OK, I read the book, Boss of Bosses, the FBI and Paul Castellano, it was written by the two FBI agents assigned to him. In it they told how they planted the bug in Big Paul's dining room, in a lamp. How they broke in at night and planted it and got out before the alarm went off.

Now I just finished reading Underboss, Sammy the bull's book. Now in this book, it says that the two FBI guys who wrote the other book were lying, that that is not how the bug was placed. This book says it was a phony TV repairman who came to the house to fix Big Paul's TVs and planted the bug right underneath the nose of Tommy Bilotti.

So, who planted the bug, and how was it planted? Does anyone know the truth?

read the part again in boss of bosses pay attention to the story line leading up to the actual act by the fbi,they had a little help.
also dont believe to much what sammy says,remember
who he is,what hes done,that lie justifies sammy
killing paul and bilotti,most of sammys book is
a self serving trophy,his twisted way of being
a hero.

I definately gathered that much from Sammy's book. He made him self out to be such a hero, like he never did anything wrong and that everybody in the world was scared of him. He seemed to be immortal, able to break any of the rules of Cosa Nostra that he wished.

Thanks for the info. I'll look into it.

Also, Sammy's telling it as he knows it, could be true, could not be true. the FBI guys actually did it so they know.

I love the part in Boss of Bosses when the agent sends cards to everyone. And the Jesus Christ line ("Jesus Christ." "Not exactly. But the pope will be there" or something along those lines) is hilarious.

I myself Don Rico must say that despite that rat Sammy's "testimony," it is an extreme stretch to consider the notion that Big Paul, long known for his impenetrable security perimeter, would allow a "TV repairman" into the White House. He was so wealthy he could just buy a new state of the art television.

by far boss of bosses is my favorite book,very detailed,if you read how they bugged his house,how
they staked it out youll find that his maid(who he
was screwing,who also was pissed at him)was the one who told the fbi where paul held the meetings
in the kitchen,she also had let them in the house
at one point.

Very good book indeed. Actually, I think they tricked his wife into letting them into the house, but is was the maid that told them where the meetings were held.

There are some websites that agree with Sammy that it was a TV repairman that did the bugging, but I would tend to go along with the FBI writers about how they got in. However, there are certain things that they say in the book that don't appear to be the whole truth. For instance, they talk about standing on the front steps and looking out at the Verrazano Bridge. I've been on the street, and unless the view from the house is drastically different than the street, you can't see the bridge from the front porch. They also make it seem like they ran down a long driveway and an expansive lawn. It's a beautiful house, and it does have a nice lawn, but it's by no means a huge property.

By the way, the back and side yards have been subdivided and sold off, and the house is no longer white. It is still very distinguishable.

The 'White House' was built to specification and completed in 1980. Castellano moved in with his wife and daughter, along with two rottweilers, one of which was named Duke. Boss Of Bosses was released in 1991, and at the time it noted that the widow Castellano and the daughter still resided there, but there is no mention of his sons other than that they were rewarded with Blue Ribbon Meats and several other companies, mostly construction, before Paul died. I saw the Court TV: John Gotti video, made around 2000, in which there is footage of the Castellano home and it is of a light brown font, not white. I can't tell exactly what Paul saw from his porch, much less what the FBI agents did, since i've never seen the property myself, but it was definitely at the apex of Todt Hill, Staten Island.
In the book it mentions there were five acres of ground, so it must be a reasonably large backyard nonetheless. On the francophone channel 31 (for those in Quebec who have cable), last summer there was a biography (possibly A&E) of the Gambino family. The narration was in french but the interviewees spoke in english (most were FBI agents), so you could get a pretty good idea of what the subject matter was about - it also had the most extensive footage of Paul's house and of Gambino than any other film regarding the family I have seen. You can even see through the windows (at nighttime) and in the background there are the tapes of Paul talking to the NY police commissioner and his wife in his kitchen.
After the lengthy summation of Carlo Gambino's legacy, then the dissection of Castellano's life and murder, it does a small coda on John Gotti and then ends with different agents all agreeing that if they were wiseguys, they're rather have an obscure position doing quiet rackets than the head title which was so chased-after by Gotti and co. I'd have to nod my head with them there.

[ November 01, 2001: Message edited by: Joey Montana ]

The road turns around the front of the property, so that it is like being on a corner lot. You can tell that the original plot of land was very large and extended all the way to the next road behind the house. there are now about 6 or 7 homes on the property, and the side yard was large enough to put a house on one side and a tennis court on the other. It is strange, but the front yard is just not that impressive. It looks like the white paint has been sandblasted off and the restored to a natural brick color. A friend of mine lives on Staten Island and drove me by Castellano's house, the church from the chistening scene in GF1, and lives on the same street as the "mall".