...Charged with Attempted Murder

From CNN.com .

He is one of the dumbest Mafiosi I've ever heard of. Even more stupid than his old man with about 4% of his charisma. I particularly like the fact he kept a stash of cash from his wedding with a list of all the Wiseguys who contributed to it. Well done Schmucko.

Well hell I was just about to post this, but someone already beat me to it.

Oh well.

Yeah like Turi said John Gotti jr is really stupid, he's what I'd call a text book version of a common street thug, with absolutely no brains.

Curtis Sliwa has been keeping his loyal listeners (yours truly among them) well informed of the situation since the story broke yesterday.

Last night as a guest on Mark Levin's show, Curtis gave a spellbinding account of not only the 1992 shooting, but the circumstances that led to it and the 'warning' beating 2 months prior to that.

For the past 14 years Sliwa has never backed down from his insistence that both the beating and shooting were the work of the Gambino family and John Gotti Jr....payback for his speaking out on his radio show against Gotti Sr. They apparently wanted him silenced and he refused to comply.

Right now, Sliwa is under heavy protection by his fellow Guardian Angels. After this morning's show, Curtis is to be escorted to 'parts unknown' in a witness protection program.

Of course, Godfather themes abound amidst this real life crime story. Some joker called in earlier doing a Brando/Vito imitation saying that if Curtis happened to fall down a flight of stairs or was struck by lightning...that he would 'blame some people.' :rolleyes:

Anyway...anyone in the NY area been following the story via 77-WABC????

Apple

NYTimes today has an account of this story that is assuming, ah, remarkable aspects:
According to law enforcement, Gotti Sr. told Jr. to whack Sliwa. So he had a taxicab pull up in front of the building where Sliwa was staying. The driver was a Gambino guy. When Sliwa got in, another Gambino guy leaped up from under the front seat and shot Sliwa three times. Despite this, Sliwa managed to climb over the front seatback and hang out the rightside front window, despite high speeds, until he hit his head on the sideview mirror of another car (!!!) and tumbled off--and survived all of this.
The NYC police have a longstanding grudge against Sliwa because his paramilitary group, the Guardian Angels, patrolled streets and subways, doing a better job of protecting people than the cops were doing at the time. On the other hand, he admits to having lied several times about his and his group's exploits.

That's pretty much the way Curtis told it on the air...except he included ALOT more detail. At times it was funny, because host M. Levin had to stop him from sidetracking (as to amount of blood, etc...) and get back on track with the story!!

Apple

Is there any chance of a brief explanation of the Guardian Angels? I hear they do good things and are voluntary but don't know the full story.

Apple probably could tell you more, Turi, but:
Guardian Angels is a multi-ethnic group that I'd call paramilitary (and some would call vigilante) that was formed in the Seventies by Curtis Sliwa. Trained in unarmed self-defense and dressed in white T-shirts and red berets, they rode the NYC subways and walked the streets as a kind of general deterrant to (and sometimes intervenors in) subway and street crimes. Crimes of all kinds were at their peak in the Seventies and Eighties, and many New Yorkers and visitors were convinced it was unsafe to ride the subways or walk the streets. The Guardian Angels were instructed to "restrain" miscreants they observed committing a crime until police arrived. This is legal (called a "citizen's arrest" in the US). The public generally felt safer with the Angels around, but the NYC police greatly resented them because they saw the Angels as constant reminders that they weren't doing their job. They often harrassed the Angels, especially their leader, Sliwa. To be fair: Sliwa is a publicity hound and has become a public figure.
Apple...?

Ah right, thanks Turbull. I'm surprised to learn they've been around for so long, I thought they were fairly recent, maybe just over a decade. Sounds like a good thing, except of course if people take it too far and do actually become publicity hounds - I don't know for sure though.

Personally I think they have guts. Wearing a red beret in public takes the biggest balls not even Lee Marvin could produce.

John Gotti sr.is spin right now.

I'm sure that for several years into its existence, the Guardian Angels WERE harrassed by NYPD for the reasons stated by Turnbull. Currently though..the Angels seems to be an accepted and embraced fixture in NYC and other major U.S. cities. Sliwa often flies out to give speeches at other 'chapters' of the group...including in JAPAN!!

As for being a publicity hound, I'll agree Curtis does not shy away from the spotlight but I've never known him to seek it out, either. Could be wrong on that, just haven't noticed.

As for being a public figure, well...he IS founder of the Guardian Angels and has been a regular talk show host on NY radio since before the day he was shot in 1992! Since his teaming with liberal attorney Ron Kuby several years ago they've pretty much hit paydirt and have been the top rated morning drivetime show for most of the past 3 years! Their weekly 'mob talk' segment is a regular fixture and one very personal to Curtis considering his past (and current) troubles.

They reply pretty quickly to e-mails, too (well, Kuby does, anyway)!!!

Apple

Not only is there that beret...but they also wear matching red satin jackets!!!

I'm surprised that you'd even listen to Kuby, Apple, given that he's the former law partner of one of my heroes, the famed late ultra-liberal attorney William Kunstler. :p

plaw, I don't listen to 'Kuby'.

I listen to 'Curtis and Kuby'. Their on-air chemistry is terrific, and the dynamics & political debate between the two makes for some great radio. That's why their ratings are usually hard to beat (even by Howard Stern).

Ron Kuby alone would not be able to carry a radio show if his life, and the lives of his family, depended upon it. He knows this and has admitted it on many an occasion. That's why they never gave him a solo slot.

Oh, and yes I know of his association with the late Mr. Kunstler...Ron refers to that on occasion, too!!

By the way...Communist, Bush-hating, ultra-lib that he is, Ron Kuby churns out one TERRIFIC personal autograph!!


Apple

Were you a member of the Chicago Seven, pl?

If so, what instrument do you play? Oh wait...you're not referring to the band...

Just remember, "The whole world's watching."

Bobby Rush (D-Ill) represents the Illinois 1st in Congress after a long career as an alderman in Chicago.

tony b.

No...But I was a proud member of the SDS. I even went to a meeting or two when I could take the time away from the poker table.