Preview of John Gotti Jr.'s 60 Minutes Interview

The entire interview airs this Sunday April 11th at 7 PM (ET).

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6375350n&tag=related;photovideo

Gotti Jr.: Induction Was Proudest Moment
Tells Steve Kroft He Gave Up Life That Included Daily Fear of Getting Killed

(CBS) The proudest moment in the life of John Gotti Jr. was when he was "made," or formally inducted into the life of crime, an event he says must have made his father, convicted mafia boss John Gotti, feel like his son was named to the all-America team.

Gotti talks to "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft in his first extended television interview about growing up with the infamous father whom he strove to please by living a life of crime but whom he eventually betrayed by leaving that life.

The interview will be broadcast Sunday, April 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Gotti didn't use words like Mafia or mob when discussing his role in the Gambino Crime Family for legal reasons during his three-hour interview with Kroft at his Oyster Bay, N.Y., home. Instead, "I was a street guy. I was in the streets," he tells Kroft, his lawyer, Charles Carnesi, beside him. Kroft asked him questions about his life in and outside of crime, including whether he committed murder and what it was like to be "made." He says his father embraced him after his induction. "And [he] looked at me as a street guy, as a knock-around guy, a bounce-around guy like himself. [It was] the proudest moment of my life…because I was slowly becoming like him," says Gotti. His father felt the same he says. "I think he was very happy. I think he was as proud as a father would be if his son just made all-American."

The induction, while still in his mid 20s, was a dream-come-true for a kid who used to hang around his father's headquarters. "I'd go to the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club all the time and I would just watch…they'd be playing cards…hanging out…breaking balls…and laughing and commiserating," he recalls, "And you're right there and you’re saying 'this is where I belong.'"

Once he was in this "street" life, he engaged in gambling, loan sharking, extortion and tax evasion, he tells Kroft. As a "street guy,”"did he worry about being "whacked?"


"Every day… there's a possibility that something could happen to you every day of your life…When you hang out in the streets, you're hanging with a different type of a person…you don't know what’s going to happen," he says. "Tony's here today, then Tony's doing 10 years tomorrow. Billy's here today and then you never see him again…it’s a volatile existence."

The volatility of the life caught up to his father, who was convicted of murder. Gotti says he doesn't think you can ever justify murder, but he explains to Kroft why he thinks his father was involved in it. "[My father] swore 'I'm going to live and die by the rules of the street, the code of the streets’ and everybody that John is accused of killing or may have killed or wanted to kill or tried to kill was a part of that same street," he tells Kroft. "And my father …always said in his mind, 'You break the rules, you end up in a dumpster.'"

The tabloids mocked him after he allegedly took over the Gambino Crime Family when his father went to prison in 1992. He doesn't accept the term "head" of the family; "a loyal son, that's my title," he tells Kroft. As for the barbed headlines, it was just business for the newspapers. "Every time the Gottis were in the tabloids on the first page, the sales would go up about eight percent…Who cares? I don't really care. 'Dopey don,' who cares. Have fun with it."

In 1999, under indictment, Gotti was given permission to visit his dying father in prison to ask for his blessing on leaving the family business. He wanted to plea bargain. Gotti senior talked him out of it, but it didn't stick. When the trial process began, Gotti Jr. changed his mind. "I left the house that morning…and I saw my wife and I saw my kids…and I says 'I got to try to end this.'"

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/08/60minutes/main6375422.shtml?tag=currentVideoInfo;segmentTitle

Excerpt from 1981 60 Minutes interview with Jimmy "The Weasel" Frattiano
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6375464n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Excerpt from 2002 60 Minutes interview with Joe Bonanno
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6375462n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Excerpt from 2004 60 Minutes interview with Henry Hill
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6375460n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

More Junior Gotti news videos -

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/gotti.60.minutes.2.1620735.html

His father is rolling over in his grave.

I wonder how the rest of the Family is taking this such as Uncle Gene and Uncle Pete?Seen as how there both "Made" members.

Nah, his father's too busy burning in Hell to be rolling over anywhere .

There has been tension between Junior and his uncles anyway ever since they took him down from acting boss.

Good point, Ivy. This cannot be emphasized enough. There's no love lost there. And his uncles are honestly no more well liked in mob circles than he is. I can't imagine anyone important picking sides if things ever got ugly.

The Gottis are all but finished. John Gotti is dead. Peter Gotti is still the official boss but basically in name only at this point. He'll likely die in prison. If John had allowed his guys to take plea deals back in the day, Gene could be out now. But he got a 50 year sentence back in 1989, though his projected release date is 2018. I've read that he still has a certain amount of influence in the family and a lot of loanshark money on the street. Richard Gotti is still around but got demoted from captain to soldier. Vincent Gotti and Richard Gotti Jr. were both caught up in the February 2008 indictment but neither are heavyweights by any means. Peter Gotti Jr. isn't involved in the life. And now Junior may indeed be over with it now. Then of course, you have the three stooges - John, Carmine, and Frank Gotti....er....I mean Agnello. But they obviously don't count.

That said, the fact that D'Amico was acting boss and Joseph Corozzo is still the consigliere shows the the old Gotti loyalists still carry weight in the family.

Gene is the only one with any hope of "unshelving" himself. He's made a great deal of money, albeit behind bars. But when he's released, he'll be 72 years old (assuming he makes parole). That's 8 years down the line, and by then, quite frankly, who knows what the state of the mob will be? I mean, it ain't exactly pretty right now .

Speaking of Gene, can you imagine how much he has to resent his brother John and his "no fuckin deals, it's gonna be a Cosa Nostra till the day I die!" attitude?

That poor bastard (okay, he's a convicted drug dealer and more than likely a murderer, I'm just trying to make a point) would have been out by now.

Yeah, a lot of guys ended up having to do more time than they otherwise would have because of Gotti's no plea deal rule. Now, plea deals by mobsters are the rule, not the exception. That is, as long as they aren't facing the heavier charges like murder. They avoid a trial they will likely lose anyway, cut their prison time considerably, and are back on the street much quicker.

Probably still in Purgatory.?

I believe Jonh Gotti sr.s Ex soninlaw Carmine Agnello Sr. is a "made" guy but low in rank and ambitition.Not a Canary though.
I think thats his 1st name?Could be wrong?

Yea.
They should have been able to plea bargain as long as it didnt mean bringing down another member with you.
He would have been out years ago.
Gotta say hes stayed true to "OMERTA".

Carmine Agnello Sr. was a soldier. Still is technically but he's no longer active in the life and has moved away from New York. However, when he was active he was a big earner with his auto parts and scrapyard business, which led to him being indicted in 2000 for using strong-arm tactics to scare away competitors.

Here's the interview that aired tonight -

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6386235n&tag=contentMain;contentAux

I forgot he owned that big Salvage company or somethin?
HEs not with his kids and Victoria though correct?
Has there been any rumblings of them stupidacting Agnello kids becoming Wiseguys?
I wonder if the Gambinos just have him somewhere else lookin over something not so HOT on the Feds radar outside of N.Y. or if he is truely shelved.?
I dont understand how these "Made" guys are being allowed to leave the life unless they been shelved?I thought this was something that wasnt possible in the past.?Leaving your LCN family after being inducted?Maybe they look at it as there gettn rid of a possible rat if your wantin to leave the life.?Get rid of em before they possibly snitch in the future.

The guy owned at least a dozen different companies in the scrap metal, auto parts, and carting businesses. He was a big earner.



He and Victoria are divorced.



Those kids are not involved in the life at all. Nor could they be even if they wanted to. They are a joke even within mob circles.



No, he's not active anymore.



Well guys get old and become inactive all the time. Up and leaving the life is still relatively rare but it's not really a hanging offense. As long as them leaving doesn't mean they are helping law enforcement or something.

Carmine Agnello is now living in Cleveland. He's remarried to a "crazy Arab broad" as she's known in mob circles, even though she's actually Armenian.

Shortly after he moved to Ohio, Carmine leaked some sensitive (but untrue) news about himself through the mob grapevine, seems someone close to him had a big mouth and he wanted to find out who it was.

I guess I'll stick this in this thread.

Good for Dwyane Wade!!

Dwyane Wade: No Gotti for me

From today's NY Post

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade is a brave man. He point-blank refused to meet Mafia boss John Gotti's grandson, Carmine Gotti, while both were partying at Meatpacking club M2 on Saturday. A source said: "Gotti was celebrating his birthday upstairs and was excited to hear Wade was downstairs. He headed down and asked to meet Wade, who responded, 'There's no way I'm meeting the Gottis or having my photo taken with them.' Gotti's security guard got into a scuffle with Wade's. Gotti then headed back to his friends looking visibly upset, and Wade, who felt uncomfortable with the situation, decided to leave."

I knew they wer divorced.Just didnt know if they still may be screwin.?Things change between couples when u can touch each other physically again after one or both has did a stretch of time.
He owned shit.I just didnt feel like naming everything.His Main money was Salvage,etc.He owned one of the biggest Salvage yards in the city i believe.
Why couldnt the Agnello boys be gangsters if they wanted to,or just one of em for that matter?There lineage is pure as u can possibly get or close.Not just one side of the family is Sicilian/Italian both are?They are a Joke but could have grown some since we seen them as young teenagers acting like most of us did in one way or another at that age.
Agnello sure wasnt to old to still earn.I forget what Family it was.I just read it and the old man had just been "Made" like 2 years ago in his 90s and hes now "UNDERBOSS".
I think once u join u shouldnt be able to leave unless health reasons,incarceration,death,etc.
Agnellos probably in Ohio running a Crew for the Gambinos.

Ha. Thats ridiculous.

I dont think Agnello's running a crew anywhere. You dont think we woulda heard something by now?
In general though, you really want these guys to be stronger then they are, dont you?
They're scumbags, dude. The lie, cheat & steal. Not to mention murder. These things are wrong. Straight up.

But the Agnello-Gotti kids.. Thats is a joke. Have you heard Carmine's music? Really, dont bother. Thats 30 seconds of my life im stupider for having subjected myself to. I figured id give him a chance.
I really shouldn't have. In anycase, id say my sister's more cut out for the life then those prissy prima-donna's.

What a legend that Dwayne Wade, eh? Now thats substance.

heres the full interview everyone.

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/60_minutes/video/?vs=Clips

You've got to be kidding me. First, the Gottis are all but finished. The Gambino family has been tired of them for a long time. Second, these kids are a laughing stock both in and out of mob circles. Mob guys have even been caught on tape insulting them and their show "Growing up Gotti." Third, they aren't even involved in the life anyway. If you see interviews with these kids they are all pursuing legitimate interests. And it wouldn't matter if they wanted to pursue a life of crime, nobody would take them seriuosly. And just for the record, their grandmother (John Sr.'s wife) was part Russian Jew.

These are kids who focus most of their time on their hair gel. They're not gangsters.

That video of Junior and Senior was shot at the end of 1998, prior to Junior's plea deal. That means that John Senior lived almost another 4 years after that. And he looked like death then!

I've never been a mob apologist and I always try to steer young people away from that life, but the lack of medical care that that man was given by the government was reprehensible. The very idea that inmates with cancer receive their chemotherapy shackled to a bed and are operated on handcuffed to an operating table is ridiculous. Where are they gonna go?

Don't piss off the government, boys. They don't play fair.

does anyone know if Charles Gotti, is still active in the life? hes Gotti Jr's oldest son and became a "made man" i think in 2006.

Never heard of him. And I'm sceptical to say the least because I don't think John Jr. would allow any of his sons to get involved in the life. Sounds like Wikipedia hooey.

you know its funny, because wiki is the first and the only place, that i have ever heard of him..... and if it is true, then maybe hes playin it smart, and stayin out of the media.

All they give most guys dieing of cancer in the M.D.O.C. is ultram for pain and practically let u die and this was at EGELER prison where there main Hospital is in the state{ultram is about as strong as motrin}.This was partially due though to prisoners taking fetanol patches breaking down the opiate goo inside and injecting it.Never knowing how much they were injecting and a guy ends up overdosing while getting high.
When Dr. Kevorkian was there they tiptoed around knowing he knew medical practice,etc and he wasnt doing good either.I am surprised he didnt die in prison especially when they had him in the U.P. at Kinross.
Medical care during incarceration is a JOKE for the most part.

The movie about Kevorkian premieres on HBO soon. Al Pacino is playing him. I think it's called "You Don't Know Jack."

He was a really quiet person the 2 places i was at with him and he was sick alot.U would see him walking the yard or tracks,etc.At Egler he was really sick.He locked on Base and i was on 2nd gallery in 1 block right next to the Hospital.I would chitchat with him because i was allowed out of my onemancell anytime besides during count and night because i was head "baseporter" so i could run up and down the galleries and do shit i shouldnt be like gettn drunk,high,etc.
Noone screwed with him including the guards as he was a KINDA celebrity.We never talked about anything of real substance though like persay his case or assisted suicide.
I dont believe he would have went to prison if he wouldnt have fired his lawyer Geoffrey Figer who had allready kept him out of prison,etc and then Dr. Jack decided he was smart enough to be his own lawyer-Stupid move but he made it out alive.

I dont have no respect for them boys but someone posted there was NOWAY they could become made even if they wanted to.
They could though as they have the bloodline,family,etc and if one of them or all 3 had/has set out to follow in many of there families footsteps they could have been wiseguys.
Yes i do have respect for certain criminals{Not because there a criminal} as i am considered one now for the rest of my life.
We all did stupid shit at that age-thats being a teenager{referring to Agnello boys}.Some of us are just dumbspoiled teenagers.Thats part of growing up.U can do shit in your teens that would not be accepted later in life.

That idiot two bit rapper whose picture was taken with Merlino could learn a thing or two from this.

they still they are royalty ? these garbage pails..they need security guards..what a joke..look at how things change..the brother should be asking to see a gotti, now the gotti are kissing their asses.. j.g. is really spinning..

defo i cant even imagine how john would react to his son and grandsons if he was alive.

Imagine what gene and the richies think aswell must be so embarrasing for them

My understanding is that Gene despises his nephew. The Richies would probably change their last name if they could. The younger one is a pretty serious guy, got out earlier this year.

No.