Today, just before 5:30pm John Carneglia, Vinny Artuso, Sal Scala and Ed Lino, on orders from John Gotti and under the nearby direction of Sammy Gravano executed Paul Castellano and Thomas Billotti in front of Sparks Steakhouse on E.46 St between 2nd and 3rd Aves.
Was this the most brazen Mafia hit on a boss in the history of the American Mafia? Was it bigger than the assassination attempt of Joe Colombo in Columbus Circle in 1971 or bigger than the murder of Albert Anastasia in 1957 at the Park Sheraton? Did it impact the operations of organized crime in NYC and the US more than those earlier hits did and was it the beginning of the end of the American Mafia.

A little tribute to Paul from a friend of mine.

This was the most audacious hit in mob history and this was why the feds had such determiniation in getting John Gotti. A high profile mob hit during rush hour isnt supposed to happen. There were thousands of people leaving work and Christmas shopping and someone could have taken a bullet. There almost was a “ how can you have let this happen” attitute towards the FBI back then. Gotti certainly didnt help himself by basically saying “ yeah I did it, now go and prove it”.
The FBI immediately noticed men walking up to Gotti amd showing deference towards him. Thats when they knew he had something to do with the hit since was wasnt part of the administration prior to Castellano’s death and not somone considered next in line to the thrown.

It's honestly the biggest hit in the history of LCN, Paul was a powerful man, definitely not careful enough, but the location and the number of shooters is 100% unmatched.

I've stood in front of Sparks waiting on a pal for dinner, this time of year, and the foot traffic is epic. I mean, tons and tons of people. And this wasn't one guy that managed to blend in and hit him in the chest with one and run off but a measurable hit squad of people.

#2 has to be Galante, a mean old SOB that would had taken revenge on an entire city if he had somehow made it out of there.

These hits often have to be defined by the location and the picture as much as for the target.

My Mount Rushmore is:

Castellano
Galante
Anastasia
Bruno

I would also throw in the Joe Gallo hit.

colombo..never solved... shot in a crowd of shoulder to shoulder people ,fbi had cameras all over joe , the crowd had cops in the crowd, johnson gets shot and nobody sees the guy who shot him..must have been casper the ghost. a hit with a hundred thousand people there..my opinion

galante and bruno were easy hits..no crowd of people or cameras, bruno sat in a car ,many hits were done this way .valentines day hit was brazen killing 7 at once..

decicco was blown up on a busy street

scarfo jr attempted hit

the jew getting thrown out the window of half moon hotel

Has to be it. Changed the shape of LCN as we know it on a large scale. Colombo would be next, but I think it was almost inevitable he was to be hit.

Marranzano and Masseria, after they were taken out it became the LCN we all talk about. I think you can argue the rankings of others after those two. Just for brazen and bad ass, add Dutch Schultz in Newark chop house.

Which by the way all three were orchestrated by Charlie lucky Luciano

Come on guys, the JFK hit eclipses all mob hits combined. The cia working with Chicago, New Orleans and Florida to get this done

JFK was accidentally killed by a Secret Service agent who accidentally discharged an M16 in the follow up car, striking Kennedy in the head.
Watch this video by Howard Donahue a gunsmith and expert marksman who was the only person to put 3 hits on target in a replication of the Kennedy motorcade in Dallss that day.

Scarfo Jr, siting in a pack restaurant and getting hit 7 or 8 times has to be a 12 on a scale of 1-10 in terms of brashness, had to be skinny, nobody has balls that large

Yesterday was the 37th anniversary.

The 1985 assassination of Staten Island boss Paul Castellano marked rise of new generation of mobsters. | From the vault

https://www.silive.com/news/2022/12...n-of-mobsters-in-nyc-from-the-vault.html