City, to Fannie and J. Joseph Gotti. John was the third of seven brothers in an impoverished family of thirteen. Growing up on the streets of the South Bronx and Italian Harlem, John ran errands for the local mafia from an early age. When he was fourteen, John’s toes were crushed as he tried to steal a cement mixer. He was a bully and constant discipline problem at school until he quit at the age of sixteen. Between 1957 and 1961, John pursued a life of crime on a full time basis and was arrested five times. In March, 1962 he married Victoria DiGiorgio. During the early years of the marriage, the couple fought constantly and separated many times. In 1966, they moved to Ozone Park where John quickly became a major player in La Cosa Nostra. In 1968, John was convicted of hijacking and sentenced to three years in prison.

The prison time did little to rehabilitate John Gotti and he quickly resumed his criminal activities after he was released in 1971. In May 1973, he committed his first murder and was arrested. His lawyer, Roy Cohn, managed to work out a deal whereby John served only two years for the killing. From 1977 until 1985, John moved up the ladder in the Gambino crime family while New York City prosecutors actively looked to stop him.

On December 16, 1985, Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino family, was gunned down while eating at the Sparks Steak House in Manhattan. John Gotti, who was widely believed to have orchestrated the hit, was made boss soon after. At the same time, Gotti was facing a racketeering trial that turned into a media circus after a revenge attempt on his life in 1986. Gotti, who now was something of a local hero and icon in his Howard Beach neighborhood, was acquitted. It is widely suspected that the jury was fixed.

The FBI then turned the conviction of Gotti, now known as "Teflon Don" into an organizational crusade. Using a combination of undercover operatives, surveillance equipment and spending close to $75 million, John Gotti was finally convicted of murder and racketeering in 1992. As a repeat offender, Gotti was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole and sent to federal prison in Marion, Illinois. He remained there until June of 2002 when he died of complications from head and neck cancer.