Someone explain the Gottis to me. I know the dad was a mob boss, right?

[Bouncy Ball]

John Gotti was his name? Ok, is he dead or in prison?

Also, this woman on the show with the long blond hair, that's his daughter, right?

My main questions are about her sons. HOW many are there? Seems like two or three, but then there always seem to be a small gaggle and I can't tell who is a son and who is a friend or other family member. And who is the kids' dad? Where is he? Is their dad African-American?

I've only watched it once, when I was sick in bed and nothing else was on. But I totally didn't get it. I realize it's a "reality" show, but why would I be interested in her and her sons? Am I missing something?

[SheepyMcSheepster]

wondering the samethings myself...........

[Lavender Brown]

1. John Gotti was her dad, he's dead

I'm pretty sure her husband is in jail or was in jail himself. I have NO IDEA why people watch this show. :shrug:

[maveric]

2. Died in prison. Gotti was a vicsous killer and crime boss.

I cant understand why A&E is glorifying his offspring. They have NOTHING to be proud of!

[Bunny]

3. I agree with you.

They're glamorizing the whole mob thing, and Gotti was a vicious killer thug.

[HEyHEY]

6. It's funyn considering how pure A&E has suddenly become

[tjwash]

36. He wasn't even a decent crime boss. He sucked at it.

Guy couldn't keep his name out of the papers, and because of those bonehead stunts he kept pulling like having block party celebrations after beating a wrap, rubbing the FBI's nose in it, and giving them a bigger axe to grind, he caused the end of the once powerful Gambino family.

[Bouncy Ball]

4. I found this.

Videotapes of their prison visits with daddy and grandpa John.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/blowingupgotti/

Apparently the three boys were fathered by a guy last name of Angella or something like that, who is in prison for racketeering. Surprise, surprise, surprise.

I think the main thing that scared me was this:



They just look SO odd to me. (And that's a good picture of them.)

[skypilot]

22. That hair!!!

They're trying to do the whole spiky "punk" hair thing but they're too dumb to shorten the sides. That might help. Then again, it might not.

[Zuni]

5. Gotti was head of one of the 5 NYC based mafia families

He was head of the Gambino family, the 2nd largest. He was became famous because of how he came to head the family. In 1985, the leader was Paul castellano, an older, more refined mafioso from Staten Island. Castellano looked down on drug dealing and would not allow it. Gotti was heavily involved in heroin trafficing. He decided that castellano would have him killed when he found out, and was sick of being the little guy anyway, so he had castellano executed in midtown manhattan by several hitmen.

He became famous because he made no efforts to hide his criminality, and the Feds were never able to get any charges to stick. Eventually, they bugged his house, his club his car. They got a RICO charge, and then his underboss, Sammy The Bull Gravano turned State's Witness and spilled the beans in Court. Gotti went to jail and died there.

[HEyHEY]

7. And now his fami struts around as if they earned their wealth

[maveric]

19. They live off of Gotti's Blood Money!

None of which was legitimately earned.
Years ago Gotti's young son was hit and killed by a car in their residential neighborhood. He rode out in front of a car and the poor shcmuck driving ran him over. The man was not charged but lived in fear for years until he dissappeared without a trace one day. Allegedly Gotti had him picked up and he cut the guy up with a chainsaw WHILE HE WAS ALIVE! I read that in Samy the Bull's book.
The guy was truly psychotic and cold.

[Zuni]

28. That is the saddest shit

the guy was truly horrified that he hit the boy with his car. It was an accident, caused mainly by the young Gotti. The man was truly remorseful, and when he found out who the kid was, he was really mortified. He asked the Gottis for forgiveness. Rumor has it that Gotti's wife ordered him to have the poor guy killed

[Zuni]

29. actually, I got it wrong

he got killed because he never asked forgiveness and was accused of running a stop sign before the accident

[DelawareValleyDem]

31. Asking for forgiveness wouldn't have spared him

He was a marked man from the time the episode occured.

[Bouncy Ball]

9. Wow, that's quite a story.

:wow:

This might be a stupid question, but do you think there are still "mob families" around today? Doing the same kinds of things? Or are they less organized now?

(To clarify, I realize the same kinds of crimes still go on, just wondering if it's still "family-style.")

[Zuni]

11. there are, but they have been neutered

Gotti went to jail in 1991 I think. The RICO act, as well as very agressive FBI tactics to enforce it did serious damage to the mob. they destroyed the mob in Philly (big time), Cleveland, Chicago, boston (by pitting Whitey bulger's crew against the Italians, btw) etc etc. I know he is not popular here, but when Rudy Guiliani was Atty General in NYC he broke the back of the mob by forcing them out of many legal enterprises the mob ran illegally, like commercial trash hauling and construction. Those were MAJOR blows to the 5 NYC families. Guiliani is rightly credited with being the man most responsible for the fall of the NYC Mafia

[AngryAmish]

13. Mafia still runs a lot in Chicago

They run a few towns (Cicero, Stone Park, Lyons). They make a lot from video poker, cigarette machines, video games etc. Most bookies are mob connected.

[Zuni]

16. Those have been Mob controlled since the begginning of time

the gaming industry and vending machine industry perhaps the only place where the Mob still has power these days.

And Cicero, you know the saying about that city "You can tell when you crossed the Chicago City line into Cicero, because you can always smell the gun powder." Al capone's homebase is so notorious that many people there want to change it's name.

[MrSandman]

35. Now the states run numbers(lotto)...nt

[Scout1071]

37. They are definitely still kickin' around Kansas City too....

You hear things. You know?

[DelawareValleyDem]

12. There are, and they still exert some influence

in most of the bigger metropolitan areas in the country, but they are nowhere near as powerful as they once were. Prosecutions obtained with the benefit of RICO are the biggest reason. Less important is, the Gottis notwithstanding, is the recent tendency of most mafia offspring to choose less dangerous occupations

[Zuni]

15. or the fact that many Mafia offspring are dumber than rocks

[mitchum]

25. That's due to all of the inbreeding...

according to several longtime mob authorities.
Can you imagine a week of Family Feud between Mafia offspring and the British royalty family?

[Beaverhausen]

30. How about the Bush family and what they get away with?

[Bouncy Ball]

32. Hmmm, just a mob family on a larger scale, aren't they?

[phusion]

10. Fascinating...

In a sick way I've always been fascinated with mobsters and mafia families. As a kid I once dressed up as Bugsy Segal for Halloween.

Thanks for the Gatti history. :)

[mitchum]

24. But Gotti also had the blessing of the commision for the hit...

because Castellano had become rather careless in his old age. The FBI had hundreds of hours of Big Paul implicating himself and others (thanks to the bug in his kitchen) There was a very real fear that Castellano would make a deal with the authorities.

[Zuni]

27. No the reason it was so controversial

is that Gotti never had formal backing from the commission.

He might have had some responses from people sympathetic, but he never went to all of the other bosses and got approval. He gave them a fait accompli. In fact, many of the bosses hated Gotti far more than they ever hated Castellano.

[WMliberal]

it's the name of the restaurant I work at!

Gotti's Grinders www.gottisgrinders.com

[DS1]

8. In a word. Scum.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

14. The only thing you should be missing

is that show! :)

[Debi]

17. I was up in the middle of the night so I watched it once.

She was going away for a week skiing and felt bad that she wasn't taking her babies with her (I think they're all over 18). so she bought them big gold and diamond pendants (then they complained because they were'nt big enough or enough diamonds so they had to have the jeweler come out and redesign them). When she got to Aspen(?) I can't remember where - it was gay week so she was pissed cuz she wasn't gonna get laid.

Then I fell asleep.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it was just a really weird dream!

[Bouncy Ball]

33. What the.....????

No that sounds about right for her. But shit, how weird.

[supernova]

18. The Donnie Brasco case also busted a lot of it wide open

Joe Pistone was the first cop to get inside a crime family (Bonanno) and identify all the interconnected relationships.

He's still yielding benefits more than 20 years later.

http://www.ganglandnews.com/column333.htm

edit: As to why anybody would watch this woman and her children, I haven't a clue, except that if there's an audience for it, hey more power to her.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

20. For this Italian-American,

it's just embarrassing.

I'm entertained, though, by her voice-over at the beginning - yeah, I've watched the show, although never all the way through - in which she laments that she's just always picked on because of her name, blah, blah, blah - but, think about this:

She's using her maiden name, and her sons aren't really named "Gotti." They've ditched their father's name in favor of their mother's maiden name.

Poor Victoria, all exploited and like that.

[Midlodemocrat]

21. Check this out.

Real scary stuff.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/gotti/gotti_8.html?sect=15

[Beware the Beast Man]

23. My respect for the Gottis (and the producers of this show)

Ranks somewhere between zero and -27. The Gottis are living it up on blood money, and A&E glorifies it. They are scum. Thankfully I don't watch much A&E to begin with.

[warrens]

26. One thing's for sure

They're as retarded as Paris Hilton. Spoiled, stupid thugs.

[Bouncy Ball]

34. The sons? Yeah, I'd have to agree.

It's almost fascinating watching someone with that few brain cells. Well, fascinating for about five minutes.