All language subtitles for Gangland.Chronicles.S01E01.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]-en

[♪]

Gangs rule their territories
through ruthless enterprises,

fear,

and a strict code.

Deviate from this code

or challenge their power,

and retribution soon follows...

especially for
the violent and powerful

Gambino crime family.

From its stranglehold
on New York City

to its epic showdown
with the law,

here are three stories

of the secretive
criminal organization

thrust into the public spotlight
by John Gotti.

First, a changing of the guard

as a ruthless capo
kills the boss of bosses

in the middle of Manhattan.

[Nevins Taylor] There's
a dead body in the street.

This was shocking.

[Narrator] Next,
the new boss's celebrity status

shines a light on
the Gambino family's operations.

He was breaking the rules,
right?

This is a secret organization.

[Narrator] And finally,
the Gambino underboss

breaks the mob's
most sacred code

and exposes the family's
entire criminal history.

He was very loyal to John,
until he heard them tapes.

[Narrator]
These are the stories

from the Gotti years
of the Gambino Crime Family.

This is Gangland Chronicles.

1985.

New York City.

Five Italian mafia families
run the city,

but the Gambino crime family

is the largest, wealthiest,
and most brutal among them.

The Gambino family was known
to be a ruthless family.

[Narrator] The family officially
gets their name in 1957

when underboss Carlo Gambino

orders the hit
of the reigning don, or boss,

Albert Anastasia.

Gambino raises
the family's profits and power

as the head of the Commission,

the governing body

of the Italian American mafia
in the U.S.

When Gambino dies in 1976,

his cousin, Paul Castellano,
a capo, rises to the top.

Castellano runs the family

with underboss Neil Dellacroce

and consigliere Joseph Gallo.

Under them are over 20 capos,
upwards of 200 soldiers,

and thousands of associates.

By the mid 1980s,

the family is making
$500 million a year,

1.4 billion today.

The mob controlled unions.

It was involved
in illegal gambling.

It was involved
in loan sharking.

[Ruggiano] Plus
they were making millions

in legitimate businesses,

all the nightclubs they owned,

all the gay bars they owned,

all the porn stores, everything.

[Narrator] But no matter how
much the family is raking in,

Castellano wants
a bigger and bigger take.

His greed will trigger

one of the most infamous
mob hits in history.

[gunfire]

1985.

Staten Island.

Paul Castellano is making
an estimated $15 million a year,

$43 million today.

He would get rolls of bills
brought up to him weekly,

but he wanted more.

[Narrator] One capo in Queens

has a major problem
with the boss's greedy ways.

His name is John Gotti.

[DeStefano] John Gotti
wanted to be a gangster,

and he was a throwback
to the era

when the gangsters were
this big public persona,

because they were
the tough guys.

[Narrator] Gotti is in
Castellano's bad books

because members of his crew,
including his brother Gene,

have been indicted
for running drugs,

which is forbidden.

When Carlo Gambino
became the boss,

he put out a rule,

nobody was allowed
to sell narcotics anymore

because it brought too much heat
to the organization.

[Narrator] Castellano threatens

to bust up the crew
and demote Gotti.

Outraged, Gotti
goes straight to his mentor,

underboss Neil Dellacroce.

[Gabriel]
Neil Dellacroce advised,

"You know, if you
go after the boss,

you could potentially
be starting a war."

[Narrator] But Gotti begins
to plot behind Dellacroce's back

with an ambitious soldier
named Sammy "The Bull" Gravano,

and the two see their opening

14 days after
Dellacroce dies of cancer.

December 16, 1985.

Midtown Manhattan.

Gotti and Gravano have arranged

for four hitmen
to take out the boss.

[Nevins Taylor] And they go
to Sparks Steakhouse,

where they are tipped

that Castellano is going to be
having an early dinner.

[Narrator] As John Gotti
and Sammy Gravano

keep watch
from across the street,

Castellano's car
pulls up outside the restaurant.

What happens next

changes the Gambino
crime family forever.

[gunfire]

December 16, 1985.

Midtown Manhattan.

John Gotti
and Sammy "The Bull" Gravano

have hired four hitmen

to take out greedy Gambino
boss Paul Castellano.

The two men
watch from a distance

as Castellano and his underboss,
Tommy Bilotti,

pull up to Sparks Steakhouse.

[gunfire]

Castellano was killed as soon
as he got out of his car.

Bilotti tried to evade,

but was killed
by another gunman.

There's pandemonium
on the street.

I mean, this is
the holiday season.

This is midtown Manhattan.

This was shocking.

[Narrator] Gotti has just done
the unthinkable.

He's taken out the boss

of the most powerful mob family

in New York City

without getting the blessing
from the Commission.

One month later,

the Gambinos come together
to choose a new boss.

To no-one's surprise,
John Gotti is the only nominee.

Some people were not happy,

but they were not going
to say anything,

because at that point,
the Gambino family knew

that if they went against John,
they were gonna go.

They all voted "yes,"

and John officially
became the boss.

[Narrator] But the Gambinos
are not prepared

for John Gotti
to shine a public spotlight

on the family's business,

and that will set the stage

for the ultimate faceoff
with the law.

1986.

New York City.

John Gotti takes stock

and re-evaluates
the percentage of the take

he expects from his capos,

and unlike
the former boss, Castellano,

he spreads the wealth around.

He saw himself as the
new champion of his family.

[Narrator] Gotti is making the
most of his new role as boss,

dressing in flashy suits,

eating at fancy restaurants,

going to nightclubs,

and landing
on the covers of the papers

and on TV,

earning him the nickname
"The Dapper Don."

And, at first,

his fame benefits
the entire Gambino family.

[Ruggiano] People wanted
to do business with us,

and everybody started
making more money

because we had more power.

More doors were opened.

[Narrator]
But behind closed doors,

Gotti runs the family
the old-school way,

and those members

who don't show the boss
the respect he demands

are taken care of.

[gunfire]

Gotti lifts the ban
on drug dealing,

and insists on operating
out in the open.

He had everybody showing up

to meet him publicly
out of the Ravenite Social Club,

his new headquarters,

but not everybody liked it.

This is a secret organization.

But they had no choice.

[Narrator]
But operating out in the open

brings extra heat
to the organization.

Between 1986 and 1990,

the authorities indict Gotti
and other Gambino members

on multiple charges...

but the family skates by,
especially the boss, John Gotti.

He has this reputation
for Teflon Don,

because no charges would stick.

[Narrator]
The Feds make it their mission

to take down John Gotti
and the Gambino family

once and for all.

You know, there's a lot
of pressure to make the case.

We can't afford any mistakes.

It's gotta be rock solid.

[Narrator] The FBI doubles down
on surveillance and wiretaps

at the Ravenite Club,

but they're coming up empty

until they notice something
unusual on the tapes.

John Gotti had
a very distinctive voice,

so you knew when
he was at the table talking,

and then all of a sudden,

his voice would disappear
for a half hour to an hour,

so we couldn't see
inside the building.

We can only see outside.

We knew he wasn't
leaving the premises.

Did we get made?

[Narrator] So far, Gotti is
getting the best of the FBI...

but the Gambinos are about
to make a costly misstep.

1989.

The Ravenite Club,
New York City.

While conducting wiretaps on
the Gambino family headquarters,

the FBI discovers

that John Gotti
is pulling a disappearing act.

He's not leaving the premises,

and he's not in the hallway,
and he's not in the club.

Ultimately, they found out

that Gotti was going
to an apartment upstairs

where he would have
his secret meetings.

[Narrator]
The second floor apartment

is home to an elderly widow
of a Gambino soldier.

It's in this apartment

that Gotti really rules
the Gambino family.

One night, he's furious

with a soldier
named Louis DiBono

for not coming to a meeting
when called.

[Gabriel] He was very much
about running the family

La Cosa Nostra way, right,
with the rules.

He wanted to be the most
respected and the most feared.

[gunfire]

[Narrator] After Gotti's rant,

Louis DiBono is found dead
in a parking garage...

but the Feds have no way

of tapping into
these conversations,

so under cover of night,

the FBI plants a bug
in the apartment,

and then... they wait.

[Gabriel] Night one,
doesn't go upstairs,

night two, doesn't go upstairs.

He's not going up in the
stinking apartment anymore.

Did they know they're bugged?

[Narrator] Finally, on
the ninth night of surveillance,

the Feds catch a break.

John Gotti,
his underboss, Sammy Gravano,

and his consigliere,
Frank LoCascio,

are in the apartment.

[Gabriel] I get a phone call.

"I can't talk, but he's
upstairs, audibility is good,

everything's great,"

and they hang up on me...

and then just
putting the headset on

and listening to that tape
and the conversation they had.

John Gotti, Sammy Gravano
and Frank LoCascio

go on this conversation about
why they killed Paul Castellano.

I mean, this is four years

after they killed
Paul Castellano...

[gunfire]

and it's the first conversation
I get on that bug.

We got him.

[Narrator] December 11, 1990.

The FBI enters John Gotti's
headquarters,

the Ravenite Club,

with warrants.

[Gabriel] And there's
John Gotti sitting down

next to Frankie LoCascio
and Sammy Gravano,

and John just looks at me,

he goes, "We were expecting you.

Do you mind
if we finish our coffees?"

[Narrator] Gotti,

his consigliere, LoCascio,

and underboss, Gravano,

are charged with racketeering
and murder.

The Teflon Don has gotten
the best of the law before,

but when a high-ranking mobster

breaks the mafia's
code of silence,

the Gambino family
is torn apart.

December 21, 1990.

Federal District Court,
Brooklyn.

Gotti, LoCascio, and Gravano

are brought before the court
for a bail hearing.

Despite being indicted
a fourth time

on multiple murder charges
and racketeering,

the Teflon Don is confident

his celebrity status
will save him.

[Ruggiano] He said,
"The public loves me,

and the worst I'll ever get
is a hung jury,"

and he truly believed that.

[Narrator] But when the FBI
wiretap recordings are played,

John Gotti is blindsided.

On the tape,

he's having a conversation
with Frank LoCascio,

badmouthing Sammy Gravano.

Gotti was complaining
about Gravano,

implying that Gravano
wasn't giving him his share.

[Narrator] Not only
is Gotti suggesting

Gravano is a cheater,

but that he's taking advantage
of being the underboss

to make more money.

He's blaming murders on Sammy,

saying, "Everybody Sammy kills,
he takes over their companies."

I mean, some of them tapes,
you know,

were not good for Sammy.

You know, not good for Sammy.

[DeStefano]
Gravano was furious.

His blood was boiling.

[Narrator]
Gravano is a ticking timebomb

waiting to go off,

and if he blows,

no one in the Gambino family
will be safe,

especially Gotti.

December 21, 1990.

Brooklyn Federal Court,
New York.

At a bail hearing,
Sammy "The Bull" Gravano,

underboss
of the Gambino crime family,

hears an FBI recording
for the first time

where the don, John Gotti,

bad-mouths him
behind his back...

but that's not the worst of it.

Gotti also discusses murders

Gravano has carried out
for the family.

I mean, John Gotti

just convicted and sentenced
Sammy Gravano

to multiple mandatory
life sentences

on that one conversation.

[Narrator]
Adding insult to injury,

while they're in jail
awaiting trial,

Gotti expects Gravano
to take the rap for him.

Gotti says, "Gravano,
you are my best friend.

You're going to have
to take the fall for me

because the boss
has to stay on the street."

[Ruggiano] Definitely
he felt disrespected.

I mean, he was
the guy's underboss.

He was loyal to him,

and I think he felt he was
getting thrown under the bus.

[Narrator] Sammy "The Bull"
has a decision to make.

Does he take the rap for Gotti,

or does he violate

the most sacred oath
in the Italian mafia?

[Ruggiano]
Omertà is a code of silence,

that we don't
betray our brothers.

That's the hardest decision

any one of us in that life
could make.

[Narrator]
After 11 months in jail

while waiting for trial,

Gravano finally
makes his choice.

March 2, 1992.

Brooklyn.

Sammy "The Bull" Gravano

takes the stand
during John Gotti's trial.

[Nevins Taylor] For nine days,
Sammy "The Bull" Gravano

was able to give
the inner workings

of the Gambino crime family

and how John Gotti
rose to power.

He also detailed the plotting
and the execution

of Paul Castellano
and Tommy Bilotti.

That was kind of the nail
in the coffin for John Gotti.

[Narrator] On April 2, 1992,

John Gotti is found guilty
of all charges,

and sentenced to life in prison.

Sammy Gravano's
deal with the prosecution

puts him away for five years,

and when he's released,

he enters
the witness protection program.

[Gabriel] So the first impact
of all of that

is people are angry at Sammy,

but they're angry at John Gotti,

because in essence,

John Gotti brought this
upon himself,

but now upon
the whole Gambino family.

Now, all of a sudden,
the mob doesn't appreciate

this famous, notorious gangster
that everybody was in awe of.

[Narrator]
After 10 years in prison,

John Gotti dies
of throat cancer in 2002.

In New York City,

the Gambino family is back
to operating in the shadows,

and it's half the size
it was in its heyday.

[Ruggiano] It definitely
went more underground.

It's a different mafia

than the family
John Gotti ran, for sure.

[DeStefano] Gradually over time,
the Gambino family

has become more and more

under the orbit
of the Sicilian gangsters,

and you had people now

who controlled the family
by committee.

It's kind of like nobody
wants to be a boss anymore,

because if you're a boss,

you're going to get
all the heat,

and it's a no-win game.

[Narrator] The Gotti years
of the Gambino family

serve as a warning
for all gangs that follow.

John Gotti,
and ultimately Sammy Gravano,

believed that all their efforts

were to keep the Gambino family
alive and strong and viable,

but all their efforts
and actions

had the reverse effect,
and just destroyed that family.