What made Gotti so likeable?

For those of you who have met him - what was about John Gotti, that made him so likeable as people describe it, even though some say he was a monster. What is the fascination with him? I recently watched the movie with Travolta, and I actually couldn't see nothing so special about him if he was portrayed right.

Lol? Someones met him? On the boards? Maybe only Bronx....

I'll say this, I dont personally know anyone who met him, and people talk shit about John, but every mobster who's come in contact with the guy and told his story, .......like they ALL pretty much respected him.

I'm pretty sure there were PLENTY that hated his guts, but I think John was widely respected. At least, before all the publicity...

Also, I read somewhere, that Gotti was expected because he always kept his word..

I wouldnt say everyone liked him lol. I mean even his own crew would get fed up sometimes.

I didn't knowed him but I can say that the elegant and expensive clothes, the fact that he made a lot of money besides of course the charm of the criminal was the reasons because more think that Gotti was irresistible.

There is no doubt the guy had charm and the ladies love him. I mean the guy had Sandy Grillo and Lisa Gastieau as mistresses so in that regard he did pretty well. But i think the negatives outweigh the positives. I mean to me he was just a egotistical murderer/criminal. Within mob circles im sure many respected him as a tough guy gangster. But many also saw his flaws. He was a degenerate gambler which is part of the reason his crew had to resort to drug dealing. Whether he dealt drugs is up for debate but he clearly knew about which meant he couldnt control his crew. Obviously he didnt know how to do any other racket besides loansharking and hijacking. Most of all his flash really made them a easy target.

he kept his word alright, not his oath ,fucking and giving a baby to a made guys wife, killing the boss among some of the minor things gotti did,

Mother of christ do we really need another thread about john gotti.... idk what on earth anyone could wanna know that isnt already out there about him... i loved this board when i joined but fuck me i cant take the john gotti/ castellano questions anymore... it may be time to take up basket weaving as a hobby..

Ok end of rant, havent had my morning coffee, carry on discussing Gottis fav pasta sauce or if he wore boxers or briefs

oh i agree with you. Originally i was gonna rant too. But i tried to keep my composure. There are so many more interesting figures that are never discussed

No wonder ur not around anymore...ur ab-so- motherf-ckin'-lutley correct though..good 2 see u post again ,also ..true about the board..its not the same as when I started ..& I'm only a few yrs. old here....

We lost a lot of great old school posters too.

I figured ud agree w me pal, youre one of the good ones... hope youre doin well... im trying to get on here more just been crazy busy

It's important to separate what the public thought about Gotti vs. fellow Mobsters. The public was fascinated by him because of his ultra-high profile: the suits, the shoes, the cars, the comments to the media--exactly what they were hoping for iin their idealized view of a Mafia boss. He was so different from the elderly, reclusive bosses like Gambino--Gotti satisfied their need to see the Mafia as some mystical society. They also like it that he "beat the system" with his acquittals. What his fellow Mobsters thought of him is probably another story. They probably hated his high profile because it brought unwanted attention to the working stiffs in the Mob. His own people probably disliked having to wait on him hand and foot, showing up at his beck and call, putting up with his bragging, etc.

I don't think it was the likable part..More Mystic and Security he gave to his community..Older people would feel very safe around his club. As long as you had no dealings with him, You were fine..lol. They loved his 4th of July Parties. They loved the way he thumbed his nose at law enforcement not so much the beat cop but the Feds..I think now we can say it's "The Trump mentality" to a point. I'm the Boss,Ya have a problem with that...?

I'm sure Gotti regretted not getting around to taking advantage of all his fan boys in the civilian world. There just wasn't enough time.

Im sure he did. Listening to his prison tapes is good for a laugh. First he says "i dont need fans" then the next minute he says "Its a honor for people to say hello to a person like me" lol

LMFAO





AGREE



RIGHT,, because if anyone had something to offer of substance there was a bunch of raptors who chewed them up and harassed to no end resulting in exits.



LMFAO, FUNNY AND TRUE.

For guys to say he was a future boss his charisma and alpha male persona must’ve been insane. The sit down with franZese sums the guy up, could never look bad. But then again I think one drunken night bobby glasses once slapped him in an argument if i remember correctly and he didn’t whack him.. must’ve been close probably

And then years later when gotti is long gone his niece testified against bobby glasses re a 30 year old murder in some bar. Crazy story that, bet he weren’t expecting to be lifed off on some stupid murder he done when he was drunk and young! After all the other murders and Mafia stuff he must’ve done over the years he gets life on some BS young crap

I think Gotti must have had a lot of charisma to people who met him in person, a thing none of us has experienced. He was well respected in prison and seems to have been a leader there, going by what we see in old photos. In Howard Beach, a middle-class area he was liked and loved by many neighbors. In Ozone park, more working class and poor he was well liked, and in all these examples we have to include his days before becoming boss. He had to have been liked by other mafia members to get made, and to stick around so long and though everything. Him and Joe Merlino have that in common. The mention of either one of their names also seems to trigger anger in a handful of people. A photo posted of Merlino is often enough to set people off.

Its not anger people are just being brutally honest. Its a good thing that many didnt buy into their bullshit. Charisma and flash doesnt make you respected. Both were idiots in the way they handled being a boss. Gotti obviously had a high opinion for himself. I dont think Joey was that bad in that regard although he didnt blabber as much as gotti.

The people who liked him were honest too, there is a reason they liked and in many cases admired him. This includes people from all walks of life. It can't be without him being charismatic and likable.

Well to fair be many others "from all walks of life" didnt like him for the reasons i stated. Só yeah some did like him and some didnt.

The 4th of July parties weren't out of benevolence for the "neighborhood", it was part of a perfectly orchestrated PR campaign to get people on his side against the Feds. It's common knowledge that nothing came out of his own pocket, it came out of the proceeds of organised crime and drug dealing and extortion from his own "people".

He was never caught dealing drugs, and the parties dated back years before he was known to the public, so it was not a PR gimmick. He never extorted his own people, whatever you mean by that.

I would've thought it was common knowledge to anybody with a cursory interest in the mob that Gotti's crew were heavy into drug deals and financing drug deals. Gene Gotti, Junior, his grandsons all deal/dealt drugs.

It's also being confirmed that the 4th of July parties, again financed with drug money and not out of Gotti's pocket, were done not out of benevolence, but to influence criminal elements against the government and Feds.

Just like it's being confirmed in myriad sources that Gotti had people orchestrating the riots outside the courthouse after his sentence.

I mean, if you have proof to the contrary I would love to hear it and will retract what I said.

I don't think any of them are truly likeable. If I had to call any of them likeable, it would be lower key gangsters like the Chin or Frank Costello. Men who didn't flaunt their power, but people who needed to know knew it was real.

Well he damn well knew his crew was dealing drugs and he was profiting from it. Plus the main reason the crew had to resort to drug dealing was because gotti pissed away their profits because he was a degenerate gambler. Also the 4th of July parties were for HIS benefit. Having the neighborhood on your side to give you info on cops/fbi watching him was his goal. So lets not proclaim him a saint just yet lol

Yup.

Exactly. It was the same on Mulberry. Citizens preventing the authorities from doing surveillance on criminal elements in their neighborhood. How is this tolerable? You think people like Gotti give a crap about all the 17 year old and 18 year old neighborhood kids who ended up with criminal records because mobsters used them, took advantage of them and got them to riot and destroy public property in his name?

Always thought this was common knowledge as well and that it was actually one of the reasons they got backlash from the Castellano faction. The drug involvement that is.

Exactly. What makes me laugh is when people defend gotti by saying"oh he would never sell drugs" But they leave out the fact that he knew about it and profited from it. So it showed he was a shitty capo and obviously didnt care that drugs were sold

I certainly don't respect any mobster, and I don't know if I'd call any of them likeable, but Jackie DiNorscio is pantsplittingly hilarious. He's like the mob's version of Rodney Dangerfield.

Saw that Vin Diesel movie about him. Meh. I remember that HBO documentary from the 90s that had a segment on DiNorscio, and the big guy Frank Minucci who was in Carlito's Way. Guess he was with the Gambinos.

A myth put out by the FBI and media.

i call horseshit on that one

I always thought his brash, loud style was rooted in his Neapolitan origin.

I'll always remember seeing Bruce Mouw talk about the way ordinary people were duped, specifically younger people, by John Gotti and his family into believing the Robin Hood esque myths about him, while ignoring the part about his destructive role on society. He actually got a little bit emotional about it. It struck me as very sincere.

But I imagine if I had a similar job in trying to do something constructive for the good of society and the media almost makes a conscious effort to portray the criminality you're fighting as glamorous to impressionable people I'd probably get pretty disenchanted.

I guess we are talking about a society where a few years before these events people were literally spitting on Vietnam vets, so there you go.

How do you get spitting on vets from Gotti and his Fourth of July parties? All over the United States people set off fireworks and threw parties, Gotti did it and it became an issue to people. Also, Bruce Mouw was more of a racketeer than Gotti, he made a fortune off Gotti by raising him up in public eye at the same time he portrays himself as the Elliot Ness of the FBI.

So now Bruce Mouw is a racketeer? I get the sense you dont like any cops or FBI. Now Granted there have been some bad ones obviously i will never deny that. But most were simply doing their job. As i said before those 4th of July parties were not because he gave two shits about those people. Unfortunetly many of Those people were naive and gullible.

Aren't you possibly being the gullible one? How can you know how Gotti felt about the people of the are he hung out in? You can't. Mouw is the one who built up Gotti's image to enhance his own reputation. He had a squad of agents with one goal of getting Gotti, and stayed on that gravy train for years. If you believe all his propaganda yet say others are gullible you need to rethink things.

Nah im not gullible...Nobody influences my beliefs. I guess i dont respect murderers

No need to apologize I don't respect murderers either, and I do not expect others to do that. I am just trying to be objective in looking at organized crime and the topics around it such as this one.

im not apologizing it was sarcasm lol. I thought you calling me gullible was ridiculous tbh.

I'm trying to be polite and avoid a dispute.

i didnt do anything. You called me gullible. I feel im very objective about gotti. But im not gonna sit here and say he was some great person for neighborhood. All you have to do is listen to his jailtapes to get a sense of what type of person he was. Those are HIS words

His jail tapes were released selectively by the feds, and against the law too. So they make laws and disregard them yet put others in prisons for it. The tapes were not that bad, he was in a tough prison, for life and went on a rant. How would you handle it? He was likable, get over it. Too bad he was not still alive, you could write him and ask for advice on how to be more likable. I will also go by the people of his neighborhood over anyone who Neve was living there. He was liked in Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and all over Manhattan. Before he was well known he had many friends, he had to have a likable quality about him. It's fact.

" im trying to be polite and avoid a dispute" lol yeah right. I have no problem that you like Gotti thats fine but we are talking about a criminal and murderer so its tough to say he was treated unfairly

I think it was simply his don't give a fuck attitude toward authority. I think most everyone would like to thumb their nose at 'the man' but most don't have the balls to do it.

I'm not sure he was always likable - I think for all accounts that Gotti wore on everyone eventually and they got fed up with his act. His whole bag was being a pariah for the family but in the end, he set the family back two decades because of his own ego.

Good Post. Thats pretty accurate

He was treated unfairly when they leaked tapes that were illegal to leak, and they leaked only what they chose to leak. That's unfair. If they do it to one person, they do it to others later. Wrong is wrong. It also has nothing to do with why Gotti was likable. If a thread pops up on "Why was Carmine Galente so lovable" or "Ten reasons Roy Demeo would have been a great babysitter" I'd be disagreeing on that. Joey Merlino seems to be liked, why is a good and fair question. Tony Mirra is said to have been hated, going by what is said on this site. I never weighed in. I feel no need to. You don't just hate Gotti and many others, you get upset if anyone says anything positive about him,

You get mad when anything critical is said about gotti which lets be honest is well earned. You did a lot of that crap. But i tried to be a bigger person and sent you a very nice message trying to make peace. That lasted like one day then you accused me of "preaching" and working for MoeTilden. So after that i was done being nice. However i wont be disrespectful because i respect this board. Lets just agree to disagree

I am not getting mad, and don't lie saying I told the board you sent me messages, you outed yourself on that one.

did you even read what i said? Im not hiding that.

You will never get a movie starring John Travolta made on your life if you keep this up.

Thank God. That movie was dogshit. But come to think of it thats a good description of him lol

Not a description of him to all those who liked him. Many loved him. Besides, it was a joke. You missed it

No i didnt miss it. Im just messing with you. Anyway lets just end this. Once again i will be the bigger person, have a good night jace no hard feelings

Yeah i agree. The delusion in those tapes really make me fall out of my chair lol

So it's getting to the point where people [Bruce Mouw] are being libelled now re: the racketeer comment. Websites have gotten sued for less than that. Just for future reference, there is a difference between calling a mobster a criminal and calling someone with no connection to organised crime, other than prosecuting gangsters, a criminal. You can't do that! It's like me finding out JCrusher's real name and saying [he] sells drugs.

And people like Gotti hardly made a place like Howard Beach a safe haven from crime. It was a no go area for black people as recently as the early 90's. This is multicultural New York for God's sake, not Mississippi in the 40's.

Absolutely. According to some ALL FBI and cops had an agenda i guess and were the real criminals lol.

Exactly.

Gotti was so likable because he was a good dancer.

That's a good point. But it's also worth mentioning that during Gotti's heyday the internet didn't exist, there was no 24 hour news cycle, no books written about him and most people's reference point when it came to the mob were brief blurbs in the newspaper or movies that were already somewhat dated, such as The Godfather.

I suspect a lot of people weren't fully aware of the depraved realities surrounding Gotti, such as having his innocent neighbor brutally murdered, or flooding communities with drugs, or committing and ordering murders wholesale etc.

People probably actually thought he was a supply salesman and that it wasn't just a front!

You can't blame people for not being as educated about stuff like that when they didn't have access to all the details and facts that we have at our fingertips now.

Anyone else think it's strange that when Frank Abagnale scammed people they made a movie glamorising it and cast Leonardo Di Caprio as Abagnale, and when Bernie Madoff did the same thing he was pilloried and they cast decrepit raving lunatic Robert De Niro as Madoff?

You know... while we're on the subject of real life Robin Hood figures. It's been a while since I watched it but they were pushing Abagnale pretty hard as a loveable scamp in Catch Me If You Can.

Literally every criminal that didn't rat or accept a plea deal has done this very same thing, from mobsters to 7 Eleven robbers. Gotti looked more like a Wall Street shark than a mobster. The bosses in the commission trial looked like grandparents. Gotti looked like Gordon Gekko. The media took to him, gave him a rebel status by calling him "The Teflon Don", and made him a star.

They could have called Tony Ducks and Fat Tony "teflon dons", too. It took forever to bring those guys down. But they looked like they could have been in the movie Cocoon with Wilford Brimley and Don Ameche, so the media found no appeal in them other than that they were mobsters. But John...with his compulsiveness and selfishness...that's locked up in that fucking head of his...the media pounced on him.

If you're trying to scare me it won't work. As if Bruce Mouw is going to sue me and the site. I called him what he is, a crook. He exaggerated and built up Gotti into something bigger than he was before he was boss and contributed to his fame (which drives you up a wall) after he was boss. Bruce Mouw is also a public figure. Meanwhile you are making it personal again. Mind your business and leave me alone.


You also don't know this city, Howard Beach had Balck residents then Gotti lived there, and though they were. small minority, aside from the famous case of. fight made into a racial incident by Al Sharpton, it was. a safer area for Black people than their own neighborhoods. I hate talking race, but you had to go and play the race angle in your desperation to get after Gotti.

You guys be nice mouw...

Jace, I would like to ask out of genuine curiosity: why are trying to make an angel out of Gotti and some other gangsters? You are not just pointing out their "positive" qualities, but you clearly chose to ignore any crimes they committed. Why? Is murder, extortion, drug dealing or whatever so insignificant in your opinion? Also, you blame law enforcement for the methods they use to put gangsters away, but what do you think about law enforcement members who take bribes from organized crime and look the other way or help them?

And don't interpret is as a personal attack please (just in case), it's a normal question.

Good Post. Ive asked the same question. I dont particularly care but its better to just be honest about it.

I am in no way making an angel out of him The thread is about why he was liked by so many people. I discuss it without feeling the need to point out every other sentence that he committed crimes. Where did I make him an angel? Show me. I stuck to the topic, and had to go through all sorts of crap like pointing out that if a gangster like Galante was called likable I'd disagree. Where do you get me making him an angel?

Supposedly Tony Ducks hated his guts which isnt surprising

If you don't think he is an angel or admire him, then maybe I misunderstood some things you said, but what I meant is that you didn't seem to blame Gotti for anything at all. He ordered murders, and even if he did some good things too, I don't believe he was being sincere, but that he just wanted to cover his crimes. Gangsters often help their communities, Gotti wasn't neither the first nor the last to do so. I am not trying to force my opinion on you, but that's what I think about mob "godfathers".

Yup exactly these guys dont give two shits about the community other than exploiting it for their gain

Wrong, I will take the word of the people there over a person who wasn't. No one in Ozone Park felt exploited, they loved him. There had to be reason and it could not be him exploiting them.

Im sure you were one of them

No problem, I understand you, but I am just trying to stick to why so many found him likable. Do you have any idea why those who knew him who were civilians liked him so much?

Wrong, I will take the word of the people there over a person who wasn't. No one in Ozone Park felt exploited, they loved him. There had to be reason and it could not be him exploiting them.

Im sure you were one of them

I hope that is sarcasm. I did not live in New York when he was alive. I go by the many interviews I have seen and read of people who knew him.

Hey jace I didnt want anything to get heated beyween us. Ive always valued your knowledge. However I come from a family of police officers in New York and are also an italian american family. So thats wht I dont respect these type of people particularly gotti.

Of course, no problem JC.

. In fact, you just got likable.

Cool. I mean i was just trying to be honest from what ive heard. I wasnt a Howard Beach resident but my father did work as a cop in the city where a lot of mob figures were including the bergin crew. Even people who he talked to or his fellow cops talked seemed to"like" gotti but it was more fear. He described it to me as "battered wife syndrome"

Jace

I like Conor McGregor but I can admit that he got his ass beat tonight. You like John Gotti. Why can't you admit that he is what he is, a scumbag and criminal?

What are your opinions on Gotti having his neighbor murdered when he wasn't in the life, Jace? What are your opinions on Gotti and his crew flooding the neighborhood he "protected" with drugs? What are your opinions on Gotti and his crew hijacking and extorting his fellow Italian Americans? What are your opinions that this man never worked an honest day in his life, getting up at noon every day. A man who was such a terrible provider for his family, which his wife often complained about by the way, that he smuggled his family out of the hospital when his child was born because he was too broke from being a deadbeat gambler to pay his hospital bills.

And I reiterate, you cannot slander people online and call them criminals when you have absolutely no evidence and are unwilling to provide any, as usual. I don't agree with the public figure thing either. George Anastasia talks about mobsters for a living. I can't go online and say he runs a bookmaking and extortion operation a) because it's nonsense and b) because if he got wind of it he could have the site taken down/pursue legal action. "Public figure" isn't a blanket term that protects you from saying whatever you want about people, believe it or not.

If you think you are beyond reproach for doing it that's one thing, but you could get the owners of the website in trouble.

Wasn't a black man the victim of a modern day lynching by Gotti supporters back in 1986? Plus he had his neighbor dissolved in acid. And he wasn't in the life. If I was a resident of that part of New York I would have Stockholm syndrome too when it comes to these people.

What about the guy who accidentally ran over Gotti's kid? Didn't he get killed? If the neighborhood was okay with that, then it just goes to show how messed up that neighborhood was at the time. Who cares if they supported Gotti? Being intimidated can look a lot like support. They were scared to death of Gotti. That's why they "loved" him.

That was John Favara. Of course nobody knows how his demise truly went like, but it's rumored he was pummeled with a baseball bat, dismembered with a chainsaw before he was dissolved in acid. It crosses into sadism territory.

Gangsters can be nice enough on a superficial level, but once you cross a certain line of relation and they got you in their pocket, they often won't be so nice anymore. It's their line of work.

Except he didnt cross a line it was just an accident. If you are driving when the sun is going down it can be very tough to see. Add to the fact that a dumpster was put in to the street, and add to that fact that a kid darts out from it out of nowhere there was nothing the poor guy can do. Thats how ive heard it and my father has heard from officers involved in that situation. The whole "favara was drunk and evil" nonsense was just something the gotti women made up. The Favara family was also harrassed during that time and even after john favara was already killed. Janet Favara was harassed by victoria gotti and they were also sent a box of excrement. The only gotti who has been somewhat honest about that situation has been junior. He says he was friends with Scott Favara and liked the family. Did he really mean that? Who knows but I take his word for it because he was indeed friends with Scott

It definitely was an accident. There wasn't anything he could've done.
The second part of my comment was more meant as a general statement. You cross a certain line of involvement with a gangster - like getting into debt with them or making them feel like you owe them something (and both things can happen faster than you think) - there's basically no turning back.

Well I agree to a certain extent. Yes I agree dont get involved with gangsters but that doesnt justify getting murdered for it. So thats why I keep saying 4th of july psrties or even loaning out money may seem like such a nice thing for them to do is only a front in which they are the ones who gain the most

Where did I justify people getting murdered for being involved with gangsters? Matter of fact, I actually mean that it's quite easy to being tricked into thinking that this gangster you just met "isn't such a bad bloke like he's got a reputation for being", he does you a few small favors (where he's still benefiting from) and before you know it they got you in their pockets. Suddenly when it dawns up on you that there's no way out of his pockets, the situation can turn ugly.
My apologies if I wasn't clear enough.

I NEVER stated you meant it was justified. I was talking in general man.

Yeah I get it. Seems we just misinterpreted each other. I agree with your take.

You are making it personal again and putting words in my mouth. Liar. I never said I liked Gotti, lie one. Next you bring up ethnicity and race, and drudge up everything you can. You end off saying I thing I am beyond reproach. Things were fine till you logged back on and immediately resumed attacking me personally. Please state your opinions without mentioning me or insulting me. I've asked you repeatedly to stop, you keep ignoring that request. AS soon as I log on you are right back to talking about me in an insulting way.

No a Black man was not lynched by Gotti supporters, a Black man was killed in fight with White teenagers in Howard Beach, but none were Gotti supporters, friends, or even knew him. There was no lynching. There was. fight between a few adults who were Back and a larger group of White teens who came after them following an initial confrontation where the teens were outnumbered. The leader of the White teens was the son of a New York Police captain, he turned states evidence. His name was Reilly I think. He was the only one with a previous bias case arrest for attacking a Jewish man with a fire extinguisher. I wish you would not bring up race to make a point, especially when it has no truth to it.

There is literally a Wikipedia page about the incident entitled: "Howard Beach racial incident"



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Beach_racial_incident

And the same people who did it would have been sympathisers of John Gotti. Indeed I remember them being described as such when I read news reports describing the killings and their aftermath while doing research.

Good Find Moe.

News of the suicide of the ringleader of the attack, Jon Lester, was leaked to the media after Victoria Gotti posted a condolence letter.



That tells you all you need to know really.

Also, in same article.



I'm not going to post the racial epithets Lester and his friends were reported to have said in the build up to the murder. They're in the articles linked below.

https://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/stories/2017/11/2017-11-03-vkp-inside-life-cl.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/...howard-beach-race-attack-dies-at-48.html

Also, the mayor of New York, Howard Koch, compared it to a lynching:

Yeah that does make sense especially the victoria gotti condolence letter lol

You are reaching for articles that were proven untrue. Lester not only never said any of that, they also wrote that he was racist because of his South African heritage. You can find old articles stating he support his nations Apartheid rule. Only problem is he never lived there, he was born and raised in England, to which he was deported after his prison time.
Al Sharpton tied a court officer to the killing, because his car hit one of the men running away. He was vindicated, although not by Sharpton and certain news outlets, like the Caribbean news which Moe went far ou too his way to Dig up.
You 2 are pathetic, trying to fight the Gotti likeablility thing by tying him and people who support him to a racial incident. You 2 disgust me. I would never support anyone saying that the police were behind it ( as was also printed back then) to make. point, I would not as I mentioned say the police were behind a lynching because a police captains son was the leader and got off. And for the last time, they were not Gotti supporters, I am sick of you 2 alternating with lies and BS, using race to make points, and teaming up in arguments. I will stop posting, you 2 and your lies and crap and false peace offering are tiresome.

You 2 win, I will stop posting fuck the 2 of you. . You bring up race to make a point, in a sick way, screw you both. BYE!

WOW. I havent lied AT ALL. Like I said i live in NY and my family was in law enforcement in the city. So i guess they are liars too? By the way your true colors showed up. Disgusting post.

Jace and Crusher: Take this offline. Don't pollute this thread (or any others) with personal beefs.

Yeah I never wanted that. Tried so hard to be nice and never cursed or insulted. Anyway thats over with now

I enter this topic late, but I'd say there are several reasons Gotti was liked and popular.

He was a career gangster who truly lived the life, which garners respect.
He was a flash dresser as he got older, not a dirty street scumbag thief.
He had family power and a long, strong association with Neil Dellacroce.
He was successful as a gangster. Drugs, sure, but who moralizes in LCN?
He was a high flyer who didn't fly beneath the radar - he WANTED attention.
He was unforgettable: he had fans & wasn't interested in staying in the shadows.