To be fair, it looks like Gotti Jr didn't disclose anything particularly important. Among the living Gambino's, he says Marino okayed Hydell's murder, but that's about it. And though it is a dirty move, and a violation of omerta, it is also true that Marino was part of an opposing faction in the family. This hardly rises to the same level as Gravano's treachery . . . .


FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION


Date of Transcription 01/16/2006


JOHN A. GOTTI, also known as (aka) JUNIOR (GOTTI, JR.) (Protect Identity) was present at the united States Attorney’s Office, Southern district of New York (SDNY), 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York on January 18, 2005 for a proffer session. This meeting was arranged at GOTTI, JR.’S request. Also present were GOTTI JR.’S ATTORNEYS, Jeffrey Lichtman, Esq., and MARC FERNICH, Esq., as well as Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAS) Robert Buehler, Joon Kim and Jennifer Rodgers, SDNY.

After GOTTI JR. and his attorneys read the proffer agreement and the terms of that agreement were explained to them by the AUSAS, GOTTI JR. signed the agreement. GOTTI JR. thereafter provided the following information.

The Murder of Danny Silva

In the early morning hours of either March 11th or 12th, 1983, GOTTI JR. , along with friends MARK CAPUTO and ANTHONY AMOROSO, were present at the SLIVER FOX bar located on 101st Street and Liberty Avenue in Queens, New York. At some point, TOMMY Last Name Unknonw (LNU) aka “ELFIE” approached GOTTI, JR., who was seated at the bar with a female friend, DONNA (LNU) . According to GOTTI, JR., ‘ELFIE’ repeatedly bumped into him. Words were exchanged, one thing led to another and GOTTI, JR. ultimately hit ‘ELFIE’ with a broken glass bottle. GOTTI, JR. then stabbed ‘ELFIE’ with a knkife that GOTTI JR. had obtained from AMOROSO.
According to GOTTI JR., a melee ensued involving approximately 30 to 40 of the bar’s patrons. GOTTI JR. recalled that among those involved in the melee wee: DANNY SILVA, JOHN and GREG MASSA, ANGELO CASTELLI, JOEY CURIO, First Name Unknow (FNU) RILEY and JOHN CENNAMO. GOTTI JR. stated that DANNY SILVA was stabbed and killed during the melee.

GOTTI, JR. described a meeting which occurred a hort time after the incident at the SLIVER FOX, between ANGELO RUGGIERO, SR., AND New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective, JOHN DALY. GOTTI ,JR. drove RUGGIERO to the meeting, which took place at the Sherwood Dinier located near the Five Towns, on the Queens-Nassau County border. Before the meeting GOTTI JR. and RUGGIERO discussed the purpose of the meeting. According to GOTTI , JR. , RUGGIERO was carrying a brown paper bag containing $25,000 in cash. GOTTI, JR. observed RUGGIERO sit in the rear of the diner and meet with DALY and an unknown white male. RUGGIERO advised GOTTI JR. that the $25,000 cash payment was made to DALY to get his (GOTTI JR.’S) name out of the SILVER FOX murder investigation. While GOTTI, JR., did not directly meet DALY, DALY did acknowledge GOTTI, JR.on his way out of the diner, as GOTTI, JR. sat waiting in the car.

Following this meeting with RUGGIERO and DALY, GOTTI, JR. was instructed by his father, JOHN J. GOTTI, (GOTTI, SR.) TO LEAVE New York for a while until things “colled down.” GOTTI, JR. left New York for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, whee he remained for some time. At some time GOTTI, SR. joined him in F.orida and the two eventually returned to New York.

Upon GOTTI, JR.’S return to New York, he learned that JOHN CENNAMO , one of DANNY SILVA’S friends who was present that the SILVER FOX the night SILVA was stabbed and killed, was dead, apparently having hung himself..

GOTT JR. provided the following as background:

ANGELO RUGGIERO was ‘put on the shelf” by GOTTI, SR. after the murder of JIMMY HYDELL in 1986. HYDELL was tortured and killed by members of the Luchese Organized Crime Family because he (HYDELL) and others had shot and tried to kill ANTHONY ‘GASPIPE’ CASSO. The Luchese Family learned that RUGGIERO was behind the attempt to kill CASSO and demanded that RUGGIERO himself be killed. GOTTI, SR., who was very close to RUGGIERO, did not have RUGGIERO killed. Instead, RUGGIERO was “put on the shelf.”

Prior to HYDELL’S murder, members of the Luchese Family summoned Gambino Family members JIMMY “BROWN”FAILLA and JOE ‘BUTCH’ CORRAO to the location where HYDELL was being held. According to GOTTI, JR., faille AND corraoa wee summoned to that location so that they would be present when HYDELL admitted his and RUGGIERO’S involvement in the attempted murder of CASSO. Prior to the Luchese Family killing HYDELL, FAILLA and CORRAO obtained Gambino Family member DANNY MARINO’S approval to kill HYDELL., because, according to GOTTI, JR., HYDELL was MARINO’S nephew.

Even though RUGGIERO had been “put on the shelf,” GOTTI, JR., continued to meet with him in violation of mafia protocol. GOTTI’S father, (GOTTI SR.) reprimanded him on occasion for meeting with RUGGIERO. GOTTI, JR. learned from RUGGIERO that in the weeks and months after SILVA was killed at the SILVER FOZ, CENNAMO ut continued pressure on the police department to investigate his (SILVA’S) murder. RUGGIERO told GOTTI, JR. that CENNAMO “pressed” his 9GOTTI’S) name in the investigation and his (GOTTI, JR.’S) role in the bar fight that led to SILVA’S murder. RUGGIERO told GOTTI, JR. that he (RUGGIERO) and others had obtained NYPD DD5S [official police department reports] of the SILVA murer investigation from DALY. RUGGIERO then advised GOTTI, JR. that CENNAMO’S death , which appeared to be a suicide, was in fact a murder and that he (RUGGIERO), JOE WATTS and WILLIE BOY JOHNSON had killed CENNAMO on GOTTI SR.’S orders. RUGGIERO told GOTTI JR. that DETECTIVE JOHN DALY provided background information regarding CENNAMO which the Gambino family used to locate him.

Several years later, after GOTTI JR. was arrested on unrelated charges, an additional cash payment was made to DALY when GOTTI JR.’S name resurfaced in the SILVA murder investigation.

GOTTI JR. stated that after his father was arrested and remanded to prison [December 1990] , GOTTI JR. frequently met with JOE WATTS, who was a close associate of GOTTI SR. At one meeting with WATTS at the Lum Chin Chinese restaurant,, WATTS admitted his involvement in the murder of CENNAMO. Wattsa also told GOTTI JR. that the first “piece of work” he (WATTS) was involved in was the murder of VITO BORELLI in approximately 1980, which he committed with GOTTI SR.

According to GOTTI JR. JOHN DALY was assigned to the 106th Precinct during the time he received the payoffs from the Gambino Family and provided information to the Gambino Family about the SILVA murder investigation. GOTTI JR. added that DALY later went to work for the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

Oak Point Garbage Dump

At some point in late 1980’s GOTTI JR and others wanted to develop approximately 28 acres of land located on the Bronx side of the Triboro Bridge. This tract of land was known as Oak Point and at that time was being used by New York City as a garbage dump. GOTTI, JR. and his associates wanted to build modular homes on the property through a company known as Brite Star Homes. In addition to the housing development GOTTI JR. wanted to get involved in the construction of the Bronx House of Detention on that site. GOTTI JR. had received assurances that he would be able to sell the prison to the City of New York for twenty million dollars.

According to GOTTI JR., DAVID NORKIN, a partner of GOTTI, JR.’S in this venture purchased the property. GOTTI JR. advised that bribes were paid to at least two city politicians in order to secure certain city permits required for the development of the project. JOE ZINGARO, a captain in the Gambino Family, had a close association with Bronx politician, EFRAIM ‘EFFIE’ GONZALEZ. GOTTI JR. gave $20,000.00 in cash to ZINGARO for ZINGARO to give to GONZALEZ. According to ZINGARO, GONZALEZ accepted the $20,000.00 GOTTI JR., using the alias JOHN RUSSO, met GONZALEZ at a function they both attended at Alex and Henry’s Catering Hall in the Bronx.

According to GOTTI , JR., additional bribe money was paid to FERNANDO FERRER through NORKIN. NORKIN suggested making the payments to FERRER. According to GOTTI, JR. on at least two different occasions, he (GOTTI, JR.) gave $25,000.00 in cash to NORKIN for NORKIN to give to FERRER. GOTTI, JR.’S close associate MICHAEL McLAUGHLIN, delivered the money. GOTTI, JR. again using the alias JOHN RUSSO, also met directly with FERRER at NORKIN’S office. According to GOTTI, JR. the bribes paid to FERRER did secure whatever permit (s) GOTTI, JR. and his associates needed to obtain for their project.

In addition to the payments described above, GOTTI, JR. paid an additional $100,000.00 to $125,000.00 in cash to various city politicians through NORKIN and the las firm DAVIDOFF MILITO in order to ‘grease the skids” in the development of the housing project and detention center.

After NORKIN purchase Oak Pint, GOTTI, JR. and his associates continued to operate the garbage dump from approximately January 1989 through late August 1989. GOTTI, JR.S “guys,” including McLAUGHLIN, worked at the dump. GOTTI, JR. stated that investigators with the Department of Investigation (DOI) or another New York City investigative agency photographed GOTTI, JR. at the garbage dump on several occasions. Once this photographic evidence of GOTTI, JR.’S connection to the property surfaced, his (GOTTI, JR.’S) investors and business associates no longer wanted to be involved and the project was never completed.

In approximately the spring of 1990, GOTTI, JR. and other Gambino Family members pursued another project involving a garbage dump. This dump was located in Matamoras, Pennsylvania. GOTTI, JR. attended a ‘sit -down” with other members of the Gambino Family, as well as high-ranking members of the Luchese Family concerning this project. On behalf of the Gambino Family (which GOTTI, JR. continually referred to as “our family”) GOTTI, JR., his (GOTTI, JR.’S) uncle , PETE GOTTI, and SALVATORE “SAMMY THE BULL” GRAVANO met with representatives of the Luchese Family, AL D’ARCO, ANTHONY “GAS PIPE” CASSO and PATTY MASSELLI. According to GOTTI, JR., the deal to purchase and operate this garbage dump fell through.

Queen’s District Attorney’s Office

GOTTI, JR. also stated that Gambino Family member ANTHONY “TONY LEE” GUERRIERI and his relationship with local politician, SAL REALE, the Gambino Family had “influence” with the Queens District Attorney’s (DA) Office while JOHN SANTUCCI was the District Attorney. GOTTI, JR. identified MIKE CURRO as the Gambino Family’s “go to guy.” GOTTI, JR. also advised that after GUERRIERI died, the Gambino Family lost most of their influence with the Queens DA’s Office.