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Jun 14, 2002 · John Gotti, nicknamed "Dapper Don," was buried Saturday as throngs of onlookers lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the larger-than-life funeral procession carrying the legendary...
- Senior Editor
- CBS News
NEW YORK — He was a killer, an arrogant crime boss who inspired fear. But when John Gotti was buried Saturday in an elaborate mob funeral, many New Yorkers hailed him as a hero--a man who had...
Feb 10, 2009 · Gotti, whose penchant for expensive suits, silk ties and cashmere topcoats earned him the nickname the "Dapper Don," died at a federal prison hospital in June 2002 while serving a life sentence for murder and racketeering. Gotti's cancer resulted in lesions on his tongue, neck and cheeks.
Feb 26, 2008 · Gotti, the so-called Dapper Don, posed for a Bureau of Prisons photo on October 17, 2001, less than eight months before he died, at age 61, at the federal prison hospital in Springfield,...
Dozens of mobsters said farewell to John Gotti yesterday, packing a small chapel inside St. John Cemetery to say goodbye to their former crime boss.
- Childhood Years
- 1960 to 1969
- 1970 to 1979
- 1980 to 1989
- Gotti Becomes Godfather of The Gambino Family
- Gotti's Downfall Begins
- Gotti's Prison Years
At the age of 12, his family moved to a rough part of Brooklyn, New York.Gotti dropped out of school in the eighth grade and began his full-time involvement in street gangs and petty crimes.In his mid-twenties, he became associated with the Gambino Family and became close to Underboss Aniello Dellacroce. Gotti's specialty at that time was hijacking freight trucks at Kennedy Airport.On March 6, 1962, Gotti married Victoria DiGiorgio, by whom he had five children: Angela (born 1961), Victoria, John, Frank, and Peter.In 1969, he was sentenced to three years in prison for hijacking.In 1973, he participated in the killing of James McBratney. McBratney was one of three kidnappers and murderers of Manny Gambino, nephew to Carlo Gambino.John Gotti was convicted of the murder and sentenced to seven years in prison, two of which he served before being released.Once out of prison, Gotti moved quickly up the ranks, for his part in the McBratney murder. During that same time, dying Carlo Gambino appointed Paul Castellano as his successor.Now a capo, Gotti's loyalty laid with his mentor, Neil Dellacroce, and it was well known the Gotti felt Gambino should have appointed Dellacroce as his successor and not Castellano.Personal disaster struck the Gotti home. John Favara, a friend and neighbor, ran over and killed Gotti's 12-year old son, Frank. The incident was deemed an accident. Four months later, Favara vanis...In February 1985, Castellano and five Family bosses were indicted in the Commission Case. Castellano was also was faced with the news that his mansion was wiretapped and conversations were overhear...During that same time, Castellano gave Thomas Bilotti the capo position, which put him and Gotti on the same level. It was said that once Dellacroce died, Bilotti would be named Underboss, putting...Faced with the prospect of life in prison, many worried Castellano might turncoat.With Castellano, Bilotti and Dellacroce all gone, Gotti took control of the largest Mafia familyin the nation, setting up his headquarters at the Ravenite Social Club.In 1986, Gotti was charged with racketeering but managed to elude prosecution.Over the next few years, Gotti became a media hound. He paraded in his expensive suits and coats for the media, who always seemed to be there ready to take his picture.The press nicknamed him Dapper Don because of his charismatic charm and good looks, and Teflon Don because charges against him never seemed to stick.After bugging the Ravenite Social Club, the FBI eventually managed to get a RICO (Racketeer-Influenced Corrupt Organization Act of 1970) case against him because of over 100 hours of tape that impl...Underboss, Sammy "the Bull" Gravano, after hearing Gotti saying derogatory things about him, turned coat and partnered with the government to testify against Gotti.Gravano confessed to 19 murders but received complete immunity for his testimony against John Gotti. His nickname Sammy "the Bull" then changed to Sammy "the Rat." Gravano was given only a five-yea...Gotti and several associates were arrested in 1990. Gotti was convicted by a jury in the United States District Court in New York on April 2, 1992, for 14 counts of murder, conspiracy to commit mur...His time in prison was not easy. He was sent to an older federal penitentiary at Marion, Illinois, where he was kept in a solitary-confinement cell 23 hours a day for nine years.June 10, 2002, after battling cancer for several years, John Gotti died at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.A large funeral was held in New York City, where many members of the Gambino Crime Family came to pay their final respects to their fallen leader.Feb 27, 2008 · The last photo of cancer-stricken mob boss John Gotti depicts a not-so-Dapper Don – and its release left his spouse a less-than-merry widow.
