John Joseph Gotti Jr. was an American gangster and the boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City from October 27, 1940, to June 10, 2002.
In December 1985, he orchestrated and assisted in the assassination of Gambino leader Paul Castellano, and shortly after, he took over the family, becoming the head of what has been described as America’s most powerful crime syndicate.
Who runs the Gambino family now?
John Gotti died in a federal prison hospital in 2002. After his father was imprisoned, his son, John Gotti III, gained charge of the splintering Gambino family. In 1998, John Gotti III was charged with racketeering, convicted, and sentenced to six years in jail.
How did John Gotti get caught?
Gotti may have escaped criminal charges later in life, but he was arrested and jailed multiple times in his early years.
According to the FBI, he was detained in 1968 for assisting in the plotting of a product theft plan. Gotti, his brother Gene, and a boyhood friend stole cargo from the JFK airport and seized a vehicle. Gotti was released in 1971, despite the fact that all three had pleaded guilty.