From everything I’ve read over the years, it seems like Gotti was a standup guy. In another unrelated video Mike Franzese was saying in this life, everyone is capable of killing and to be respectful because you never know. One day someone might be a nobody but the next day suddenly he’s a boss etc. So what he’s saying is you don’t want to get on the wrong side of people incase they have the power to whack u later on

As for Gotti, it’s widely known he took a beating from little Nicky as a young wise guy and jumped from that 2nd storey window.

I’ve heard he got slapped by Mickey Boy Paradiso too. Yet Gotti never killed them and let by gones be by gones. There was one video from a black guy who did time with him, and Gotti had a fight with that Powerful Jew. But according to the black inmate, Gotti didn’t want to retaliate because it was a 1 on 1 fight.

Now, in contrast if that was Nicky Scarfo, he was a sadistic evil little guy and he would never let old beefs go.

@ Tonytough

He also respected those who he feared; He could have gotten rid of the Cherry Hill Gambino's who were close with Paul Castellano. He let them earn via drugs; knowing they were violent; and he didn't want to rock the boat with those in sicily.


Even though Nino Gaggi was indicted on charges around the time Gotti became boss; He was out on the streets for about 4 months and refused to meet with Gotti. Refusing to meet a boss could be a death sentence.


He was stand-up; and tolerant in some ways...

Some of these stories need to be taken with a grain of salt. As for Gotti running from Corozzo, who knows, if it did happen, what were the circumstances? Was Corozzo there with a bunch of his guys? Did he have a gun? People like to bash Gotti and down play him. You dont kill a boss without the commision backing and become head of the largest crime family in the country if you are an idiot and not respected.
All those so called tough guys in the Gambino family who claim Gotti was dumb for making them pay respect to him every Tuesday at the ravenite but yet they all still went. Any powerful capo in the family, and there were many, could have easily garnered support to have Gotti killed and could of went to the commision and got an ok. Yet that never happened and he was on the street for 6 years. De Cicco was killed in 86 by Chin and Casso as retribution but that died out.
Another thing, Gotti continued to run the family while in prison and then appointed his son acting boss and everyone and every other family went along with it. You always hear informants bashing him and claiming other families wanted to kill him or his son but it never happened. Its ridiculous.

I know from your posts that your a fan of Gotti which is fine. I think we agree he was a tough guy but the criticisms you think are ridiculous are fair criticisms. Whether you like Gotti or not you have to admit he made plenty of mistakes in his mob career. There no no getting around it. I mean I could right pages and pages of his errors. As for the Nicky Corozzo story. I have no idea if it’s true. I do know Anthony Ruggiano jr told that story and Nicky was a protege if Fat Andy so I’m inclined to believe him but who knows. As tough as Gotti was there were guys he feared. We all know about Roy Demeo and Anthony Casso who Gotti never wanted to mess with.

Im not saying he didnt do stupid things, he did. Every mob boss since 1980 did stupid things. How do i know this? They all died in prison. If the FBI knows you are a boss, you are done. Its actually quite amazing Gotti was on the street for 6 years.

My point is this. Every single informant bashes Gotti but all of them worshipped him when he was on the street. Gravano is also full of shit, he did whatever Gotti said and so did every other powerful capo. Why didnt anyone make a move on Gotti? No one ever did a thing. The Gambino’s had huge construction rackets in the 1980’s and no other family tried to step in and take it away from him. Why was that? Gotti could of easily been killed. That whole notion that he was purposely high profile so no one would clip him in front of law enforcement is bull shit. They killed Castellano at rush hour on a busy NY street. Its nonsense.
Why did the family continue to acknowledge him as boss while he was doing life in a supermaxx?
Bobby Manna was planning to kill gotti and the fbi told gotti about it. What did he do? He said “ gee thanks” and slammed the door?.
Why did all those so called tough guy capo’ s pay Jr Gotti tribute money and let him be acting boss? Why did they let Peter Gotti become acting boss?
Lots of rats such as gravano and john alite try to make it sound like they were loyal gangsters who honored the sacred rules. Bullshit. Gravano had 2 of his own friends killed just to steal their rackets. Alite used drugs, sold drugs, and robbed drug dealers. He also sexually brutalized his contractor.

Actually he wasn’t in the street for 6 years As boss . He was voted in January 1986 I believe but was in prison from May 86-March 87 after Gravano was able to buy a juror in the Racketeering case. He had a decent 3 year stretch until finally getting off the Street for good in December 1990. Like I said even informants has said he was a tough guy but that doesn’t make you a good boss and he damn sure wasn’t lol. Even as a capo it’s not like his crew was pulling in a load of money. Whatever money they were making he was pissing away gambling. Both Angelo and Gene confirmed this on wiretaps along with him wanting no part of Demeo was Paul was looming to whack him. That’s part of the reason they had to resort to drug dealing

He was the last of the mohicans. Lenox, Merlino is out of prison.

That’s some bullshit line his daughter Victoria Said after he was convicted lol

Lol.

Nicky was a soldier for 15 years, held back by Gotti who didn't like him but tolerated him because he was a big earner. Gotti Jnr promoted Nicky to capo when the elder Gotti went away.

Also Nicky was under Fat Andy for many years. Nicky was also made before Gotti was

Gotti was still in prison when corozzo got made. Why was Gotti voted in as boss by the whole family including Corozzo? The other crews could of clipped him but they didnt.
Merlino may be out but is he really earning? He didnt make nearly the amount that gotti or scarfo made, lets be real. Merlino doesnt/ didnt control unions or industries.

I know that. Gotti got released in July 1977. Yes they did vote him in although I think if you asked them honestly they would have much rather had Frankie Decicco. I think if Decicco hadn’t gotten killed eventually he would have been boss

Decicco wouldnt be boss in my opinion. Gotti was the boss and Decicco liked him. I mean he betrayed Castellano for Gotti as did Gravano.

Neo, not true ,sr made lil nick captain

. He didn’t betray Castellano because He loved Gotti. There were many other factors than that.
There was Paul’s greed, there was the Frank Piccolo murder that really was a bad move by Paul, there was the fact that Paul planned to name Tommy Gambino as acting boss. So it wasn’t that Gotti was this fantastic choice. I also think Frankie was smart enough to know Gotti would eventually screw himself with his flamboyant ways which did happen. Look like I said I know you are a big Gotti fan that’s fine but you give the guy way too much credit. I just try to be objective. I give him credit for being a tough guy and all of that. But the majority of people will tell you he was one of the worst bosses of all time.

Nicky was promoted in 1992 while Snr was in prison. Since Jnr was acting boss in 1992 and liked Corozzo, I assumed he was responsible for Nicky's promotion.

Crusher
You actually believe Decicco thought Gotti was flashy and would eventually get arrested and thats why he voted for him to be boss?
Gotti wasnt all that flashy when he was based in queens. It was much later after he was boss. I cannot fathom that DeCicco would say “ hey, this guy is flashy, lets make him our new boss so he screws himself and gets arrested”. Its obvious, most of the Gambino’s saw something in Gotti that lead them to believe he would be a good boss and not only that, they let him keep that position.
The decalvacante’s clipped their boss, so killing Gotti wouldnt be that difficult.
Again, if all those powerful capo’s thought Gotti was stupid, why did they continue to let him run the family from prison amd then allow his son to become boss?

I read somewhere (I think it was in Jerry Capeci's book) that Gotti actually offered the Donship to Frank Decicco before they whacked Big Paul. Frank turned it down--allegedly because he knew Gotti wanted to be Don and would have whacked him eventually. This story doesn't have the ring of logic to it.

The flashier the mobster is, the bigger the target he is for law enforcement--they don't like mob guys who flaunt their wealth and have a high profile because it communicates that they're getting away with crimes that law enforcement should be preventing or shutting down. Gotti and Colombo were the worst offenders in modern times, but even Charlie Luciano incurred Dewey's wrath in part because he lived high and liked to be photographed at nightclubs with beautiful women on his arm. By contrast, Carlo Gambino lived like a little old man on a pension; the most that law enforcement had on him was an immigration rap and a feeble conspiracy complaint that was never brought to trial.

Neo not true

Actually it’s not far fetched. Chin Gigante used front bosses for many years and it was effective. I think Decicco knew he would be boss sooner or later. Also Gotti was constantly under indictment for something. I have no doubt they knew Gotti would last too long which turned out to be correct.

Im not so sure about Decicco and the rest of them knowing Gotti would be done sooner or later. If that were true, they never would of let Gotti continue being boss while he was jailed for life and certainly wouldnt of let Gotti jr obtain a leadership role. Gotti sr and JR continued to make millions while he was in supermaxx and there is no way a bunch of greedy mob guys would of let the Gotti’s keep millions if they didnt accept him as being a boss. They could of easily killed him and split the millions amongst themselves.

Totally Disagree. I think a lot was luck and also guys did t want the Boss title because that meant more heat. Plus by the early 90s all the big guys were either dead or in jail. I mean Gotti was not a good boss that’s simply a fact

Who was a good mob boss? Scarfo, amuso, allie boy persico, basciano. Chin gigante who probably lived better when he was in prison?
You cant compare gotti to carlo gambino because carlo died in the mid 70’s when law enforcement lacked technology.
No one is a good mob boss. They all last about 6 5-years.

You better not compare Gotti to Gambino that would be ridiculous lol. Chin Gigante obviously much better than GottI. Scarfo was more bloodthirsty but was a much bigger earner than Gotti. Amuse I will give you because he was basically just a puppet for Casso

Gotti earned much more than Scarfo, the Gambino’s were a much bigger family with much more rackets. Its not even close.
Chin Gigante lived a horrible life. What kind of life did he lead? He couldnt spend money, he walked around in a bath robe for gods sakes.

Not true. Individually Scarfo was a much bigger earner since he had Atlantic City. Gotti was never a big earner. Plus whatever his crew did earn he pissed away gambling. Look man I’m just being honest. Like I said I know you are a hardcore Gotti fan but you gotta at least be fair about his major shortcomings

@Lenox,

@JCrusher is right. Scarfo was a better earner then Gotti "Individually" As a whole when Gotti was boss; He was making more then Scarfo.

Gigante was light years better then Gotti as the boss of a major crime family. Only people I'd say come close to him was Corallo and maybe Castellano....

Chin's life wasn't as horrible as you think..... He was still visiting social clubs; resteraunts.... Things of that nature... Taking vacations...

And too JCrushers point; Gotti was a horrible boss.... I put him on the category of Persico and Rastelli..

Thanks Zavattoni!!! I just try to be fair. I’ve been studying Gotti for many years. This is not just my opinion. The majority of people, mobsters, and law enforcement have said similar things about Gotti.

No problem bud; You're a knowledgble poster; and you're right. It's common knowledge that Gotti was a ******** boss...

If he didn't get arrested in 1992; I think the Genovese and Lucchese's would have had him dead in the streets like a dog.

I think Gotti's weakness As a capable leader was that
He felt he had no weakness.
In his own mind he was always right
Gotti was never wrong about anything.
I noticed that Gotti did not take well to other made guys
That were more "educated" about the world.
Gotti was a dropout. He couldn't relate with more intelligent polished guys

Thank You for the Kind Words. I have always enjoyed your posts and knowledge too.

I respect everyones opinion but the Gambino’s rackets dwarfed philly. Im shocked you guys dont see that. In fact the gambino’s raked in more cash than the Genovese in the 1980’s. Its common knowledge that Gotti made millions. He did not “ blow it all on gambling” when he was boss. He owned tons of real estate and was a silent partner in many business’s. In the 1980’s , almost every building that went up in NYC was associated with the Gambino’s. Scarfo only controlled the bartenders and anothetr union in AC.
The Gambino’s also had some huge earners that obviously kick up to Gotti. Scarfo was much worse than Gotti as a boss.

Dude you aren’t listening. We are talking about individually. We all agree the Gambino were more profitable than Philly. But that wasn’t because of Gotti. Im talking strictly individually Scarfo was a better earner than Gotti. I mean he wax a top guy in Atlantic City. Gotti was never a major earner as a capo he just wasnt. Roy Demeo was never a capo but he was a bigger earner than Gotti too. And yes Gotti did piss away the crews profits gambling in the early 80s. Both Angelo and Gene Gotti admitted this on wiretap. I mean we are simply trying to give you the correct information

@Lenox

You're not listening; Yes; Gotti made more money as Boss then Scarfo did; but individually; Scarfo made more money when he was in A/C for Angelo Bruno. Gotti was not a good earner .. Gotti wasn't even a made guy (I believe/Correct me if I'm wrong) when Scarfo was in full swing in A/C.

I agree with you; Scarfo was a worse boss then Gotti...

@JCrusher

Thanks for the kind comments.

Agreed. Scarfo was made in 1954-55 and he got started in AC in the 60s. He was already doing pretty well before Gotti got made. Gotti didn’t get made until October 1977. Do I think Scarfo was a bad boss? Yes I do because he was a paranoid psychopath. However when I take everything into account I still think Gotti was one of the worst bosses of all time.

You kind of imply that Gotti was worse then Scarfo. They both fit into the category with Rastelli; Persico and Casso/Amuso.

Who do you think was worse; Rastelli or Persico? I always lean back and forth with no decision with those two. I think they are worse then Gotti though.

You really think Scarfo was making a lot of money before he was boss? Gotti’s crew were killing it with heroin. Scarfo wasnt making real money until he was boss. There is a reason why Dellacroce and carmine fatico loved john gotti, he was a big earner. We only hear about his gambling but he brought in a lot of money after moving to queens.

Yes; Scarfo was making a ton of money with the legalization of Casino Gambling around 1976 or so... Gotti wasn't even made then..... He was in jail. How could he be a better earner around that time period?

@JCrusher.

I got Scarfo's rank wrong; He was never a captain.... Just a soldier with a few associates. It's stunning that he went from a soldier to consigliere under Phil Testa. Skipped the capo rank.

Yes that’s true he went from soldier to consigliere. Part of it was his friendship to Phil Testa. Also New York told Testa To make Scarfo either underboss or consigliere. As for Lenox I give up lol. I mean we are both giving him facts that back up the fact that individually Scarfo was a better earner. Gotti was an ok earner at best. He was a hijacker. He didn’t really know much about any other rackets. He was a degenerate gambler so whatever money they earned he pissed a lot of it away. This is backed up by Angelo and Gene. What earned Gotti a reputation was that he was a tough guy and proven he could do a stretch in prison and keep his mouth shut. That’s mainly it

@JCrusher

Scarfo definitely had it lucky due his friendship to Phil Testa. But tbh; Philly is known to have soldiers bumped to admin positions. Look at Joey Merlino; John Stanfa; Joe Ligambi; Micheal Ciangalini. None of these guys were captains... But some how someway they got bumped to Boss/Front Boss/Acting Boss...

And yup; Gene and Angelo talked on wiretap about how shitty John Gotti was with gambling money away....

So Gotti gambled a lot, that doesnt mean he didnt earn. Michael Jordan made millions playing basketball and lost millions gambling but he still earned a lot of money.

. Again you aren’t listening. We aren’t saying he didn’t earn. We are saying he wasn’t a top earner which is a FACT. Guys like Demeo, Gravano, and others in his own family were bigger earners than him and it’s not close. Scarfo was too. We are trying to help you out Lenox 😂

By Gotti's own account, the "best I ever did was go on a few hijackings". That might be an understatement, but I don't think Gotti was known as a money maker. I'm sure he did bring in a lot of money, but was that due to his own business savvy or due to the fact that he was in charge of a big crew in lucrative territory?

However, you could say the same about Scarfo. Leonetti said they weren't making that much money in the early days prior to casinos coming to Atlantic City. And when they did, was that because Scarfo was an "earner" or because they were in the right place at the right time?

I agree but how much of that was down to Gravano betraying other guys and absorbing their rackets, though? He seemed to do stuff like that more than once to the point where it became somewhat of a recurring theme.

De Meo seemed to force his way into a top spot in that family, even when the hierarchy wanted nothing to do with him, because they simply could no longer afford to ignore how much money he was bringing in.

Gravano, undoubtedly a good earner, but had a propensity for leeching off other guys work, accusing them of insubordination [ironic], and turning guys against them.

As admirable as it may be that Gravano is trying to get Locascio out of prison now, remember that he laughed off almost getting Locascio whacked by twisting things he said to Gotti during that interview on Diane Sawyer.

Those of you that think Scarfo was a bigger earner than Gotti should read Phil Leonettis book. Scarfo and Gotti both weren't huge earners. They were more of enforcers than anything. Scarfo made peanuts compared to others until Angelo Bruno died in 80, (Bruno wanted Natale over the union until Ralph was locked up)really didn't earn much more until he was Boss in 81 and implemented the Street Tax. Gotti was about the same, Bookmaking, Hijacking, Gambling. Maybe a little more in the early 80s with the Heroin money. They were both very similar and never were huge earners until they were bosses. Nicky in the March/April of 81, Gotti in late 85.not sure why the argument.

Crusher
You will never convince me that Gotti was’nt the biggest earner ever.. Im in love with the man...i think about him every minute of the fuckin day..
Lol.....

Gotti,Angelo Ruggerio and Frank guidice we’re partners in a bookmaking business that did 300-500k A WEEKEND in bets during the football season, he made thousands a week from numbers and gambling machines...he and his crew made millions in the drug business...Mark Reiter and Arnold Squitieri are the guys who supplied Nicky Barnes after Madonna went to prison and pistol Pete’s father for that matter
What scarfo made in a month during the late 70s gotti was making that by Friday as a skipper. There’s no comparison. Angelo Bruno was offering scarfo 1k a week to come w him..it’s like comparing Jessica Alba and Rosanne Barr

Well said !ouiebynochi. I agree with everything you just said.

I wish we had thumbs up or some type of approval mention for each posts since this one would sky rocket as a leading post.

Got a source? I'm not doubting you, I'm just interested in the source because I got Jnr down as promoting Lil Nick after Snr went away.

Nick Corozzo was promoted in 1991 along with DiMaria by John Gotti Sr in jail through messages to John Gotti Jr. So Bronx is right, while Neo is partially correct as Jr relayed the message to Corozzo and DiMaria.

What was Chin's relations with Joe Massino like in the 1990s? I know Big Joey despised Chin for backing Indelicato, Lucky Phil and Big Trin and almost triggering a 2nd Banana Split like the one they had in the 1960s.

Chin wasn’t around much in the 90s unless it was life and death..he was under surveillance constantly and under indictment in the windows case and was worried about having his bail revoked..that’s why Barney from the Bronx and Mikey Damino were running the family for him. And jimmy ida for that matter who was running all the things that the horse had before he went to jail in the 80s.. all the moves that Tony pro made in the 80s and that crew were all overseen by the horse and later on by Jimmy