Netflix mob docuseries Get Gotti leaves some questions on the table.
Thankfully, we have the answers.
This article contains spoilers forGet Gotti.
NetflixsGet Gottiputs the spotlight on a New York gangster icon, whose camera-ready presence signaled his downfall.
The prosecutorial team sees John Gotti as an affront to decency.
The FBI and New Yorks Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) couldnt get their heads around it.
But the real sins committed are those against the organization Gotti headed.
The Teflon Don broke more mafia edicts than federal crimes.
That put him in the spotlight, a place where its easy to mistake exposure for protection.
For as thorough as Get Gotti is, youre bound to leave the three episode docuseries with some questions.
Thankfully weve got the answers!
Answers to questions like … ## What Were Gottis Family Connections?
Gotti had a past.
Membership was a stepping stone to the local mob scene.
Gotti attended Franklin K. Lane High School, but dropped out when he was 16.
Gotti married Victoria DiGiorgio on March 6, 1962.
Gotti was not born immune to conviction.
He did two jail stints by 1966.
All three pleaded guilty, John was sentenced to a three-year term, and released in 1971.
In 1973, Gotti earned his button, committing his first murder.
He was given the venerated task of shooting Jimmy McBratney, who kidnapped and murdered Carlo Gambinos nephew.
Gotti was apprehended in 1974, and handed a for-year sentence.
Gotti also had a tight-knit family at home, kept close in all aspects of life and work.
His brothers, Eugene Gene Gotti and Peter Gotti, were made men.
What Happened to Frank Gotti?
Favara did, but did not take the death threats he received seriously.
Favaras car disappeared on April 13, 1980.
Frank Gottis funeral service sent him a card on May 1, 1980.
When Favaras car was found, the word murderer was painted on it.
Gottis wife Victoria attacked Favara with a baseball bat.
Favara was abducted while leaving work on July 28, 1980.
It was the last time he was ever seen.
He was declared dead three years later, in 1983, when authorities still could not find his body.
The Gotti family continues posting religious memorials to the son in an eternal mourning.
Was Gotti Really a New York Celebrity?
People loved me, he writes.
I coulda been fuckin president if I wasnt having so much fun doin what I was doin.
You think Im kidding?
Whats that Bill Clinton got?
A 43-approval ratin in the polls?
Stop any two people in the fucking street, one of em would like me.
That puts me seven points ahead right there.
Gotti was not wrong.
Anyone from the neighborhood had nothing but good things to say about the man.
The Prohibition mobster gave out turkeys, organized food banks and threw parties.
He played the mandolin and the banjo.
Both mob bosses gave back to the community and let everyone know it.
Once attorney Bruce Cutler made a consistent habit of brutalizing the prosecution, Gotti was rechristened the Teflon Don.
Take that to the streets.
The titular head of the family Gotti would run was called Carlo The Godfather Gambino.
The man he replaced in 1985 answered to Big Paul Castellano.
The boss expected the same from his capos and crew.
God forbid a tie clashed with a shirt, Gotti could be murderous in fashion criticisms.
But this is also a gangster tradition.
The young mobsters went to the hottest clubs in the swankiest duds.
Organized crime created the modern entertainment industry, and was enjoyed by entertainers.
It is possible Gotti would have been a celebrity regardless of what line of work he got into.
Gotti was a celebrity, made the cover ofTimemagazine, and threw star-studded parties after federal acquittals.
Andy Warhol was blowing coke with us, former associate Anthony Ruggiero Jr., enthuses inGet Gotti.
David Bowie was blowing coke with us.
They knew we wouldnt call the magazines, and we had good coke.
Were Drugs Really Off Limits to the Mob?
AsGet Gottipoints out, Gottis upward mobility under Castellano hit a major roadblock because of drug dealing associates.
The film and novels commission sees it as stopping progress and profit.
So, they cant resist.
Vito Corleone warns the ruling commission this drug business is going to destroy us in the years to come.
It came true with extreme prejudice: RICO laws, drug sentencing, and plea bargains.
Overnight, anyone caught dealing dope had incentive to flip.
In Peter Maas 1968 bookThe Valachi Papers, capos told crews not to fool around with junk.
Because of incommensurate drug sentencing, a small-time associate could ultimately bring down a mafia father.
His testimony got family head Vito Genovese imprisoned on drug charges in 1959.
These were terrible precedents.
In 1993, Gravano Gottis own underboss confirmed the mafias policy was against drugs in sworn testimony.
He turned government witness because of a drug bust which carried heavy sentencing.
This was the very reason behind the edict.
The truth is drugs have been on the mobs shelf since the days of commission founder Charles Luciano.
Besides, the Bonanno family controlled the major narcotics turf.
But they were not alone.
Connected guys partnered with the Pagans motorcycle gang for methamphetamine deals.
How Big Was the Gambino Crime Family?
The Gambino Crime Family was the largest and most influential of the Five Families in New York City.
It was also one of the most recognizable criminal organizations in America.
Albert Anastasia, best known for overseeing the Brooklyn waterfront and Murder Incorporated, was underboss.
Mangano disappeared in 1951.
Anastasia took control, and ordered hundreds of assassinations in a paranoid power move.
Anastasia was executed on a barber chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan in 1957.
Carlo Gambino, who took over, was one of the most successful crime bosses of all time.
He strengthened operations, increased profit, and remained out of the public eye.
He died on Oct. 15, 1976, of a heart attack.
His successors cause of death is only considered natural in the world of organized crime.
Was Paul Castellano a Bad Boss?
The Borgata did very well under Castellano for a full decade.
Some members were dissatisfied, thinking Castellano acted more like a business owner than a Don.
Distancing the organization from its most dangerous operation, Castellano put a ban on drug trafficking.
This was the rank and files bread and butter, and the boss was deemed toast.
The execution might have been a pre-emptive strike.
It certainly sets off a firestorm of activity.
There was a new Godfather in town, and he looked the part.
How Did John Gotti Get Caught?
For the FBI and the OCTF, it was love at first sight for Gotti.
Rats and secret FBI surveillance tapes brought down the Teflon Don.
Additionally, the government unveiled a much larger, and more effective legal weapon.
Congress passed the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in 1970.
The FBI tried to convince Gottis associates to flip, or turn on the boss in open court.
Their other weapon was the Witness Security Program.
Run by the U.S. Usually removed from the culinary delicacies to be had in the cities.
The crime head walked off with a jaunt in his step.
In 1990, Gotti representatives reputedly paid for an acquittal in the attempted murder of a union official.
He claimed Gotti orchestrated killings to assert power, and dodge Castellanos lethal dissuasion to drug sales.
At the time, Gottis Underboss was the highest-ranking gang member to turn government witness.
In 2004, Bonanno family boss Joseph The Ear Massino became the first mafia boss to squeal.
In June, Gotti was sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole.
Gotti went to a maximum-security prison in 1992.
Get Gottiis currently streaming on Netflix.
