1. Maldonado 1
Megan Marie Maldonado
Johnston
English III- 6th
27 November 2010
The “Teflon Don”
John Gotti Jr. grew up on the mean streets of Brooklyn New York in 1952. A juvenile
delinquent from the start, Gotti took recreation in street gangs and small crimes. His schooling
stopped at the eighth grade, never returning from a suspension he acquired through gang
disputes. As time progressed, he took involvement in larger crimes such as high jacking freight
trucks at Kennedy Airport and committing murder in association with the Gambino mafia crime
family. (Montaldo)
After serving three years in prison after the high jacking incidents, Gotti was reporting to
underboss of the Gambino family, Aniello Dellacroce. On May 22, 1973 Gotti, along with two
other mafia men, killed Irish mob member James McBrantney. His death was in retaliation for
the numerous thefts and his responsibility in the kidnapping and killing of Manny Gambino,
Mafia boss Carlo Gambino’s nephew. When released from serving two of his seven year jail
sentence for the manslaughter, Gotti was initiated into the Mafia and became known as a “made
man” for his involvement in the McBrantney killing. During this time, head of the mafia, Carlo
Gambino, was laying on his deathbed where he appointed Paul Castellano as his successor. In a
face of loyalty, Gotti made it a well known fact that he believed Gambino should have given the
new power position to his mentor, Dellacroce. After his mentor’s death, December 2, 1985 the
only impediment in Gotti’s path to power was Paul Castellano. Two weeks later, on December
16, 1985 seventy-two-year-old Mafia boss, Paul Castellano was killed outside a Manhattan steak
2. house. In classic mob doctrine, no charges were filled for Castellano’s death, but it was
undoubtedly Gotti behind the murder. John Gotti rose to become the youngest Don of the
nation’s largest Mafia family. (“John Gotti”)
By the late 80’s Gotti was standing trial for charges of racketeering and was facing
extended jail time. In 1987, jury verdict was not guilty due to complications with the evidence
and he was acquitted. The jury had undoubtedly been tampered with. The jury’s foreman was
bribed to make sure Gotti was not convicted. In these court proceedings is where Gotti got his
nickname, “The Teflon Don” because he seemed to have finesse in manipulating the court to his
advantage because the criminal charges against him would not stick. (“John Gotti”) After that the
Justice Department spent millions of dollars recording Gotti’s conversations in an attempt to
build a case against him with solid evidence. The recordings along with testimony against “The
Teflon Don” from his second in command, Salvatore Gravano, were enough to convict Gotti of
all fourteen charges pinned against him in the 1992 trails. (DiMauro) Gotti earned himself a cell
in the United States Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois serving a lifetime sentence without the
possibility of parole. Gotti died on June 10th, 2002 from throat cancer, at United States Medical
Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. (Ernst)
If any, the letter “G” would be place upon his bosom symbolizing his life as a libertine to
represent the crimes he committed and the men that were killed due to his role as the youngest
gangster don in the Mafia. John Gotti Jr. stood as an epitome of a modern day godfather to the
Gambino family and a gangster to pedestrians saw him as nothing more than a murderer.
3. Maldonado 3
Works Cited
Ernst, Cindi. “The Gotti Trails (1992): Selected Links & Bibliography.” University of
Missouri-Kansas City. University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Web.
Personal Computer. 27 Nov 2010.
<http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/gottilinks.html>.
DiMauro, Laurie. "Gotti, John (1940—). " St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara
Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 2. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 277. Gale
Virtual Reference Library. Web. Cy Ridge Library. 16 Nov. 2010.
<http://find.galegroup.com/gps/retrieve.do>.
"John Gotti." Outlaws, Mobsters & Crooks. Gale, 1998. Gale Biography In Context. Web. Cy
Ridge Library. 29 Nov. 2010.
<http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow>.
Montaldo, Charles. “John “Dapper Don” Gotti”. About.com: Crime/Punishment. Web.
Personal Computer. 27 Nov 2010.
<http://crime.about.com/od/gangsters/a/johngotti.htm>.
