There is something I dont get in the Castellano-murder. Gotti formed a group called the Fist. In that group were DeCicco and Gravano (maybe more, i dont know).
I'm reading Peter Maas's Underboss and Gravano told that Angie Ruggiero said to him: "Sammy you're very important to us, without you we cant do it!" (something like that). Sammy later tells that Gotti and Ruggiero were nothing without DeCicco and himself.

But, what doesn't make sense to me: Gravano was still a soldier a that time (according to gangstersinc.tripod.com, Toddo Aurello retired under Gotti's reign making Sammy the new Capo of his crew)...
So, why was a soldier like Sammy Gravano so important in the Castellano-hit?

Two reasons I believe are these: 1) Sammy was the Iceman - he was a stone cold killer who meticulously planned his hits. And when you're going to whack the Boss of Bosses, you want someone like that with you. In other words, you don't want to miss or it will be you getting whacked.
2) Sammy was a tremendous earner. If the hit on Big Paul was successful, then Gotti could get his hands on some of the money Sammy brought in.

I recommend you read "Gangland" by Howard Blum. It's an excellent account of how the FBI nailed Gotti, how and why Sammy turned, and has a riveting account of the Castellano murder.

I read "Underboss" as well. If I remember correctly, Gotti relied on Gravano as a pal, supporter, and as muscle. The fact that Gravano was nominally a soldier wasn't important--what counted was that Gotti trusted him. But the key guy was Frankie DiCicco, who was a ranking capo under Castellano, and who was close enough to Castellano to bring off the plot. DiCicco actually planned the hit, and did so brilliantly--using six gunmen dressed in identical hats and coats, and using identical weapons, to confuse witnesses and prevent positive identification. If I remember correctly, Gravano says that he and Gotti wanted DiCicco to be the new Don, but Frankie figured that if he did, Gotti would always be right behind him, waiting to take over, probably whacking him eventually.

All this pales before the fact that we're reading a book about Gravano, with Gravano as the main source of info. Of course he's going to embellish his role in the affair, telling us how important he was, how he was "honorable" and Gotti wasn't, how he turned rat on Gotti because Gotti deserved it--etc., etc. I think he even heaped scorn on Castellano because he dismissed him as a mere "racketeer," whereas he and Gotti were real "gangsters." :rolleyes: The guy would have made a loyal SS man.