Sammy Gravano (arrest photo - 1990).jpg

Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano (born March 12, 1945) is an American former mobster who became underboss of the Gambino crime family. As the underboss, Gravano played a major role in prosecuting John Gotti, the crime family's boss, by agreeing to testify as a government witness against him and other mobsters in a deal in which he confessed to involvement in 19 murders.

Originally an associate for the Colombo crime family, and later for the Brooklyn faction of the Gambino family, Gravano was part of the group that conspired to murder Gambino boss Paul Castellano in 1985. Gravano played a key role in planning and executing Castellano's murder, along with John Gotti, Angelo Ruggiero, Frank DeCicco, and Joseph Armone.

Soon after Castellano's murder, Gotti elevated Gravano to become an official captain after Salvatore "Toddo" Aurelio stepped down, a position Gravano held until 1987 when he became consigliere. In 1988 he became underboss, a position he held at the time he became a government witness. In 1991, Gravano agreed to turn state's evidence and testify for the prosecution against Gotti after hearing the boss making several disparaging and untrue remarks about Gravano on a wiretap that implicated them both in several murders. At the time, Gravano was the highest-ranking member of the Five Families to break his blood oath and cooperate with the government. As a result of his testimonies, Gotti and Frank LoCascio were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1992. In 1994, a federal judge sentenced Gravano to five years in prison; however, since Gravano had already served four years, the sentence amounted to less than one year. He was released early and entered the U.S. federal Witness Protection Program in Colorado, but left the program in 1995 after 8 months and went to Arizona with family.

In 1997, Gravano was consulted several times for the biographical book about his life, ''Underboss'' by author Peter Maas. In February 2000, Gravano and nearly 40 other ring members—including his ex-wife Debra, daughter Karen and son Gerard—were arrested on federal and state drug charges. In 2001, Gravano and his son, Gerard, were indicted on mirror charges with the federal government. In 2002 Gravano was sentenced in New York to twenty years in prison. A month later, he was also sentenced in Arizona to nineteen years in prison to run concurrently. Additionally, Gravano was sentenced to lifetime supervised release and a $100,000 fine. He was released in September 2017.

Childhood and early life

Salvatore Gravano was born on March 12, 1945, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, to Giorlando "Gerry" and Caterina "Kay" Gravano. He was the youngest of five children, having two older sisters and two siblings who died before he was born. Both of Gravano's parents hailed from Sicily. Sammy's mother, Caterina, born in 1906, arrived in the United States as a young girl from Puglia, Italy. While his father, Giorlando, born in 1901, arrived in the US after jumping ship in Canada and, with help from his older brother Alphonsio Gravano, was smuggled into the US illegally. Alphonsio was already an established bootlegger and made member of the Sicilian mafia. During Prohibition, Alphonsio was a successful bootlegger and transported booze into the US on both North East and North West coasts. As part of the Sunset Fleet, Alphonsio ran booze through the Hudson River and other New York waterways. His booze made its way into the city to the Fulton Fish Market and then sold to the NY speakeasies. On the West coast his operation ran the booze from Canada to Oregon, near the Bull River. Gerry worked as a skilled fisherman in Sicily. In the US, he became a painter, working on houses and buildings as New York grew at a staggering rate. Later, Gravano's parents ran a small dress factory, his mother being a talented seamstress. They maintained a good standard of living for the family. Early on, one of Gravano's relatives remarked that he looked like his uncle Sammy. From that point on, everyone called Gravano "Little Sammy" instead of "Salvatore" or "Sal".

At age 13, Gravano joined the Rampers, a prominent street gang in Bensonhurst. He had found that some older children had stolen his bicycle and went to fight the thieves. Made men who were watching from a café saw him take on a few of the older boys at once and they gave Gravano back his bike. As he was leaving, one of the made men remarked on how little Sammy fought "like a bull", hence his nickname "The Bull".

Gravano had dyslexia, was bullied, and did poorly in school. Teachers classified him as being "a slow learner". He was held back from grade advancement on two occasions, the 4th and 7th grades, and also punched school officials on two occasions. Gravano was eventually sent to a school for "incorrigibles" (600 school); however, just before he reached the age of 16, the school refused to keep him any longer and his parents signed him out of school. Gravano's father tried to redirect and discipline his son, including forcing him to attend Mass, but had little success.

In 1964, Gravano was drafted into the United States Army and served in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. While an enlisted man, Gravano mainly worked as a mess hall cook. He rose to the rank of corporal and was granted an honorable discharge after two years.

In 1971, Gravano married Debra Scibetta; they had two children. His daughter Karen Gravano appeared on the VH1 reality series ''Mob Wives'' beginning in 2011, and released a book in 2013 titled ''Mob Daughter: The Mafia, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, and Me!''

Later in his mob career, Gravano was ordered to help arrange the murder of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Scibetta. Gravano is also the brother-in-law of Gambino soldier Eddie Garafola. Gravano was a childhood friend of Colombo crime family associate Gerard Pappa, who was also the leader of The Rampers.

Colombo associate

The Mafia had a longstanding presence in Bensonhurst via the Profaci family, which evolved into the Colombo family. Despite his father's attempts to dissuade him, Gravano, like many of his Ramper colleagues, drifted into the Cosa Nostra. He first became associated with the Cosa Nostra in 1968 through his friend Tommy Spero, whose Uncle Shorty (also named Tommy) Spero was an associate of the Colombo family under future boss, Carmine "The Snake" Persico. Gravano was initially involved in crimes such as larceny, hijacking, and armed robbery. He quickly moved into racketeering, loansharking, and running a lucrative poker game in the back room of an after-hours club, of which he was part owner.

Gravano became a particular favorite of family boss Carmine Persico, who used Gravano to picket the FBI Manhattan headquarters as part of Joe Columbo Italian-American Civil Rights League initiative. Gravano's rise was so sudden that it was generally understood that he would be among the first to become made when the Cosa Nostra's membership books were reopened (they had been closed since 1957).

In 1970, Gravano committed his first murder—that of Joseph Colucci, a fellow Spero associate with whose wife Tommy Spero was having an affair. Gravano described the experience thus:

As that Beatles song played, I became a killer. Joe Colucci was going to die. I was going to kill him because he was plotting to kill me and Shorty Spero. I felt the rage inside me. ... Everything went in slow motion. I could almost feel the bullet leaving the gun and entering his skull. It was strange and deafening. I didn't hear the first shot. I didn't see any blood. His head didn't seem to move. I then shot him a second time ... I felt like I was a million miles away, like this was all a dream.

The Colucci murder won respect and approval from Persico for Gravano. Later in life, Gravano became a mentor to Colucci's son Jack, who became involved in the construction industry as a Gambino associate.

Made man

In the early 1970s, Colombo soldier Ralph Spero, brother of Shorty, became envious of Gravano's success, fearing that he would become a made man before his son, Tommy. This rivalry culminated with the death of Ralph Ronga, another Colombo family soldier in Ralph Spero's crew. After Ronga's death, a rumor had spread that Gravano had attempted to pick up Ronga's widow Sybil Davies at a bar, though Gravano maintained that Davies was the one hitting on him. Ralph Spero used this rumor in an attempt to gain support to have Gravano killed, or as an excuse to kill Gravano himself. While Shorty Spero believed Gravano rather than Ralph, he and the Colombo hierarchy decided that to avoid conflict, it was best for Gravano to be transferred to the Gambino crime family.

Now with the Gambinos, Gravano became an associate of capo Salvatore "Toddo" Aurello. Aurello quickly took a liking to Gravano and became his mob mentor. Around this time, Gravano took a construction job (he later claimed to have considered leaving the criminal life). A former associate, however, falsely claimed to the New York District Attorney's Office that Gravano and another associate were responsible for a double murder of the Dunn Brothers from 1969. After Gravano was indicted, he desperately needed money to pay his legal bills. He quit his construction job and went on a self-described "robbing rampage" for a year and a half alongside his Goombata Alexander "Allie Boy" Cuomo. A couple weeks into the trial, Gravano's lawyers moved to dismiss the charges due to the witness being declared legally insane. Gravano later said of this legal problem:

That pinch rrestchanged my whole life. I never, ever stopped a second from there on in. I was like a madman. Never stopped stealing. Never stopped robbing. I was obsessed.

Gravano's robbery spree impressed Aurello, who proposed him for membership in the Gambino family soon after the membership books were reopened. In 1976, Gravano was formally initiated into the Gambino family as a made man, along with Toddo's son, Charlie Boy Aurello. Sammy and Charlie Boy had been friends since they were kids.

Gambino soldier

In 1978, boss Paul Castellano allegedly ordered the murder of Gambino associate Nicholas Scibetta. A cocaine and alcohol user, Scibetta participated in several public fights and insulted the daughter of George DeCicco. Since Scibetta was Gravano's brother-in-law, Castellano asked Frank DeCicco to first notify Gravano of the impending hit. When advised of Scibetta's fate, Gravano was furious. However, Gravano was eventually calmed by DeCicco and accepted Scibetta's death as the punishment earned by his behavior. Gravano later said, "I chose against Nicky. I took an oath that Cosa Nostra came before everything." Scibetta was dismembered and his body was never found, other than a hand.

Gravano later opened an afterhours club in Bensonhurst, called The Bus Stop. The bar was the scene of a violent altercation one night, involving a rowdy biker gang intent on ransacking the establishment. A melee ensued, in which Gravano broke his ankle and the bikers were chased off. Gravano then went to Castellano and received permission to "kill them all". Along with Liborio "Louie" Milito, Gravano hunted down the leader, wounding him and killing another member of the gang. Castellano was flabbergasted when he learned the crutch-ridden Gravano personally took part in the hit.

Construction magnate

Like his predecessor Carlo Gambino, Castellano favored emphasizing more sophisticated schemes involving construction, trucking, and garbage disposal over traditional street-level activities such as loansharking, gambling, and hijackings. Castellano had a particular interest in the construction business. Gravano entered into the plumbing and drywall business with his brother-in-law, Edward Garafola.
Gravano's construction and other business interests soon earned him a reputation as a "big earner" within the Gambino organization and made him a multi-millionaire, enabling him to build a large estate for his family in rural Cream Ridge, New Jersey. He invested in trotting horses to race at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Gravano became the operator of a popular discotheque, The Plaza Suite in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. He reportedly made $4,000 a week from the Plaza Suite. Gravano owned the building and used the bottom level as his business headquarters.

Simone murder

Gravano further proved himself to Castellano when he interceded in a civil war that had erupted within the Philadelphia crime family. In March 1980, longtime Philadelphia boss Angelo Bruno was assassinated by his consigliere, Antonio Caponigro, and his brother-in-law Anthony Salerno, without authorization from The Commission. The Commission summoned Caponigro to New York, where it sentenced him to death for his transgression. After Caponigro was tortured and killed, Philip Testa was installed as the new Philadelphia boss and Nicky Scarfo as consigliere. The Commission subsequently placed contracts on Caponigro's co-conspirators, including John "Johnny Keys" Simone, who also happened to be Bruno's cousin. The Simone contract was given to Gravano.

After befriending Simone through a series of meetings, Gravano, with the assistance of Milito and D'Angelo, abducted Simone from Yardley Golf Club in Yardley, Pennsylvania (part of suburban Trenton, New Jersey

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