John Gotti must be spinning in his grave: The late Gambino crime boss' self-proclaimed "adopted son" is a rat.

Lewis Kasman, a multimillionaire mob wanna-be, has been secretly taping conversations with gangsters since late 2005, federal prosecutors revealed Tuesday.

Kasman could never be a sworn member of organized crime because he was not Italian, but his betrayal of the Mafia is shocking because of the unique access he enjoyed for years in Gotti's inner circle.

He used his contacts with hotel queen Leona Helmsley to plan John A. (Junior) Gotti's wedding at the Helmsley Palace in 1990, was a family spokesman during the elder Gotti's prison cancer battle, and gave the eulogy at his 2002 funeral.

Previously, Kasman gave the Dapper Don a $70,000 no-show job at a sham company in the Garment District and even took a perjury rap by lying to a grand jury about his knowledge of the Mafia.

"He was very close to John and John truly cared about him," said a knowledgeable source. "He occupied a position like a son."

Kasman, 51, is to testify tomorrow in Brooklyn Federal Court at a hearing to determine whether reputed mob lawyer Joseph Corozzo Jr. should be disqualified from representing his father, Joseph Sr., the reputed Gambino consigliere, in his upcoming racketeering trial.

Another source said that some defense lawyers were warned that Kasman was cooperating with the government, but apparently no one told the Corozzos.

He will talk about his relationship with the leaders of the crime family and his knowledge of both Corozzos' criminal activities, prosecutors Joey Lipton and Roger Burlingame said.

Sources said Kasman's decision to flip was based more on feeling disrespected than cutting a deal to stay out of jail. "He thought of himself as a better son to John than his own son," said another source.

"There was an element of trying to clear up all accounts [of past wrongdoing]. But he felt that after John died, things were different and he was just being squeezed for money."

Kasman visited Junior Gotti in prison, but the two were not close, the mob scion's defense lawyer said yesterday.

"I have no concern that John has had any conversations with him [since 2005] or is on a wire," lawyer Charles Carnesi said.

Two years ago, Kasman bought a $1.5 million home in an exclusive gated community in Boca Raton, Fla. His name has appeared occasionally in a Palm Beach Post gossip column, including a sighting backstage with his kids at a Lindsay Lohan concert, and watching Florida Marlins baseball games from a luxury box.

Kasman's mother-in-law professed no knowledge of his undercover work for the feds. "I don't know anything about this," Sandy Kula told the Daily News. "This is the first I'm hearing of it. I don't see him."

Kasman bitterly complained to Ganglandnews.com author Jerry Capeci in 2006 that Junior Gotti would be "destroying his father's legacy" if he testified at his retrial on racketeering charges.

Instead, Kasman will take the witness stand and break a rule that would have earned him a death sentence - even from his mentor and "adopted father."

jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime...just_like_.html