Its always been said that William "Billy Batts" Bentvena and John Gotti were friends but this always confused me. If Batts was in prison on a drug rap throughout the 60s, and gets killed in 1970, how was he connected to Gotti?
Gotti definitely wasn't made until the the Late 70s, Billy Batts was made in the late 50s, so where's the conection?

secondly, Does anybody know if Batts "bought" his button from Frank Scalise/Albert Anastasia or is that a myth?
Lastly, what crew was he apart of before he went to the Can?

To be honest I don’t know how big there connection was. Gotti was actually in prison for hijacking during the time Batts was killed. I do know that Foxy Jerothe was a close associate to the Gotti brothers. He was killed also by Tommy Desimone in 1974

Former poster HairyKnuckles sheds some light on Billy Batts here:
http://www.gangsterbb.net/threads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=797621&Searchpage=1&Main=25775&Words=%22william+bentvena%22&Search=true#Post797621

Hill says Batts "was with Johnny Gotti from near Fulton Street and he was hooked up with the Gambinos". We know Gotti wasn't made at this time so perhaps Hill just means he was part of the Fatico crew. Some researchers think that Batts wasn't even made.

I think Batts buying his button was just adlib on Pesci's part.