The way I understand it, with some of those guys who were whacked, it was Gravano who came to Gotti with the request to take them out. I'm thinking Gotti was just blowing off steam, and who knows, might've even ended up killing Gravano. If after that last trial Gotti had laid low and only discussed business on walk-and-talks, making wiretaps impossible, they probably could've lasted for several more years.