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Gangland Chronicles
2024 · Crime · Documentary
Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano (born March 12, 1945) is an American former mobster who rose to the position of underboss in the Gambino crime family of New York City before becoming a government witness. 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. As part of the agreement, Gravano confessed to his involvement in at least 19 murders, although he was also responsible for a number of other crimes, including the 1977 murder of a 16-year-old boy with no ties to the Mafia, who was shot and killed after witnessing Gravano and an associate carry out a drive-by shooting.
Originally an associate for the Colombo crime family, and later for the Brooklyn faction of the Gambino family, Gravano was part of the group in 1985 that conspired to murder Gambino boss Paul Castellano. 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
At the time, he was among the highest-ranking members of the Five Families, but broke his blood oath and cooperated 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 he 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 eight months and moved to Arizona with his family.
On the day of his sentencing in 1994, federal authorities stated as a result of Gravano's testimony, there had been "37 convictions, nine people awaiting trial, eight people resigned from the unions as a result of Gravano's cooperation." They also said that Gravano was indirectly responsible for even more convictions, as his actions had encouraged others to become witnesses against the Mafia.
In February 2000, he and nearly 40 other ring members—including his wife Debra, daughter Karen, and son Gerard—were arrested on federal and state drug charges. In 2001, he and his son, Gerard, were indicted on mirror charges with the federal government. In 2002, he 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, he was sentenced to lifetime supervised release and a $100,000 fine. He was released in September 2017.
