Key Takeaways
- Sammy “The Bull” Gravano recalls how he helped John Gotti seize the Gambino family by backing the 1985 hit on boss Paul Castellano, a move he says was so extreme he initially couldn’t believe they were serious about killing the “boss of bosses.”
- After rising to underboss under Gotti, Gravano says FBI tapes of Gotti blaming him for multiple murders convinced him that Gotti had broken the Mafia code of loyalty they lived by.
- Gravano flipped in 1991, admitting involvement in 19 killings and testifying about the Gambino hierarchy and Gotti’s role in several murders, helping secure Gotti’s 1992 life sentence on racketeering and murder charges.
Sammy “The Bull” Gravano helped John Gotti take control of the Gambino crime family by participating in the plot to kill the man standing in Gotti’s way. Years later, he helped federal prosecutors put Gotti away for life. Now, the former Gambino underboss is revisiting both decisions—and explaining how a partnership built on murder and Mafia loyalty ultimately collapsed.
During an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Hang Out With Sean Hannity podcast, Gravano recalled being approached by Gotti associate Angelo Ruggiero about eliminating Gambino boss Paul Castellano in 1985.
“We have problems with Paul. I need your help. We need you—me and John Gotti,” Gravano recalled Ruggiero telling him.
When Gravano asked what they wanted, Ruggiero’s answer was direct: “We’re gonna kill him.”
Castellano was the head of one of New York’s Five Families, and killing a sitting boss without approval carried potentially deadly consequences throughout the Mafia. Gravano said even he was stunned by what was being proposed.
“You’re gonna kill the boss of bosses?” he remembered asking.
Gravano was also suspicious that Gotti wasn’t there personally for such a consequential conversation. “Where’s John Gotti?” he recalled asking Ruggiero. When told Gotti had something else to handle, Gravano pushed back: “He had something more important than asking me to kill the boss of bosses?”
“This is a big deal,” Gravano said.
Castellano and underboss Thomas Bilotti were shot and killed outside Manhattan’s Sparks Steak House in December 1985. Gotti subsequently became Gambino boss, with Gravano eventually rising to underboss. But the alliance that helped propel Gotti to the top would ultimately help destroy him.
Following their 1990 arrests on federal charges, Gravano learned that FBI surveillance had captured Gotti discussing him in conversations that could leave Gravano carrying responsibility for numerous murders.
Gravano has maintained that hearing his longtime ally disparage him and potentially position him to absorb the blame convinced him that Gotti had violated the same Mafia loyalty he expected from everyone around him.
In 1991, Gravano broke omertà and became a government witness.
His cooperation gave prosecutors an insider who could testify directly about the Gambino hierarchy, its criminal activity, and Gotti’s role in multiple murders—including Castellano’s. Gravano admitted his own involvement in 19 killings as part of his cooperation agreement.
Gotti was convicted in 1992 on racketeering, murder, and other charges and sentenced to life without parole. He died in federal custody in 2002.
