Sammy Gravano

Gravano further ingratiated himself to Castellano when he interceded in a civil war that had erupted within the Philadelphia crime family. In March 1980, longtime Philadelphia boss, Angelo Bruno, was assassinated by his consigliere, Antonio Caponigro, without authorization from The Commission. The Commission summoned Caponigro to New York, where it sentenced him to death for his transgression. After Caponigro was tortured and killed, Philip Testa was installed as the new Philadelphia boss and Nicky Scarfo as consigliere. The Commission subsequently placed contracts on Caponigro's co-conspirators, including John "Johnny Keys" Simone, who also happened to be Bruno's cousin. The Simone contract was given to Gravano.[9]

After befriending Simone through a series of meetings, Gravano, with the assistance of Milito and D'Angelo, abducted Simone from Yardley Golf Club in Yardley, Pennsylvania (part of suburban Trenton, New Jersey), and drove him to a wooded area on Staten Island.

Gravano then granted Simone's requests to die with his shoes off, in fulfillment of a promise he had made to his wife, and at the hands of a made man. After Gravano removed Simone's shoes, Milito shot Simone in the back of the head, killing him. Gravano later expressed admiration for Simone as a so-called "man's man", remarking favorably on the calmness with which he accepted his fate.[9]

By the early 1980s, the Plaza Suite was a thriving establishment.[14] Patrons often had to wait an hour to get in and the club featured high-profile live acts such as singers Chubby Checker and the Four Tops.[14]

In 1982, Frank Fiala, a wealthy businessman and drug trafficker, paid Gravano $40,000 to rent the Plaza Suite for a birthday party he was throwing himself. Two days after the party, Gravano accepted a $1,000,000 offer from Fiala to buy the establishment, which Gravano had only valued at $200,000.[5] The deal was structured to include $100,000 cash as a down payment, $650,000 in gold bullion under the table, and a $250,000 payment at the real estate closing.[9]

Before the transaction was completed, Fiala began acting like he already owned the club. Upon leaving the Plaza Suite, Gravano called Garafola and set up an ambush outside the club, involving Garafola, Milito, D'Angelo, Nicholas Mormando, and Michael DeBatt in the plan.[9] Later that night, Gravano confronted Fiala on the street as he exited the Plaza Suite among a group of people, asking, "Hey, Frank, how you doing?"[14] As Fiala turned around, surprised to see Gravano, Milito came up behind him and shot him in the head. Milito stood over the body and fired a shot into each of Fiala's eyes as Fiala's entourage and the crowd of people on the street dispersed, screaming. Gravano walked up to Fiala's body and spat on him.[9]

Gravano was never charged for the crime; he had made a $5,000 payoff to the later discredited and disgraced New York Police Department homicide detective Louis Eppolito to ensure the investigation yielded no leads.[14]

Although Gravano evaded criminal charges, he incurred Castellano's wrath over the unsanctioned killing. Gravano attempted to lie low for nearly three weeks afterwards, during which time he called his crew together and made the decision to kill Castellano if necessary.[5] Gravano and Milito were then summoned to a meeting with Castellano at a Manhattan restaurant. Castellano had been given the details of what Fiala had done, but he was still livid that Gravano had not come to him for permission to kill Fiala first. Gravano was spared execution when he convinced Castellano that the reason he had kept him in the dark was to protect the boss in case something went wrong with the hit.[5]

Fiala's murder posed one final problem for Gravano in the form of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The high publicity generated by the incident triggered an IRS investigation into Gravano and Fiala's deal for the sale of the Plaza Suite and Gravano was subsequently charged with tax evasion. Gravano was represented by Gerald Shargel and acquitted at trial.[5]

D'Angelo was later killed by a Colombo family associate celebrating his having been proposed for membership. The killer was then murdered, himself, on orders from the Colombo family.[5]

In the aftermath of the Fiala murder, Gravano continued to focus on his construction business, branching out into the lucrative concrete paving industry. New York City's cement industry was controlled by four of the Five Families, which made millions of dollars by manipulating bids and steering contracts.[5] Gravano said in 1998, "I literally controlled Manhattan, literally. You want concrete poured in Manhattan? That was me. Tishman, Donald Trump, all these guys—they couldn't build a building without me."[15]

Gravano eventually became embroiled in a dispute with business partner Louie DiBono, a member of another Gambino crew. A sit-down with Castellano was held, at which an irate Gravano accused DiBono of withholding $200,000 in payments for subcontracts and threatened to kill DiBono.[9] Gambino underboss Neil Dellacroce intervened on Gravano's behalf and Castellano told the two men to end their business partnership, though Gravano's standing with the boss slipped as a result of the incident. Dellacroce, however, was rising star John Gotti's mentor, and when word got back to him that Dellacroce had supported Gravano, Gotti was impressed.[5]

During this time, the FBI had intensified its efforts against the Gambino family and in August 1983, three members of Gotti's crew – Angelo Ruggiero, John Carneglia, and Gene Gotti – were indicted for heroin trafficking. Castellano was against anyone in the family dealing narcotics. Castellano planned to kill Gene Gotti and Ruggiero if he believed they were drug traffickers. Castellano asked Ruggiero for a copy of the government surveillance tapes that had Ruggiero's conversations. To save Gene Gotti and Ruggiero, Dellacroce stalled the demand. Eventually, one of the reasons for Gotti's killing Castellano was to save his brother and Ruggiero. The FBI had bugged Ruggiero's house and telephone, and Castellano decided he needed copies of the tapes to justify his impending move to Dellacroce and the family's other capos.[5][16]

When Castellano was indicted for both his connection to Roy DeMeo's stolen car ring and as part of the Mafia Commission Trial, he learned his own house had been bugged on the basis of evidence from the Ruggiero tapes and he became livid.[5] In June 1985, he again demanded that Dellacroce get him the tapes. Dellacroce and Gotti tried to convince Ruggiero to comply if Castellano explained beforehand how he intended to use the tapes, but Ruggiero refused, fearing he would endanger good friends.[16]

Three months later, Gravano was approached by Robert DiBernardo, a fellow Gambino member acting as an intermediary for Gotti. DiBernardo informed him that Gotti and Ruggiero wanted to meet with him in Queens. Gravano arrived to find only Ruggiero was present. Ruggiero informed Gravano that he and Gotti were planning to murder Castellano and asked for Gravano's support.[5]

Gravano was initially noncommittal, wanting to confer first with Frank DeCicco. In conversation with DeCicco, both men voiced concern that Castellano would designate his nephew, Thomas Gambino, acting boss and his driver, Thomas Bilotti, underboss in the event he was convicted and sent to prison. Neither man appealed to Gravano or DeCicco as leadership material, and they ultimately decided to support the hit on Castellano.[9]

Gravano's second choice to become boss after Castellano's murder was Frank DeCicco, but DeCicco felt John Gotti's ego was too big to take a subservient role.[9] DeCicco argued that Gotti's boldness, intelligence, and charisma made him well-suited to be "a good boss" and he convinced Gravano to give Gotti a chance. DeCicco and Gravano, made a secret pact to kill Gotti and take over the family as boss and underboss, respectively, if they were unhappy with Gotti's leadership after one year.[9] The conspirators' first order of business was meeting with other Gambino members, most of whom were disaffected under Castellano, and gaining their support for the hit.[4] They also recruited longtime capo Joseph "Piney" Armone into the conspiracy. Armone's support was critical; he was a respected old-timer in the family, and it was believed he could help win over Castellano supporters to the new regime.[17]

The next step was smoothing over the planned hit with the other families. It has long been a hard and fast rule in the Mafia that killing a boss is forbidden without the support of a majority of the Commission. Indeed, Gotti's planned hit would have been the first off-the-record hit on a boss since Frank Costello was nearly killed in 1957. Knowing it would be too risky to approach the other four bosses directly, the conspirators got the support of several important mobsters of their generation in the Lucchese, Colombo and Bonanno families.[17] Gotti and Ruggiero then sought and obtained the approval of key figures from the Colombos and Bonannos, while DeCicco secured the backing of top mobsters aligned with the Luccheses.[9] They did not even consider approaching the Genoveses; Castellano had especially close ties with Genovese boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante, and approaching any major Genovese figure, even one of their generation, could have been a tipoff. Gotti could thus claim he had the support of "off-the-record contacts" from three out of five families.[17] With Neil Dellacroce's death on December 2, 1985, the final constraint on a move by Gotti or Castellano against the other was removed. Gotti, enraged that Castellano chose not to attend his mentor's wake, wasted little time in striking.[5]

Not suspecting the plot against him, Castellano invited DeCicco to a meeting on December 16, 1985, with fellow capos Thomas Gambino, James Failla, and Danny Marino at Sparks Steak House in Manhattan. The conspirators considered the restaurant a prime location for the hit because the area would be packed with bustling crowds of holiday shoppers, making it easier for the assassins to blend in and escape.[4] The plans for the assassination were finalized on December 15, and the next afternoon, the conspirators met for a final time on the Lower East Side. At Gotti's suggestion, the shooters wore long white trench coats and black fur Russian hats, which Gravano considered a "brilliant" idea.[9]

Gotti and Gravano arrived at the restaurant shortly before 5 o'clock and, after circling the block, parked their car across the intersection and within view of the entrance.[9] Around 5:30, Gravano spotted Castellano's Lincoln Town Car stopped at a nearby intersection and, via walkie talkie, alerted the team of hitmen stationed outside the restaurant of Castellano's approach.[18] Castellano's driver, Thomas Bilotti, pulled the car up directly in front of the entrance. As Castellano and Bilotti exited the Lincoln, they were ambushed and killed in a barrage of bullets.[18] As the hat-and-trench-coat-adorned men slipped away into the night, Gotti calmly drove the car past the front of the restaurant to get a look at the scene.[5] Looking down at Bilotti's body from the passenger window, Gravano remarked, "He's gone."[18]

The first person on Gravano's hit list after Castellano's murder was Nicholas "Nicky Cowboy" Mormando, a former member of his crew. Mormando had become addicted to crack cocaine and was suspected by Gravano of getting friend and fellow crew member Michael DeBatt addicted to the drug. According to Gravano, Mormando started to act "like a renegade ... berserk". The final straw came when Mormando announced he no longer wanted to be in the crew and planned to start his own gang. Gravano decided he "couldn't take a chance" because Mormando "knew too much" and he got permission from Gotti to kill Mormando.[9]

Gravano arranged to have Mormando murdered on his way to a meeting at Gravano's Bensonhurst restaurant, Tali's. After assuring Mormando of his safety, Gravano told him to pick up Joseph Paruta on his way. Paruta got in the backseat of the car and shot Mormando twice in the back of the head. Mormando's corpse was then disposed of in a vacant lot, where it was discovered the next day.[9]

FBI surveillance photograph of Gravano, Gotti, Amuso and Casso in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

FBI surveillance photograph dated June 6, 1988 of Lucchese crime family boss Vic Amuso and Gravano

Gotti was imprisoned in May 1986 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York, while awaiting trial on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges. He was forced to rely heavily on Gravano, Angelo Ruggiero, and Joseph "Piney" Armone to manage the family's day-to-day affairs while he called the major shots from his jail cell.

In June, Gravano was approached by Ruggiero and, supposedly at Gotti's behest, given orders to murder capo Robert DiBernardo for making negative remarks about Gotti's leadership. Gravano was friendly with DiBernardo and tried to get the murder called off until he had a chance to speak with Gotti after his trial. Ruggiero claimed to have met again with Gotti and told Gravano that the boss wanted DiBernardo killed right away.[9]

Gravano arranged a meeting with DiBernardo where Joe Paruta, a member of Gravano's crew, shot DiBernardo twice in the back of the head as the underboss watched. Gravano later learned that Ruggiero was $250,000 in debt to DiBernardo and realized Ruggiero may have fabricated the orders from Gotti or simply lied to Gotti about what DiBernardo was accused of saying in order to erase the debt and improve his own standing in the family.[9] In any event, DiBernardo's death proved profitable for Gravano, as he took over the deceased man's control of Teamsters Local 282.[5]

Gotti's trial ultimately ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury and the boss was freed from jail. Gravano's specific position within the family varied during 1986 and 1987. With Gotti's permission, Gravano set up the murders of Tommy Spero and several other Gambino associates. In 1986, Gotti underwent a racketeering trial. Jury selection for the racketeering case began again in August 1986,[24] with Gotti standing trial alongside Gene "Willie Boy" Johnson (who, despite being exposed as an informant, refused to turn state's evidence[25]), Leonard DiMaria, Tony Rampino, Nicholas Corozzo and John Carneglia.[26]

At this point, the Gambinos were able to compromise the case when George Pape hid his friendship with Boško Radonjić and was empaneled as juror No. 11.[27] Through Radonjić, Pape contacted Gravano and agreed to sell his vote on the jury for $60,000.[28] On March 13, 1987, they acquitted Gotti and his codefendants of all charges.[26] In the face of previous Mafia convictions, particularly the success of the Mafia Commission Trial, Gotti's acquittal was a major upset that further added to his reputation. The American media dubbed Gotti "The Teflon Don" in reference to the failure of any charges to "stick."[29]

FBI surveillance photograph of Gravano, Louis Saccenti, Thomas Carbonaro and John Gammerano

FBI surveillance photograph of Gravano and Anthony Casso

With DeCicco dead, the Gambinos were left without an underboss. Gotti chose to fill the vacancy with Joseph Armone.[30][31]

In 1987, Joseph N. Gallo was replaced with Gravano as consigliere, and by 1990, Gravano was promoted to underboss to replace the acting underboss Frank LoCascio.[9][30][32][33] By this time, Gravano was regarded as a "rising force" in the construction industry and often mingled with executives from major construction firms and union officials at his popular Bensonhurst restaurant, Tali's.[9]

Gravano's success was not without a downside. First, his quick rise up the Gambino hierarchy attracted the attention of the FBI, and he was soon placed under surveillance. Second, he started to sense some jealousy from Gotti over the profitability of his legitimate business interests. Nevertheless, Gravano claimed to be kicking up over $2 million each year to Gotti out of his union activities alone.[5] Beginning in January 1988, Gotti, against Gravano's advice,[34] required his capos to meet with him at the Ravenite Social Club once a week.[35]

Later in 1994, Gravano was released early and entered the U.S. federal Witness Protection Program. The government moved him to Tempe, Arizona, where he assumed the name Jimmy Moran and started a swimming pool installation company.[68]

However, in 1995, Gravano left Witness Protection and relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona. A federal prosecutor later said that Gravano did not like the constraints of the program.[69] Gravano began living very openly, giving interviews to magazines, and appearing in a nationally televised interview with television journalist Diane Sawyer. It was reported that he had undergone plastic surgery to his face.[70] In 1996, his wife Debra divorced him.[71]

External video
Booknotes interview with Peter Maas on Underboss: Sammy The Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia, August 24, 1997, C-SPAN

In 1997, Gravano was consulted several times for the 1997 biographical book about his life, Underboss by author Peter Maas. In it, Gravano said he became a government witness after Gotti attempted to defame him at their trial. Gravano finally realized that the Cosa Nostra code of honor was a sham. At this time, Gravano also hired a publicist, despite the fact Gravano complained often about the publicity-seeking Gotti. After the publication of Underboss, several families of Gravano's victims filed a $25 million lawsuit against him. Also in 1997, New York State took legal action to seize Gravano's profits from the book.[72]

During an interview Gravano had with the newspaper The Arizona Republic, he said federal agents he had met after becoming a government witness had become his personal friends and even visited him in Arizona while on vacation. Gravano later said that he did not want The Republic to publish the story, but relented after the paper allegedly threatened to reveal that his family was living with him in Phoenix. The story so incensed his former mob compatriots that they forced the Gambinos to put a murder contract on him.[73] The FBI alleged that Peter Gotti ordered two Gambino soldiers, Thomas "Huck" Carbonaro and Eddie Garafola, to murder Gravano in Arizona in 1999.[74]

By the late 1990s, Gravano had re-engaged in criminal activity. He partnered with a local youth gang known as the "Devil Dogs" after his son, Gerard, became friends with the gang's 23-year-old leader, Michael Papa. Gravano started a major ecstasy trafficking organization, selling over 30,000 tablets and grossing $500,000 a week.[75]

In February 2000, Gravano and nearly 40 other ring members — including his ex-wife Debra, daughter Karen, and Gerard — were arrested on federal and state drug charges. Gravano was implicated by informants in his own drug ring, as well as by recorded conversations in which he discussed drug profits with Debra and Karen.[11]

On May 25, 2001, Gravano pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to drug trafficking charges.[11] On June 29, 2001, Gravano pleaded guilty in Phoenix to the state charges.[68]

In 2002, Gravano was diagnosed with Graves' disease, a thyroid disorder that can cause fatigue, weight loss with increased appetite, and hair loss.[76]

On September 7, 2002, after numerous delays, Gravano was sentenced in New York to 20 years in prison.[69] A month later, he was also sentenced in Arizona to 19 years in prison to run concurrently.[77] Gravano served his sentence at ADX Florence, part of it being in solitary confinement.[78] Gerard Gravano received nine years in prison in October 2002.[79] Debra and Karen Gravano also pleaded guilty and received several years on probation. In November 2003, Sammy and Karen were ordered to pay $805,713.41 as reimbursement for court costs and investigative expenses relating to an earlier drug ring judgment.[77]

On February 24, 2003, New Jersey state prosecutors announced Gravano's indictment for ordering the 1980 murder of NYPD detective Peter Calabro by murderer Richard Kuklinski.[80] Gravano denied any involvement in Calabro's death and rejected a plea deal, under which he would have received no additional jail time if he confessed to the crime and implicated all his accomplices.[81][82] The charges against Gravano were dropped after Kuklinski's death in 2006.[83]

In August 2015, Gravano's request to leave prison early was denied for reasons citing his "longstanding reputation for extreme violence".[84]

In 2013, National Geographic Channel dramatized Gravano's ecstasy ring in a scene in the Banged Up Abroad episode "Raving Arizona", televised worldwide. The episode told the story of ecstasy dealer "English" Shaun Attwood, who was Gravano's main competitor in the Arizona ecstasy market.[85][86]

Gravano was listed as being in the Arizona state prison system at a CO Special Services unit. He was initially scheduled to be released in March 2019, however, was released early on September 18, 2017.[87][88][89]

In December 2020, Gravano started a YouTube channel and a podcast titled Our Thing.[90]