I think it was simply his don't give a fuck attitude toward authority. I think most everyone would like to thumb their nose at 'the man' but most don't have the balls to do it.
Exactly.
That's a good point. But it's also worth mentioning that during Gotti's heyday the internet didn't exist, there was no 24 hour news cycle, no books written about him and most people's reference point when it came to the mob were brief blurbs in the newspaper or movies that were already somewhat dated, such as The Godfather.
I suspect a lot of people weren't fully aware of the depraved realities surrounding Gotti, such as having his innocent neighbor brutally murdered, or flooding communities with drugs, or committing and ordering murders wholesale etc.
People probably actually thought he was a supply salesman and that it wasn't just a front!
You can't blame people for not being as educated about stuff like that when they didn't have access to all the details and facts that we have at our fingertips now.
Anyone else think it's strange that when Frank Abagnale scammed people they made a movie glamorising it and cast Leonardo Di Caprio as Abagnale, and when Bernie Madoff did the same thing he was pilloried and they cast decrepit raving lunatic Robert De Niro as Madoff?
You know... while we're on the subject of real life Robin Hood figures. It's been a while since I watched it but they were pushing Abagnale pretty hard as a loveable scamp in Catch Me If You Can.
