Cosa Nostra News

"He's asking Frankie, what do we do? Do we just let Sammy run wild and take everything? There's other people here, other captains here...  Nobody could eat. Sammy, in John's mind, is out of control and he's having people killed, and John feels like a clown, like he has been led around by the master of ceremonies..." —Mikie Scars on the Ravenite Transcripts  We finally had a chance to mosey on over to Patreon to check out the No Excuses podcast featuring Michael (Mikie Scars) DiLeonardo and RJ Rogers, who have been focusing on the transcripts of the FBI recordings of Gambino boss John Gotti holding forth in an apartment above the Ravenite social club. The Ravenite social club was a valuable piece of New York history that should've been preserved. (You don't have to join Patreon, and fork over $9.99 a month, to watch part one of the Gotti Tapes , which was posted on YouTube recently. To access the podcast for free, skip on down to the end of this....) In...

Here is a fresh take on the story of Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano from a source we've never heard from before. James A. Gagliano, the author of the following, was under J. Bruce Mouw . Mouw, of course, was the FBI Supervisor of Squad C-16, the FBI "crew" assigned to investigate the illegal activities of the Gambino crime family in New York City (mostly in the 1980s and 1990s). Gagliano served 25 years with the FBI where he held investigative and undercover positions (among many other roles). These days, Gagliano  serves as a law enforcement analyst  for CNN. He also is an adjunct assistant professor and doctoral candidate at St. John’s University in Queens, NY, and is a sought-after speaker on criminal justice, homeland security, and organizational leadership matters. Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano. This photo was taken on the night of his arrest inside the Ravenite with John Gotti, Frank Locascio, and Tommy Gambino. By James A. Gagliano J. Bruce Mouw was ...

Wiseguys know that anytime they chat, there's always a chance that their words could be memorialized forever on wiretaps—which is why they effortlessly speak in code and use copious nicknames and never spell things out entirely. (An ex-wiseguy who spent decades in the life told us recently that he has no idea what John Gotti and the other guys are talking about in our Ravenite Transcript Series. "I can't follow a word of what they're fcking saying.") John Gotti and unidentified man(?) outside Brooklyn federal court. In one of the discussions below Gotti obsesses over loose lips and anoints himself the prime offender: “This [is] how we get in trouble—we talk.” Minutes later, he notes what will happen to anyone who dares to oppose his regime... This entry marks the conclusion of the Ravenite Transcript Series; our next transcript series will be: The Testimony of Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano. JANUARY 24, 1990 FILE NUMBER: 183A-3507 PLACE: Apar...

Just because we haven't posted as frequently as usual this past month doesn't mean we're slacking off: in fact, we've been busily researching a piece about  former Bonanno powerhouse Carmine Galante that we hope to publish in the next week or so. John Gotti; then from left: Peter Gotti, Gerald Shargel of the Shargel, Cutler, and Whattaya Call It Crime Family . We were surprised to learn that, at one point, Gambino capo Danny Marino , for one, walked into that apartment above the Ravenite and joined in the wiretap discussions between boss John Gotti, underboss Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano , and consiglieri Frankie Locascio. In this meeting, Gotti and his appointed hierarchy discuss inducting new members into the Gambino Family, which is not a matter for levity, as Gotti clarifies for all those present. Gotti also notes that they will conduct the ritual with dignity and sobriety: “I’m not in the mood for the toys or games or kidding, no time … This is gon...

Among other things, Ravenite social club denizens John Gotti, Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano, and Frank Locascio discuss the terror they feel whenever compelled to listen to recordings of themselves; the irony of course is that they were recorded while talking about being recorded⸺which is very meta... Sammy Gravano and John Gotti in discussion outside the Ravenite social club. "I tell you what a fckin’ heartbreak," Gotti laments. "You know you feel like you’re being raped with these fuckin’ tapes." "I know. I hate it," Gravano replied. "I, I listened to a couple a tapes of mine. I was sick." Tapes, these tapes, made Sammy the Bull  flip, as he recalled during an interview posted on YouTube last year . " John (Gotti) told me to my face , he said, ‘Sammy, the [wiretap] tapes are horrible. They make you sound like a monster. What are we gonna do? So I’m controlling all the lawyers. You’re gonna take the weight, the lawyer...