John A. Gotti

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John A. Gotti
Born February 14, 1964 (1964-02-14) (age 45)
Queens, New York City, U.S.A.
Known for Head of the Gambino crime family in the 1990s
Spouse(s) Kimberly Albanese

John Angelo Gotti III or "Junior" Gotti (born February 14, 1964) is a New York City mobster who during much of the 1990s led the Gambino crime family of Cosa Nostra for his imprisoned father John J. Gotti, who died in 2002. Between 2004 and 2009 Gotti has been a defendant in four racketeering trials, all ending in mistrials.

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[edit] Early life

Gotti grew up in the Italian-American neighborhood of Howard Beach, a section of Queens, New York and attended New York Military Academy. After leaving the school, Gotti ran a trucking business. In 1990 he married Kimberly Albanese, daughter of alleged Gambino crime family associate Phillip Albanese. They have six children and live in Oyster Bay Cove on Long Island's North Shore.[1][2]

[edit] Leadership of the Gambino crime family

According to federal prosecutors, Gotti was inducted into the Gambino Crime Family in 1988[3] and became a captain in 1990.[4] In April, 1992 his father, John J. Gotti, received a life sentence for racketeering and related offenses and prosecutors say he made his son the head of family operations with a committee of captains to assist him. As a family member, he was one of the few people allowed to visit his father and Gotti is believed to have relayed his father's orders to the organization from prison.

In a 1997 search of the basement of a property owned by Gotti, the FBI found a typed list of the names of the "made" members of his organization, $348,700 in cash, a list of the guests who attended his wedding along with the dollar amount of their wedding gifts (totalling more than $350,000) and two handguns. The discovery enraged Gotti's father[5] and earned him the nickname 'dumbfella' in the New York media.[6][7]

In 1999, Gotti pleaded guilty to racketeering crimes including bribery, extortion, gambling and fraud. Many of the charges related to attempts to extort money from the owners and employees of Scores, an upscale strip club in Manhattan. He was sentenced to 77 months in prison and was released in 2005. Federal prosecutors say his uncle, Peter Gotti, became head of the Gambino organization after his nephew was sent to prison.[8][9] Gotti claims that he left the criminal life behind after he was sent to jail in 1999. His father died in prison in 2002.

[edit] 2004 racketeering and kidnapping charges

In 2004, months before he was released from prison, Gotti was charged in an 11-count racketeering indictment which included an alleged plot to kidnap Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, as well as securities fraud, extortion and loansharking.[10] A radio talk show host for WABC, Sliwa had allegedly angered the family by denouncing the elder Gotti as "Public Enemy #1" on his show. During the trial, two former associates, Michael DiLeonardo and Joseph D'Angelo testified against Gotti. Through his attorney, Gotti admitted that he had been involved in the Gambino crime family in the 1990s, and had even been slated to lead the organization after his father was sent to jail in 1992, but claimed he had left criminal life behind after his conviction in 1999.[11][12] Three juries eventually deadlocked on the charges, the last in 2006, and federal prosecutors decided not to pursue a fourth trial.[13]

[edit] 2008 racketeering charges

In August 2008, Gotti was arrested and indicted on racketeering and murder conspiracy charges brought in Florida.[14] The charges stemmed from an alleged drug trafficking ring Gotti operated along with former associate-turned informant John Alite and others, and with the murders of two men associated with the ring. Prosecutors charge that the ring moved at least 5 kilograms of cocaine in the late 1980s and early 1990s.[15][16] Gotti's trial was later moved to New York, where he pleaded not guilty, and began in September 2009.[17][18]

In January 2008 Alite had plead guilty to two murders, four murder conspiracies, at least eight shootings and two attempted shootings as well as armed home invasions and armed robberies in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida, stemming from his alleged involvement in a Gambino crew in Tampa, Florida.[19] Alite agreed to testify in the trial of Gambino family enforcer Charles "Charlie Canig" Carneglia, who was found guilty of four murders and is now serving a life sentence. He then served as a key prosecution witness against Gotti.[20]

During the trial, Gotti allegedly threatened Alite by mouthing the words "I'll kill you", and engaged in a shouting match with his former associate. After the incident Victoria Gotti told The New York Daily News that Alite was "a pathological liar - a rat caught in a proverbial trap, caught in his own lies..."[21] Alite testified that Gotti was responsible for at least eight murders, among other crimes.

On December 1, 2009, the 12 jurors announced that they had failed to reach an unanimous verdict on all the charges and the judge declared a mistrial.[22] Federal prosecutors have indicated that they will not seek another trial against Gotti.[23] After the trial, jurors said that they did not find witnesses, particularly Alite, to be credible.[24]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chen, David W. (April 6, 1999), Junior Seems More Son Than Boss, New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/06/nyregion/junior-seems-more-son-than-boss.html, retrieved 2009-07-07 
  2. ^ Rogers, Patrick (September 27, 1999), The Family Way, People, http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20129328,00.html, retrieved 2009-07-06 
  3. ^ Dunleavy, Steve (April 13, 2007), Got It 'Made', New York Post, http://www.nypost.com/seven/04132007/news/columnists/got_it_made_columnists_steve_dunleavy.htm, retrieved 2009-07-07 
  4. ^ http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/gottijr3.html page from FBI file available on the Smoking Gun website
  5. ^ Smith, Greg B. (June 2, 1999), ANGRY GOTTI RAPS 'IDIOT' SON JUNIOR, Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1999/07/02/1999-07-02_angry_gotti_raps__idiot__son.html, retrieved 2009-07-10 
  6. ^ Smith, Greg B. and, Capeci, Jerry (February 12th 1998), JR.'S WEDDING BLUES LIST OF BIG-BUCKS GUESTS, GIFTS, Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1998/02/12/1998-02-12_jr__s_wedding_blues____list_.html, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  7. ^ Smith, Greg B. (April 3th 1995), FAMILY MAN JUNIOR'S TAKING LEGAL COURSE, Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1995/04/03/1995-04-03_family_man_junior_s_taking_l.html, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  8. ^ 2005 criminal complaint U.S. vs. International Longshoremen's Association available here: http://www.thelaborers.net/ila/us_vs_ila_rico_complaint.htm
  9. ^ Chen, David W. (September 4, 1999), Younger Gotti is Sentenced to Six Years, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/04/nyregion/younger-gotti-is-sentenced-to-six-years.html, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  10. ^ Preston, Julia and, Barron, James (July 23, 2004), Godfather to Son: Gottis Set Up a Hit On Sliwa, U.S. Says, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/23/nyregion/godfather-to-son-gottis-set-up-a-hit-on-sliwa-us-says.html, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  11. ^ Peterson, Helen and, Zambito, Thomas (March 11, 2006), Jury Balks and Junior Walks, Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2006/03/11/2006-03-11_jurors_balk___junior_walks__.html, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  12. ^ Hartocollis, Anemona (March 9, 2006), Gotti Was Set to Lead Mob, His Lawyer Tells Court, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/nyregion/09gotti.html, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  13. ^ Government Drops Case Against John 'Junior' Gotti, WCBS-TV, October 20, 2006, http://wcbstv.com/national/john.a.gotti.2.274096.html, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  14. ^ http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/flm/pr/2008/August/20080805_Gottietal_TampaOCIndictment.pdf USDOJ PRESS RELEASE
  15. ^ Eligon, John (August 5, 2008), Gotti Arrested in Murder Conspiracy, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/nyregion/06gotti.html?_r=1, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  16. ^ The indictment can be accessed at http://bitterqueen.typepad.com/files/indictment-against-junior-gotti-1.pdf
  17. ^ Gearty, Robert (August 4, 2009), John A. (Junior) Gotti pleads not guilty to indictment that could have meant death penalty, Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/08/04/2009-08-04_john_a_junior_gotti_.html#ixzz0NL4YI9CN, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  18. ^ DeStefano, Anthony M. (August 4, 2009), Gotti Pleads Not Guilty to Revamped Murder Charge, Newsday, http://www.newsday.com/long-island/gotti-pleads-not-guilty-to-revamped-murder-charge-1.1349002, retrieved 2009-07-05 
  19. ^ Graham, Kevin (December 11, 2008), Gotti friend with Tampa ties admits role in killings, feds say, St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/article932766.ece, retrieved 2009-10-21 
  20. ^ Alison Gendar, AND Corky Siemaszko (October 1, 2009), Mob turncoat John Alite testifies he got nails done with John Gotti Jr. after drug dealer's murder, NY Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/09/30/2009-09-30_mob_turncoat_john_alite_testifies_how_junior_gotti_had_john_cennamo_hanged.html, retrieved 2009-11-02 
  21. ^ Alison Gendar and Larry McShane (October 9th 2009). "Chaos In The Courtroom Junior Gotti Rips Mob Tunrncoat Alite During Break in Trial". The New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/10/08/2009-10-08_chaos_in_the_courtroom_junior_gotti_rips_mob_turncoat_alite_during_in_break_in_t.html. Retrieved 2009-9-10. 
  22. ^ "Fourth Hung Jury in Gotti Case". http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/01/us/AP-US-Junior-Gotti.html?_r=1&hp. 
  23. ^ Neumeister, Larry (December 6, 2009), `Junior' Gotti's 4th mob mistrial may be his last, Associated Press, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gwTHQCdnWh6hN0XAIXeBMbtfFragD9CDBIV01, retrieved 2009-12-09 
  24. ^ and Larry Mcshane, Kenny Porpora (December 2, 2009), Prosecution's case against Junior Gotti wasn't credible, juror says, New York Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/12/02/2009-12-02_their_case_wasnt_credible_juror_says.html, retrieved 2009-12-10 

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Business positions
Preceded by
John Gotti
as boss		 Gambino crime family
Acting boss
1994-1996		 Succeeded by
Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo
Preceded by
Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo		 Gambino crime family
Acting boss
1997-1999		 Succeeded by
Peter "Petey Boy" Gotti
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_A._Gotti"
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