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- [00:00]
Narrator
At Designer Shoe Warehouse, we believe that shoes are an important part of, well, everything from first steps to first dates, from all nighters to all time personal bests, from building pillow forts to building a life for all the big and small moments that make up your whole world. DSW is there and we've got just the shoes. Find a shoe for every you from brands you love at brag worthy prices at your DSW store or dsw.com avoiding.
- [00:31]
John Gotti Jr.
Your unfinished home projects because you're not.
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Narrator
Sure where to start.
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John Gotti Jr.
Thumbtack knows homes so you don't have to.
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Victoria Gotti
Don't know the difference between matte, paint, finish and satin or what that clunking.
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Narrator
Sound from your dryer is. With thumbtack, you don't have to be.
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John Gotti Jr.
A home pro, you just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see.
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Victoria Gotti
Price estimates and read reviews all on.
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John Gotti Jr.
The app Download today.
- [01:08]
Victoria Gotti
I loved the man, but I loathed the life.
- [01:12]
Narrator
The Gotti's, we know what they're all about.
- [01:16]
Victoria Gotti
Prosecutors say my father was the biggest crime boss in the nation.
- [01:22]
Narrator
An empire of dirty money and power built on racketeering.
- [01:27]
Victoria Gotti
If you really want to know what John Gotti was like, you need to talk to my family. We lived this life. I think I realized early on that my family wasn't like other families. Growing up, my parents tried to hide a lot of things from me, from all of us. I think you grow up scared, anxious, old.
- [01:57]
John Gotti Jr.
I used to get up as a young boy and I used to get excited when I would go and see that my father was alive and I would hear him snore, I knew he made it home.
- [02:09]
Angel Gotti
We didn't talk back to my father. We didn't ask him, oh, did you kill anyone?
- [02:14]
John Gotti Jr.
I didn't know his life. I didn't know his lifestyle.
- [02:18]
Narrator
You know they're gonna try and keep you in jail.
- [02:21]
John Gotti Jr.
Honestly, I was just a kid that wanted to love his father.
- [02:24]
Victoria Gotti
The public saw my father right out of central casting. He looked the part, acted the part.
- [02:31]
Angel Gotti
He's a rat.
- [02:31]
John Gotti Jr.
He tells lies.
- [02:33]
Victoria Gotti
He was the part, the real life Godfather. People treat him like he was the second coming of Christ. It was very, very difficult for me to look into these crimes that he was accused of committ. I was angry at everybody for lying to me.
- [02:57]
Angel Gotti
Do I believe now that my father was this big boss? Yes, I do.
- [03:01]
Victoria Gotti
Now, should I lie and say I don't love him? We loved him.
- [03:05]
John Gotti Jr.
Give me a kiss.
- [03:07]
Angel Gotti
Say, thank you, grandpa.
- [03:09]
Victoria Gotti
And that's really all. We should have been held accountable for. We just want to move on. John Jr. Gotti is again on trial.
- [03:17]
Narrator
If convicted, he could face life behind bars. Come on.
- [03:20]
John Gotti Jr.
Go home and enjoy your families.
- [03:23]
Victoria Gotti
Like my father.
- [03:25]
Narrator
That's his kid.
- [03:27]
Victoria Gotti
John was a player in that world. Guns drawn, New York City police moved in on John Gotti Jr. But John is not in that courtroom. I believe that it's the last name Gotti. It's definitely dad. You could be next. You could be next. Your father, your mother. We shouldn't have to pay. What he did was what he did.
- [03:53]
John Gotti Jr.
It does not mean that a child has to answer for a father's s.
- [03:59]
Victoria Gotti
Now it's time to set the record straight. No one knows John Gotti better than his family does. Nobody. And we're ready to talk about it. We're ready to talk about him. Finally.
- [04:15]
Narrator
Their father. The Godfather 48 Hours Mystery. They are images the public had never seen before. The private, treasured photographs and home videos belonging to the children of mob boss John Gotti, a man who once ran the largest organized crime syndicate in the country. A man convicted of multiple counts of murder.
- [05:02]
Victoria Gotti
You don't want to believe it. And when you love that person, it makes it so much more hard.
- [05:09]
Narrator
The mafia chieftain's daughters, Victoria and Angel and son Peter talked openly about the life they had always kept secret and no question was off limits. How difficult is it to accept that your own father either directly or indirectly killed people?
- [05:27]
Victoria Gotti
When you choose that life, I think you know what you're signing on for. I think he knew going in what was expected of him, what he would have to do, what it would cost him. And I don't think he cared. I think that all goes along with that life.
- [05:41]
Narrator
And why do you call it the life?
- [05:43]
Victoria Gotti
Because mostly it is called the life.
- [05:46]
Narrator
No one ever says I'm in the mob.
- [05:48]
Victoria Gotti
No, it's always the life.
- [05:50]
Narrator
John Gotti's youngest daughter, Victoria, had never spoken about the life publicly. But in her recent book, this Family of Mine, which is coming out on paperback this month, she finally talked about what it was really like growing up. Gotti, why have you decided now to write a tell on?
- [06:10]
Victoria Gotti
It got personal. I woke up one day and said, enough's enough. There were so many things that had to be addressed as far as rumors, lies, gossip.
- [06:20]
Narrator
Victoria talked to her father about the possibility of the book before he died.
- [06:25]
Victoria Gotti
If you ever write that book, he said, you write it as your life. And one thing I ask that you do, don't you ever look to make me out to be an altar boy because I wasn't.
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Narrator
But when Victoria and her siblings were children, it's clear that John Gotti never wanted them to know that side of him.
- [06:43]
John Gotti Jr.
He just took everything to another extreme. I remember getting excited about going to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. He would talk for half an hour, 45 minutes about how he just wanted to get them chestnuts. You can't even find roasted chestnuts anymore. But he was so excited. He would talk like a little kid.
- [07:05]
Angel Gotti
He was very funny. People don't know that he was very funny.
- [07:10]
Narrator
But mixed in with the fun were the lies. What were you told that your father did for a living?
- [07:16]
Victoria Gotti
He told me that he worked with a construction crew. I would ask him where he was going. He was going off to some building, some school, some office building, something.
- [07:26]
Narrator
They believed him. But the truth was that all John Gotti had ever wanted to be was a mobster. He grew up one of 11 children raised in Brooklyn by an abusive father and an overwhelmed mother. He quickly embraced a life of crime and violence, working for local gangsters and building a rap sheet.
- [07:47]
Victoria Gotti
This is where he came from. These men were the men that were respected. This was something he saw early on and made up his mind that this was what he was going to do.
- [07:59]
Narrator
In 1958, the future Don was in a local bar where he met Victoria DiGiorgio. He was instantly smitten. Their affair produced a daughter, angel, and in 1962, they were married. Gotti didn't earn much as a low level mobster, and they struggled.
- [08:16]
Victoria Gotti
They were faced with eviction month after month after month.
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Narrator
Later that year, Victoria was born.
- [08:23]
Victoria Gotti
Mom went into labor unexpectedly. I was early mom, she said. They basically said to your father, you can come back and pick up mother and child when you pay the bill. And at this point, they had no monies. He comes back late, late that night. Literally broke into the hospital. He scoops me up, he helped my mother down the stairs. They hobbled out. They had about a good 13 block walk. It was freezing. I mean, they didn't have money for a cab, nothing, not a bus ride. And he walked me home. And he, years and years later, you know, claimed that we bonded, you know, during that walk.
- [09:00]
Narrator
Two years later, the Gotti's son John was born, followed by Frankie. Despite the needs of his growing family, Gotti spent most of his time out of the house, getting into trouble. There was often no money.
- [09:12]
Victoria Gotti
I do remember them fighting a lot when I was growing up, when I was younger. She always was fearful of the uncertainty.
- [09:20]
Narrator
In 1968, Victoria was just in Grade school when her father was convicted for hijacking cargo from Kennedy Airport and then sent to a federal penalty penitentiary in Pennsylvania for nearly three years. As strange as it sounds, his children had no idea their father was in prison, even when they went to visit him.
- [09:39]
Angel Gotti
We used to go to prisons to see him, and my uncle would be in the same prison, and we really did not know that he was in prison.
- [09:47]
Narrator
How did your mother explain to you where he was?
- [09:50]
Angel Gotti
She used to tell us he was working. I remember driving to Pennsylvania and there would be the big giant wall. And we'd say, you know, why is that wall? Oh, he built that wall. I said, wow, he built that big wall. Uncle Angelo, too? Yeah, Uncle Angelo, too. We believed it.
- [10:09]
Narrator
When they were home in Brooklyn, Victoria tried to be just like all the other kids. But at the age of seven, it became painfully clear to her that she just wasn't.
- [10:19]
Victoria Gotti
I went to school and we had an essay. You know who our heroes were? Most kids chose their fathers. I chose my father, too. And I wrote, my dad is a construction worker, and he builds tall buildings. And so I took my place in the front of the room, and I started to read this report, and there was a young girl in the back, and she yelled out, her father's not, you know, a construction worker. Her father's a jailbird. He's in jail. I remember just standing there in front of that room, and it was like, wow, what is she talking about? But it made sense to me. And I remember the class laughing at me. And I got so upset, so nervous that I just peed on the floor. And I'll never forget the teacher. She made me, in front of the kids, get on my hands and knees and clean up the mess.
- [11:08]
Narrator
Victoria asked her mother for the truth.
- [11:11]
Victoria Gotti
I said to her something like, is daddy really in jail?
- [11:14]
Narrator
What did she say?
- [11:16]
Victoria Gotti
She had said to me, sometimes people do bad things. Sometimes they need to pay for these things that they do. And I remember looking at her and saying, where is my father? Is he in jail or is he working? And she looked at me and she said, he is in jail. Those words I remember, they just haunted me for days, nights, weeks, months. All I kept hearing was my mother's words, he is in jail.
- [11:41]
Narrator
And the charade was finally over. Your burger is served. And this is our finest Pepsi. Zero sugar. Its sweet profile perfectly balances the savory notes of your burger.
- [12:00]
Victoria Gotti
That is one perfect combination.
- [12:04]
Narrator
Burgers deserve Pepsi. Pms, pregnancy, menopause.
- [12:09]
Victoria Gotti
Being a woman is a lot.
- [12:11]
Narrator
Ollie supports you and yours with Expert solutions for every age and life stage. They launch two new products exclusively at Walmart. Period Hero combats bloat, mood swings and more during PMS and balance perimeno to support hormonal balance, mood and metabolism during perimenopause. Grab yours@ollie.com Ollie these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Learning that her father was in jail was Victoria Gotti's first indication that he lived a secret life.
- [12:49]
Victoria Gotti
I would lay awake nights and cry a lot, thinking, you know, is my dad going to come home? Is he going to go to jail again? Is he going to get killed?
- [13:00]
Narrator
She was right to be afraid. Outside their home, John Gotti lived in a violent world. In 1973, he was convicted of attempted murder and went to prison. By the time you reached your early teens, your father had been incarcerated for nearly half your life.
- [13:19]
Victoria Gotti
Yes, I loved the man, but I loathed the life.
- [13:24]
Narrator
When he was released from prison in 1977, John Gotti was officially inducted into the life. Becoming a made man in the mafia.
- [13:34]
Victoria Gotti
He had earned his way. He had earned his. His keep. And that really started his rise in that life.
- [13:44]
Narrator
Living that life meant more time spent out of the house, either in his headquarters called a social club, or out on the town. Gotti's wife, Victoria, didn't like it one bit.
- [13:55]
Angel Gotti
She would do crazy things. My mother, you know, she, you know, one time she sent his armwa to.
- [14:02]
Narrator
His club to say, not come home.
- [14:04]
Angel Gotti
Yeah, here's your clothes. Take them.
- [14:11]
Narrator
When they weren't fighting, the Gotti's were enjoying the fruits of his newfound status. They were now living at this house in Howard beach, queens. Angel was 18 when she first got an inkling of how others really saw her father.
- [14:25]
Angel Gotti
And I was dating someone, and he was from Ozone Park. And he said to me, you know, your father is really. He's feared. I didn't understand it, and, you know, I didn't. We didn't see that.
- [14:41]
Narrator
All the Gotti children, even Peter, the youngest, would have a moment when they discovered their father had a reputation.
- [14:49]
John Gotti Jr.
Because I was 12 years old at the time, I remember it, I had a crush, school crush, on a young girl. And so I go and I ask her out, and she said, I would love to go with you, but my dad said, I'm not allowed. Your family are very bad people. And when I had gotten home, I started to cry. My mother told me, peter, I'm telling you right now, your Father loves you more than life. You forget all the nonsense and things they're saying. You remember, that man would give his life for you. Okay? And don't ever forget that.
- [15:29]
Narrator
But John Gotti couldn't protect his family from tragedy. In March 1980, 12 year old Frankie, who Gotti affectionately called Frankie Boy, was struck by a car while riding a minibike.
- [15:49]
Angel Gotti
My sister called me and said, frankie boy got hit by a car, so I just have to go and check on Frankie boy. And then we went there and he was, you know, laying in the street in front of my friend's house.
- [16:10]
Narrator
Frankie died later that night.
- [16:16]
Victoria Gotti
Dad walked in a couple hours later, and then he sat down, and I remember he cradled his head in his hands and he lost it.
- [16:26]
Narrator
The driver of the car was the Gotti's backyard neighbor, John Favara. Victoria claims Favara hit Frankie because he was driving erratically.
- [16:35]
Victoria Gotti
He didn't stop. He had gone to the end of the block and the neighbors were screaming. And he got out of the car and he was very upset, and he started to scream. What the f was he doing in the street to begin with? Whose effing kid is this?
- [16:49]
Narrator
Police called it an accident, but Victoria was furious with what she says she heard about Favara's callous behavior, and she spoke to her father about it.
- [16:58]
Victoria Gotti
I looked at him and I said, you're supposed to be a tough guy. How can you let somebody kill my brother? And he just looked at me and he said, you know, he said it was an accident. And I said, no, it wasn't. And dad didn't want to believe that. He looked at me and he said, you're wrong. You're angry. You're wrong. For the first time, I was so angry at my father that if ever I could have him be this man that they said he was, it would have been that moment.
- [17:34]
Narrator
Because you wanted revenge.
- [17:37]
Victoria Gotti
I wanted revenge. I was so upset.
- [17:43]
Narrator
The tragedy sent their mother into a suicidal depression.
- [17:47]
Angel Gotti
It destroyed us.
- [17:50]
Narrator
You said your mother was practically in her bed for a year.
- [17:53]
Angel Gotti
A year.
- [17:54]
Narrator
That July, John Gotti tried to brighten her spirits by taking the family to Florida. Just three days later, John Favara was abducted as he left his job at a furniture store. Witnesses say several men hit him over the head, forced him into a van and drove off. Favara was never heard from again. Four months after your brother was killed, John Favara disappeared.
- [18:23]
Victoria Gotti
Right.
- [18:24]
Narrator
Is your father responsible?
- [18:25]
Victoria Gotti
No.
- [18:26]
Narrator
How can you be so sure? Did you ask him?
- [18:29]
Victoria Gotti
I'm positive he wasn't responsible.
- [18:31]
Narrator
I just can't Imagine that this incident, this horrible, tragic accident, Do I think his. Do I think that devastated your family and your father did not want to exact revenge. You did. And you were a teenager. Your mother attempted suicide three times.
- [18:46]
Victoria Gotti
I'm with you. I'm with you. I couldn't understand why either. And it angered me.
- [18:50]
Narrator
Did it ever enter your mind that perhaps your father was behind that disappearance? Did you ever think.
- [18:57]
Angel Gotti
Sometimes I'm being honest. Sometimes.
- [19:01]
Narrator
Victoria believes her father's mob associates took it upon themselves to exact revenge.
- [19:07]
Victoria Gotti
Do I believe that someone in my father's circle did this? I do. Somebody did it. Somebody did it. And they thought they'd be celebrated.
- [19:19]
Narrator
Favara's body has never been found and police never made an arrest in the case. In the years after Frankie's death, the Gotti's struggled to get back to a normal life. Victoria got married.
- [19:37]
Victoria Gotti
I think I was just a kid in a hurry to get out of my dad's house quickly.
- [19:41]
Narrator
You had 1500 guests. Yes, 1500.
- [19:46]
Victoria Gotti
Yeah.
- [19:47]
Narrator
It's a lot of thank you notes.
- [19:49]
Victoria Gotti
A lot of people agreed. A lot of people agreed. I didn't know half of the people at my wedding, more than half. I didn't know them. They weren't there for me. They were there for. And I remember thinking then, something's up, something's up.
- [20:02]
Narrator
Little did Victoria know, but the groundwork for her father's ascension to boss of bosses was being laid. She danced that night not just with her father, but with the future godfather.
- [20:31]
Victoria Gotti
That's what he wanted for himself. He was going to become a leader. He wasn't going to be a follower. He was going to rise to the top. He was going to make it.
- [20:39]
Narrator
On December 16, 1985, at 5:25pm, in a Hail of bullets, his fortunes and the fortunes of his unsuspecting family changed forever.
- [20:54]
John Gotti Jr.
Big Paul Castellano, reputed godfather of the.
- [20:56]
Narrator
Gambino family, was on his way to a Manhattan steakhouse. It was widely reported that Gotti orchestrated one of the most famous mob murders in New York City history. The hit on his boss, Paul Casalano, and Gambino number two man, Thomas Bilotti. After Castellano's murder, Gotti showed up at one of the most important Mafia hangouts in New York and people were kissing his hand and people were going over and fawning over him. Selwyn Robb has been a reporter covering the mob for more than 40 years and is a CBS News consultant. Within days of the murder, says Rob, it was no secret John Gotti was the new godfather but back in Howard Beach, Queens, the family had no idea what was going on.
- [21:49]
Angel Gotti
And my mother said, you're not going to believe this. And she was laughing, and she said, they have your father now as the boss. And I said, the boss? And she said, the boss of the Gambino prime family. And we all started laughing. We really thought it was funny.
- [22:06]
Narrator
When did you learn, Peter, that your father ran the Gambino crime family?
- [22:11]
John Gotti Jr.
In 1985, I had gone to school one morning.
- [22:14]
Narrator
Peter was in the fifth grade.
- [22:17]
John Gotti Jr.
And we're sitting in class, and current events came around. And there are my friends, kids I grew up with. They would parade up to the class, in front of the class and talk about my dad as if I wasn't even sitting in the room.
- [22:32]
Narrator
The kids were all talking about this newspaper story.
- [22:36]
John Gotti Jr.
John Gotti's the new boss of the Gambino. That's what the article said. Needless to say, I went on home and I cut that article out of the newspaper without my mother knowing, without my dad knowing, without anybody knowing. I still to this very day have that article. Hey, give Uncle Pee gift.
- [22:55]
Narrator
Even before John Gotti became the boss of the Gambino crime family, he had brought his oldest son, John Jr. Into the family business. It was a family secret not even his mother knew about.
- [23:11]
Victoria Gotti
John saw, you know, dad driving the fancy car, you know, and having these guys look up to him like he was God.
- [23:18]
Narrator
And On Christmas Eve 1988, in a secret ceremony, John Jr became a made man.
- [23:26]
Victoria Gotti
I have to wonder if John saw this as a way to just get our father's approval or to somehow make him proud.
- [23:37]
Narrator
The family business was doing pretty well. According to investigators, during the 80s, the Gambino crime family grossed about $500 million a year. And Gotti himself was getting a pretty big cut. The family says they didn't see it.
- [23:53]
Victoria Gotti
He didn't move. He didn't go out and buy a huge house somewhere. I'm not saying he didn't have it, but he didn't spend it.
- [24:02]
Narrator
Investigators say. Investigators between 10 to $12 million a year in cash.
- [24:07]
Victoria Gotti
Yeah. And investigators also say that my family, he left us 200 million buried somewhere in the backyard. I'm still trying to find that money.
- [24:14]
Narrator
But one look at John Gotti told another story. He was now wearing custom made silk suits, monogrammed socks, only cashmere coats. He was now going to the chic restaurants in New York nightclubs.
- [24:31]
John Gotti Jr.
He loved to gamble. His way of bonding with me was to watch a ball game with me. Here I was 78 years old, he's asking my opinion on who I like to win a college football game.
- [24:44]
Narrator
Did you help him win?
- [24:48]
John Gotti Jr.
Obviously not, because he didn't win much.
- [24:53]
Narrator
John Gotti made sure his family life was always separate from his work life.
- [24:58]
Angel Gotti
It sounds odd to people. They don't understand it, but we were not like the Sopranos. We didn't sit at the dinner table and, you know, curse or say things. You know, what are you doing? Did you kill this one? We didn't do that. We didn't ask him those questions.
- [25:13]
Narrator
But if the family didn't want to ask him any questions, the government certainly did. In the first five years of his reign, John Gotti was put on trial three times for assault, for racketeering, and for ordering the shooting of a union boss. John John set this up. Three trials, you find him not guilty. Gotti beat the rap each time. Law enforcement says he bribed a juror, intimidated a witness, and had a crooked cop on the inside. Gotti's celebrity grew with each victory. Gorgeous, a handsome man. John Addy.
- [26:01]
Victoria Gotti
John Gotti. John Gotti this, John Gotti that. John Gotti. They just couldn't seem to get enough of him.
- [26:09]
Narrator
John Gotti became a celebrity attracting celebrity in an Italian restaurant in Little Italy. The Gambino godfather met the Hollywood godfather.
- [26:24]
Angel Gotti
I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.
- [26:26]
Narrator
And invited him over to his social club across the street.
- [26:29]
Victoria Gotti
Brando was telling jokes all night and doing magic tricks. Dad was doing what he does best, telling his stories. And they just enjoyed each other's company.
- [26:44]
Narrator
John Gotti's growing fame was a double edged sword. He had become the most notorious mobster since Al Capone and put himself squarely in the sights of the FBI.
- [26:58]
Victoria Gotti
This is gonna be really bad. I was always terrified.
- [27:07]
Narrator
At Capella University, you can learn at your own pace with our Flexpath learning format. Take one or two courses at a time and complete as many as you can in a 12 week billing session. With Flexpath, you can finish the bachelor's.
- [27:21]
Angel Gotti
Degree you started in 19 months and under $19,000.
- [27:24]
Narrator
A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at Capella Eduardo fastest 25% of students. Cost varies by pace. Transfer credits and other factors. Fees apply. My name's Jack Wagner, host of Otherworld, a podcast featuring real people who experience something paranormal, supernatural, or unexplained.
- [27:45]
John Gotti Jr.
I have no idea how I got there.
- [27:47]
Narrator
I don't think I've ever seen anything that looks like this.
- [27:49]
Angel Gotti
It felt like electric stars on fire.
- [27:51]
Narrator
I started Otherworld to take a grounded approach to the paranormal, help people tell their own stories, and encourage more to come forward. I certainly don't have the answers, but maybe one day we will. Join me as we explore our world's greatest mysteries. Listen to Otherworld now for free on the Odysee app or wherever you get your podcasts. Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores automate allowance, and keep an eye on your kids spending with real time notifications, kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely and.
- [28:28]
Angel Gotti
Parents can rest easy knowing their kids.
- [28:30]
Narrator
Are learning about money.
- [28:31]
Angel Gotti
With guardrails in place. Try Greenlight Risk free today@greenlight.com Spotify.
- [28:45]
Narrator
John Gotti is still very much a part of the universe of organized John Gotti.
- [28:49]
Victoria Gotti
Has achieved folk heroes. John Gotti will undoubtedly continue to be a man under close scrutiny by police and federal prosecutors. I think he saw there was no happy ending. I think he knew that one day he was either going to spend the rest of his life in jail or he was going to end up dead.
- [29:07]
Narrator
John Gotti knew the FBI was never going to let up. He suspected they had bugged his headquarters in Little Italy, the Raven Knights Social Club.
- [29:18]
Victoria Gotti
So he would get up and walk outside. He didn't want to sit in a place that he thought maybe someone was listening.
- [29:24]
Narrator
Someone was listening.
- [29:25]
Victoria Gotti
Obviously you come this morning.
- [29:33]
Narrator
The FBI had place bugs everywhere in the club, in the apartment Gotti occasionally used upstairs and even on the street. They gathered hundreds of hours of recordings of mob business. Those tapes led to Gotti's arrest in December of 1990. He faced a litany of charges including the murder of Paul Castellano. There's no question the government had a strong case. It was his own words. He talks about five murders, about Castellano, Bellotti. He talks about three other people and the reasons why they were killed. But the government didn't just have tapes, they had a star witness. Gotti's right hand man, his underboss in the Gambino crime family, Sammy the Bull Gravano. Sammy Gravano, a self confessed Mafia hitman who admitted to taking part in 19 murders, turned on his former boss and made a deal with the government. He took the stand and told the court that John Gotti planned and organized the hit on Paul Castellano and that he and John Gotti were actually there.
- [30:42]
Victoria Gotti
When it went down Sammy's told a lot of lies.
- [30:47]
Narrator
Did your father orchestrate the assassination of Paul Castellano?
- [30:52]
Victoria Gotti
Did he orchestrate it?
- [30:54]
Narrator
Yeah.
- [30:54]
Victoria Gotti
Absolutely not. No one man is that powerful in this organization. Not one man.
- [31:00]
Narrator
In her book, Victoria claims the assassination was a plan agreed upon by Mafia bosses.
- [31:06]
Victoria Gotti
I'm not arguing that he had no part in it, and I'm not arguing and saying that he wasn't divorced after that. He was. But you can't. Nobody can stand there and tell me that he did it alone.
- [31:16]
Narrator
But that's not what the jury found. On April 2, 1992, John Gotti was found guilty on all counts. And he was the only person ever tried and convicted for the murder of Paul Castellano. In 1992, as a local reporter in New York, I talked to Victoria just hours after her father was convicted.
- [31:37]
Victoria Gotti
My father is the last of the mohegans. They don't make men like him anymore. They never will. I knew that I'd lost my father. I knew that that was it. It was as if somebody had told me my father had died. And that's how I felt that day.
- [31:51]
Narrator
John Gotti was sent to Marion Federal Prison in Southern Illinois for life.
- [31:57]
John Gotti Jr.
The man was never coming home. I believed a day would never come where I would be able to hug my father again. You know, I had trained myself to believe that. That's it. I'm going to visit my father behind glass for the rest of my life.
- [32:11]
Narrator
Peter Gotti was 18 years old when his father was put in solitary confinement.
- [32:17]
John Gotti Jr.
My dad had 6,000 meals alone. He never ate with another, never ate meals in his cell. And again, I'm not justifying anything. His saying is he paid. He paid. He paid the piper.
- [32:31]
Narrator
I'm curious to know why you did not follow in your father's footsteps. You're the only gaudy man to not do so.
- [32:41]
John Gotti Jr.
It ever dawned on you that my dad shielded me from it. And my brother enforced it even more. He did everything he can. He did everything he can to prevent me. Everything he can. He tried to screen every person I was socializing with.
- [32:58]
Narrator
At the same time he was protecting Peter, John Jr. Was rising in the ranks of the Gambino crime family, becoming the acting boss when his father went to prison. You did not know your own brother was in the Mafia?
- [33:10]
Angel Gotti
No, I did not. No.
- [33:13]
Narrator
When did you learn that your brother was in the Mafia?
- [33:15]
Angel Gotti
When he got arrested.
- [33:19]
Narrator
John Jr. Was arrested in 1998 for extortion, loan sharking, and gambling. His mother was caught completely by surprise. For 10 years, her oldest son had been a mobster and then acting boss of the Gambino crime family. And she never knew it.
- [33:35]
Victoria Gotti
You know, John is her life, and she was not standing for it. She had such a distaste for the fact that dad was involved, and now her son.
- [33:44]
Narrator
Mrs. Gotti believed her husband had lied to her, betrayed her trust, and put John Jr. In grave danger.
- [33:51]
Angel Gotti
She wasn't speaking to my father when he was in prison for a while, and it caused a lot of problems for all of us.
- [34:00]
Narrator
John Jr. Was in grave danger. He was facing 20 years in prison. He was thinking of making a deal. All right, you understood what? In this prison tape, recorded In February of 1999, obtained by 48 Hours, John Jr. Is asking his father's permission to take a plea. After some discussion, the godfather reluctantly consented. If you get what you want and find, I wouldn't be happy. But John Jr wanted more from his father. According to Victoria, he also asked for permission to quit the mob. And Victoria says her mother decided to get involved.
- [34:50]
Victoria Gotti
Mom goes to see dad, and mom threatens dad, and she says, either you release him or I'll never speak to you again. I won't be here anymore. You'll never see me in your life again.
- [35:01]
Narrator
When John Jr. Went to prison, Victoria claims he left the Mafia with his father's permission. Prosecutors don't believe it, but her brother wasn't the only one Victoria says had secretly joined the mob. Your husband was a Gambino member?
- [35:17]
Victoria Gotti
Certainly was.
- [35:18]
Narrator
It was yet another secret she says her father had kept from her. Were you angry with your father?
- [35:25]
Victoria Gotti
Yeah. Yeah. I was angry at my ex husband. I was angry at my father. I was angry at everybody. This isn't what I wanted for my life. This isn't what I wanted for my kids.
- [35:35]
Narrator
But her anger would fade with time as her father grew gravely ill.
- [35:40]
Victoria Gotti
He just looked at me and said, I'm never going to be around forever. I said to him, yeah, I know, dad. You know, whatever. But then he looked at me again and he said, I think it's time.
- [35:57]
Narrator
KFC Phillips are back. Four delicious meals for just $7 each. That's great news for everyone except a.
- [36:02]
John Gotti Jr.
Driver in F1 the movie who only gets 2.5 seconds for a pit stop.
- [36:06]
Narrator
2.5 seconds? That's not enough time to indulge in.
- [36:08]
John Gotti Jr.
Juicy Original Recipe chicken.
- [36:10]
Narrator
Oh, and he's gone. Creamy mashed potatoes, sweet pie poppers, and a medium drink. Well, the rest of us can take as long as we'd like to enjoy any KFC.
- [36:18]
John Gotti Jr.
$7 fill up then see F1, the movie starring Brad Pitt.
- [36:21]
Narrator
Only in theaters June 27. Rated PG13. Prices and participation vary while supplies last. Taxes, tips and fees extra. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing. Mint Mobile unlimited premium wireless. 30, 30. Better get 30. Better get 20. 20, 20. Better get 20. 20. Better get 15. 15, 15, 15. Just 15 bucks a month. Sold. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to 15 per month. Required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 GB of network's busy. Taxes and fees extra. See mint mobile.com.
- [37:07]
Victoria Gotti
When the funeral began, the mourners were all up and down the streets holding signs, crying kids, old men, young women, young men everywhere. The funeral cars, the flower cars, the ceremony, the cemetery.
- [37:33]
Narrator
Ten years into his life sentence, John Joseph Gotti, the godfather of the Gambino crime family, father of five and grandfather of 15, died of cancer. The last days of his life were spent in a prison hospital with his son Peter at his side.
- [37:58]
John Gotti Jr.
He never admitted or denied anything. That's what was funny about his personality. You know, his was a hey, you mind your business type of personality. Let me pay with God. And he did. He did. In the end, he did.
- [38:19]
Narrator
To his family, John Gotti was a fallen hero. To the public, he was the last don. But for the mob, he was a disaster. At the end of his reign, the Gambino crime family was decimated. More than half of the leadership was either dead or behind bars. I think about the devastation that this life has had on your family, on the Gotti men.
- [38:44]
Victoria Gotti
Yes.
- [38:45]
Narrator
Your father, your brother, three uncles.
- [38:48]
Victoria Gotti
Yeah.
- [38:49]
Narrator
Are all incarcerated.
- [38:50]
Victoria Gotti
Yep. And a husband.
- [38:55]
Narrator
And the life continued to take its toll on the Gotti family. The federal government put John Gotti Jr. On trial for four times in less than five years without getting a conviction. The last time, in December 2009, he was accused of participating in or authorizing three murders. Victoria said the government's case was about the past, not the present.
- [39:19]
Victoria Gotti
It is my father. Always all over again, day in, day out. It's about John Gotti. That's what it's about.
- [39:26]
Narrator
You really don't want me to answer that. The Gotti family claimed the government was persecuting John Jr. And that he quit the mob years ago. The government said John Jr. Is a killer and that he did not quit.
- [39:38]
Victoria Gotti
They don't want to believe John's attitude is, I paid for what I did in that life. I gave them my pound of flesh.
- [39:45]
Narrator
Hey, John. How does it feel to be free? In the end, the government could not convince a jury it was deadlocked. And John Gotti Jr. No longer facing any charges, was free to go home to his family. John, what are you doing tonight?
- [40:01]
John Gotti Jr.
Kiss my kids.
- [40:02]
Narrator
Kiss my kids. There was a time when he thought the life was all glamour, but not anymore.
- [40:10]
John Gotti Jr.
I try to explain to my sons, I say, you have to understand that price that comes with that. Most people don't know this, that my father died choking on his own vomit and blood, handcuffed to a bed in solitary confinement. I have to explain that to my sons.
- [40:26]
Narrator
This is the end result. Still, John Jr. Hopes the next generation of Gotti's takes after their grandfather. In some ways, he's a good man.
- [40:36]
John Gotti Jr.
To emulate, just not the lifestyle. If you could take all the positive characteristics of my father and you could emulate those. His charismatic charm, his intelligence, his mannerism. Why not?
- [40:50]
Narrator
Sure. Happy Mother's day. Like John Jr. Victoria is determined her children will not follow their father and grandfather into the Mafia.
- [41:00]
Victoria Gotti
If they want to really utterly break my heart, they can do that. They know that, but they know better, believe me.
- [41:07]
Narrator
Give me one. John Gotti's grandchildren have decided, it seems, that they don't want to remember the Godfather, just their grandfather.
- [41:17]
Victoria Gotti
I love my grandfather to death. He taught me everything I need to know.
- [41:21]
Narrator
John Victoria's middle child, named after his grandfather, made him a promise just before he died. So law school may be in your future.
- [41:30]
John Gotti Jr.
Maybe. You know what?
- [41:31]
Victoria Gotti
I promised my grandfather a long time ago that I would do it. You know, even when I wrote a personal letter to him on his funeral, I put it in his pocket that I would do it for him.
- [41:39]
John Gotti Jr.
But you don't see Pop gone for.
- [41:41]
Victoria Gotti
Eight, nine years, Grandpa dying in jail, Grandma's tears.
- [41:46]
Narrator
Carmine, Victoria's oldest son, is an aspiring musician who wrote this song about his family. Grass looks greener on the other side. Always looks greener on the other side. So now you're working on realizing your dreams?
- [42:02]
Victoria Gotti
Yes. I mean, I've been recording now in the studio for the past two and.
- [42:06]
Narrator
A half, almost three years.
- [42:08]
Victoria Gotti
I mean, it's spend a lot of work, five days a week throughout the year. Everything's coming together.
- [42:14]
John Gotti Jr.
It's bad enough they love to throw away the key on anyone in my fam like they did to jg jg John Gotti.
- [42:22]
Narrator
JG John Gotti. The mob life. The death of a brother. The hit on Paul Castellano. The disappearance of a neighbor. The trials. Prison brothers and husbands in jail. At the end, Peter Gotti says his father was refusing medical care.
- [42:49]
John Gotti Jr.
I believe in my heart that it went around in full circle because I believe in the end that he was punishing himself for the things he may have done. And I feel. I feel for anyone if there was pain caused by him or not. I feel. I feel regret and sadness for that.
- [43:16]
Narrator
For Victoria, the circle closed at her father's funeral.
- [43:20]
Victoria Gotti
I remember sitting there. I was the last to get up. And I remember getting so angry and so angry and so angry and just saying to him, what was this all for? What did you do? Look at you. Look at the life that you lived. Look at us. You loved us most in the world. Look at us. What was this all for? And I walked out of there so angry. And I'm still angry. I don't understand it. And I guess I never will.
- [44:03]
Narrator
Novocain is now streaming on Paramount.
- [44:06]
Victoria Gotti
Plus, you're gonna love this.
- [44:08]
Narrator
It's an adrenaline rush of fun.
- [44:10]
Victoria Gotti
This is the best.
- [44:11]
Narrator
And a bloody good time.
- [44:13]
Angel Gotti
Looking forward to it.
- [44:14]
Narrator
Novocain, Rated R. Now streaming on Paramount plus. This summer, Pluto TV is exploding with thousands of free movies. Stream hits like Good Burger, Four Brothers, the Wood, Paid in Full and Beverly Hills Cop. All for free. It's summer of cinema on Pluto tv. Stream now pay never.