John Gotti, why so popular?

I have a question that some of you on this board might be able to answer for me, could anyone tell me why John Gotti was so popular with so many of the just regular people? I really am just curious, was he a financial benefactor somehow in his own neighborhood, was it just the whole "Mafia Mystique" thing or was it just people feared and respected him or what?

Good question, Scarlett. As far as the man's persona, charisma, etc. go, Turnbull or someone else is probably more qualified to elaborate. But I've always felt that people's love affair for gangsters, outlaws, and the like, boils down to some kind of quirk in our own nature. I have a theory that everyone has a dark side, and that lawlessness appeals to that facet of our composition. Not that we'd ever actually do such things, but that's precisely the point. I think our dark side lives vicariously through these figures. There are other elements that come in to play also. For instance, some of these characters came from hard backgrounds, and go from rags to riches (the American dream), which is something else we experience through them. Everyone loves an underdog. From what I read in Gotti:Rise and Fall, Gotti at least fit that prerequiste.

Snake, you could earn a Ph.D. in American Sociology with that fine analysis! A-right! Americans have always had a secret (and sometimes not-so-secret) admiration for outlaws, often making heroes out of real s**theels like Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger. Gotti satisfied many of the needs of the celebrity-worshippers: He was in the public eye, dressed sharp, sassed the government, got away with murder. Once he was convicted and sent away, he faded. The celebrity-worshippers dumped him like a used condom.

Hi Don Palentino,
I love the quote you posted from Casino.

Paul

Thanks Paul Thats my favorite part of the movie right there.

Hi,
As for Gotti, he was flashy the way he dressed and acted. Many are dissatisfied with the way the Government acts at times and found a hero in him. He would beat the rap and stick his nose up at them. You can't beat the Government no matter who you are. The government is too big and powerful and you go down in the end.

Paul

True is most poepl were glad when he went away...
Kind of like the Class bully...You agree with them when they are around, but hate them and are glad when they take the fall!

People below those type of men have it tuff every day of their lifes. Don't do what they like..Whack whack whack...A lot of Gotis own people whacked from within the family....Sammy's way..Whack'em

would you like to play with people like these? Do you see the way some of these guy think?

sorry, I dunno why Gotti was popular. IMO, he was a punk, trying to be a star..like Joey Zasa.. :rolleyes:

Here's a very good link about Gotti:
John Gotti

People in his neighbourhood loved him because he treated them well and threw a feast for them every now and then. They wouldn't be so happy if they found out that drugs being sold to their very own kids helped fund the occasions.

Lots of good replies to my question, thanks. I guess I was just wondering more about John Gotti personally. I read somewhere that the poor guy who happened, just by some poor unfortunate stroke of REALLY BAD LUCK, to have been the guy who killed John Gotti's son was kidnapped and killed by John Gotti with a chainsaw .

The whole lifestyle and mindset of the Mafia culture is fascinating to someone like me who currently lives in a part of the country where if you have any eccentricity you really stand out in a crowd and the baddest criminals are corrupt cops, politicians and rednecks busted for running meth labs.

Hi,
Most of that is just speculation.

Paul

Good morning Paul,
I would hope so, poor guy! The guy did supposedly disappear never to be heard from again tho, voluntarily or not?
Which I guess could be funny in a way, Gotti did absolutely NOTHING to the guy, the guy chooses to disappear on his own out of fear, and the rumour starts going around Gotti cut him up with a chainsaw! Gotti does nothing and his fearsome reputation grows on it's own.

Hi Scarlett,
Good morning to you.

Paul

It's pretty much a given that he either killed or had him killed. As for his popularity, a lot of it was "arranged". The throngs of people that congregated outside the courthouse during the trials and protested and turned over police cars after his conviction were organized by his son. The amazing thing is that his son was actually able to organize anything, other than the list of cash he received as gifts at his wedding.

Gotti was the modern Al Capone - flashy in his dress and generous with his money. Joey Merlino in Philadelphia is a junior version of Gotti - he is famous for his Thanksgiving Day banquets for the homeless. It is that flamboyant lifestyle and publicity seeking that was the downfall of each of them. It is the quiet ones, like Gambino, that are the truly successful mob bosses. Each of us secretly, or not so secretly, admires these people and would like to be one of them. Just look at how popular the movies and books are.

Scarlett, you can find the definitive story of what happened to poor John Favara on Jerry Capici's site, gangland.com. Briefly: he was kidnapped in the parking lot of a diner, thrown into a van, and disappeared. Gotti was conveniently in Florida on a family vacation at the time.

Thanks Turnbull I'll have to check that out.

So he thought if he was out of town, who would suspect HIM right? KInda like the moron guys, maybe going thru a bad divorce or something, who are the last to be seen with the wife, who then suddenly report her missing and join in the search thinking no one actually suspects THEY did it! Morons.

Scarlett, you can find the definitive story of what happened to poor John Favara on Jerry Capici's site, gangland.com. Briefly: he was kidnapped in the parking lot of a diner, thrown into a van, and disappeared. Gotti was conveniently in Florida on a family vacation at the time.[/b][/quote]Hi,
I tried gangland.com and it wasn't Jerry's site?

Paul?

Try http://www.ganglandnews.com

Thanks, Don Marco, sorry for the error.

According to last week's "World Weekly News" Gotti's spector is still running the mafia. Damn, I love being informed.

Naturally, he was popular because people were genuinely interested. Why else would "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia" even exist?

I'm such an idiot I didn't even know it exists, is it something you can acsess online?

Hi,
Besides commanding the family as a Spectre it was reported that John Gotti tried to send scripts to HBO for The Sopranos.

Around the time of his death(probably later) iread a Time Magazine article about John Gotti, the Dapper Don. In it I found out that real mob guys didn't act like "mob guys" until after Goodfellas and the other gangster movies started comin out. I dunno if that's true, that's what the feds say. If it is, then that's just wack. It makes me feel like made guys get influenced by movies, it's kinda weird.

Sounds like current day mobsters watch the movies to see how to act, and Mario Puzo and FFC took real life mobsters and had the characters in the Godfather act like them.

I can't resist passing on a relevant passage from "Beneath Mulholland," a wonderful collection of essays by David Thomson, the distinguished, British-born film critic. Here's what he says about Hollywood and gangster styles:
"...the opportunity to wear slick clothes while talking filthy, to exude the sangfroid of men of the world while having your enemies killed, to be the epitome of cool with dames on your arm while being a Hitler--ever since pictures began, the guys in charge of the business have aspired to the manner of GQ mobsters. It was The Godfather that locked the image down. Michel Corleone has been the guiding light of style and stealth in Hollywood for the last 25 years--withdrawn, austere, shy, a dandy, indifferent to the flesh, a beetle on the dung of money, whispering orders for destruction or elimination, all for the sake of the business. There is a rowdier model, too--Joe Pesci in any number of roles, always about to attack, always saying "f**k," always degrading women, always dangerous and unschooled. The only reason to see Casino is to watch the struggle in Scorsese's soul as to whether he most wants to be Pesci or DeNiro, the unbridled Kong mobster or Mr. Cool, who fusses over every detail of his business, and likes to sit in his plush office with his pants hanging folded in the closet so as not to lose their hard crease."

ogod read Turnbull, as always....

I can't resist passing on a relevant passage from "Beneath Mulholland," a wonderful collection of essays by David Thomson, the distinguished, British-born film critic. Here's what he says about Hollywood and gangster styles:
"...the opportunity to wear slick clothes while talking filthy, to exude the sangfroid of men of the world while having your enemies killed, to be the epitome of cool with dames on your arm while being a Hitler--ever since pictures began, the guys in charge of the business have aspired to the manner of GQ mobsters. It was The Godfather that locked the image down. Michel Corleone has been the guiding light of style and stealth in Hollywood for the last 25 years--withdrawn, austere, shy, a dandy, indifferent to the flesh, a beetle on the dung of money, whispering orders for destruction or elimination, all for the sake of the business. There is a rowdier model, too--Joe Pesci in any number of roles, always about to attack, always saying "f**k," always degrading women, always dangerous and unschooled. The only reason to see Casino is to watch the struggle in Scorsese's soul as to whether he most wants to be Pesci or DeNiro, the unbridled Kong mobster or Mr. Cool, who fusses over every detail of his business, and likes to sit in his plush office with his pants hanging folded in the closet so as not to lose their hard crease."[/b][/quote]sounds good Turnbull, where can I find this "Beneath Mulholland"?

PP, you can try Amazon.com. If not there, try a used copy from abebooks.com