In my humble opinion, Gotti is looked at today just as Merlino is, with a lot of jealousy and negative "opinions". His status just like Merlino's is neither is ever given the credi they deserve because most have a favored boss, or crew which makes it impossible to objectively look at the positives of these two gangsters. Gotti was without a doubt a gangster in every sense of the word, just as Merlino is. Doesn't make them any better than some of the other's that are written about in a more positive sense but it doesn't make them worse. Why? Just as BH correctly wrote before me they "all" made mistakes. It's just most here like to try and paint Gotti (and Merlino) as being prone to bigger mistakes when in fact they were and in Merlino's case gangsters through and through. They did it their way and when anyone went against them guess what, Gotti and Merlino were left standing. They were also surrounded by loyal members. Facts are facts. Again, I'm not saying either deserves to be a MENSA member but they deserve to be recognized as true gangsters and not anything less as some try to make them out to be. Just my two cents.