Eugene Gotti (born 1946) is an American mobster in the
Gambino crime family. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 1989 for racketeering and drug trafficking charges; he was released in 2018.
Early life
Gotti was born in
the Bronx, New York
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...
, in 1946. He was one of 13 children (two had died at birth) of John Joseph Gotti Sr. and Philomena "Fannie" DeCarlo. Gotti's brothers included
John Gotti,
Peter Gotti
Peter Arthur Gotti (October 15, 1939 – February 25, 2021) was an American mobster. He was the boss of the Gambino crime family, part of the American Mafia, and the elder brother of the former Gambino boss John Gotti.
Early life
Gotti was born ...
,
Richard V. Gotti
Richard V. Gotti (born 1942) is an American mobster in the Gambino crime family.
Gotti was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1942. He was one of 13 children (two had died at birth) of John Joseph Gotti Sr. and Philomena "Fannie" DeCarlo. Gotti's br ...
, and Vincent Gotti. All the brothers grew up in
East New York, Brooklyn, and became involved with organized crime.
John Cummings and Ernest Volkman in ''Goombata'' wrote, "He was noted for his inability to comprehend even the simplest statement addressed to him, and people dealing with him learned to speak slowly and repeatedly." He attended Franklin K. Lane High School with the other Gotti brothers. Gotti and his wife Rosalie have three children and eight grandchildren; his family home is in
Valley Stream, New York
Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census.
The incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of Hempstead, ...
.
Around 1966, Gotti became an associate with the Gambino family. In 1969, Gotti was convicted of theft from an interstate shipment and was sent to
federal prison for three months. In 1973, Gotti was convicted in state court of illegal possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 18 months in state prison.
Criminal life
Gene became a
made man
In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oa ...
in 1976, working with his brother, John, in his
South Ozone Park
South Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is just north of John F. Kennedy International Airport, between Aqueduct Racetrack to the west and the Van Wyck Expressway to the east.
Adja ...
crew.
[Davis, p. 185]
Gotti carried out
truck hijacking
Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...
s at Idlewild Airport (subsequently renamed
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...
) together with his brother John and friend
Angelo Ruggiero
Angelo "Quack Quack" Ruggiero Sr. (; July 29, 1940 – December 4, 1989) was a member of the Gambino crime family and a friend of John Gotti's. Once Gotti became leader of the family he made Ruggiero a caporegime. Although he showed little orga ...
.
[Raab, p. 354] In August 1983, Ruggiero and Gotti were arrested for dealing
heroin, based primarily on recordings from a
bug in Ruggiero's house.
[Davis, p. 216] Boss
Paul Castellano
Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985.
Early life
Cast ...
, who had banned made men from his family from dealing drugs under threat of death, demanded transcripts of the tapes,
and, when Ruggiero refused, threatened to demote his brother John.
[Davis, p 238]
On March 13, 1987, Gene Gotti, his brother John and others, were acquitted on federal charges of
loansharking
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law.
Description
Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...
,
illegal gambling
Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...
, murder, and armed hijackings.
Prison and release
Later in 1987, Gotti and
John Carneglia
John "Johnny Carnegs" Carneglia (born 1945) is an American mobster in the Gambino crime family. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 1989 for racketeering and drug trafficking charges.
Early life
Carneglia was born in 1945 in Ozone Park, Quee ...
went to trial on the 1983 federal charges of
narcotics trafficking
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
,
obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...
,
racketeering, and operating a continuing criminal narcotics enterprise. In January 1988, the judge declared a
mistrial
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...
on this second case due to government charges of
jury tampering
Jury tampering is the crime of unduly attempting to influence the composition and/or decisions of a jury during the course of a trial. The means by which this crime could be perpetrated can include attempting to discredit potential jurors to ensur ...
. On July 27, 1988, in a retrial, the judge again declared a mistrial because jurors failed to reach a verdict. On May 23, 1989, in his third trial on the 1983 charges, Gotti and Carneglia were convicted of running a heroin distribution ring. On July 7, 1989, Gotti was sentenced to 50 years in prison and fined $75,000, the same penalty given to Carneglia.
After his sentencing, the Gambino family demoted Gotti from capo to soldier because he was in prison.
Gotti was imprisoned at the
Federal Correctional Institution, Pollock
The Federal Correctional Institution, Pollock (FCI Pollock) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated Grant Parish, Louisiana. It is part of the Pollock Federal Correctional Complex and operated by the ...
, in
Pollock, Louisiana
Pollock is a small town in Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 469 as of the 2010 census, up from 376 in 2000. Pollock and southern Grant Parish have b ...
, from 1989 to 2018. He was released on September 14, 2018, when he was 71 years old, after serving 29 years of his sentence.
Further reading
*''Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti'' by Gene Mustain &
Jerry Capeci
Gerald Capeci () is an American journalist and author who specializes in coverage of the Five Mafia crime families of New York City. Capeci has been described by news organizations, such as CNN and BBC, as an expert on the American Mafia. in 2002,
*''Gotti: The Rise & Fall'' by Jerry Capeci in 1996,
*''Mafia Dynasty: The Rise & Fall of the Gambino Crime Family'' by John H. Davis in 1994,
*''Goombata: The Improbable Rise and Fall of John Gotti and His Gang'' by John Cummings and Ernest Volkman
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotti, Gene
1946 births
Living people
American gangsters of Italian descent
American drug traffickers
Gambino crime family
American prisoners and detainees
Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government
People from East New York, Brooklyn
American people convicted of drug offenses
People convicted of racketeering
Gotti family