Teflon Don sentenced to life 1992
Mafia boss John Gotti, who was nicknamed the “Teflon Don” after
escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, is sentenced
to life in prison after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy
to commit murder and racketeering. Moments after his sentence was read
in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, hundreds of Gotti’s supporters
stormed the building and overturned and smashed cars before being forced
back by police reinforcements.
Gotti, born and educated on the mean streets of New York City, became
head of the powerful Gambino family after boss Paul Castellano was
murdered outside a steakhouse in Manhattan in December 1985. The gang
assassination, the first in three decades in New York, was organized by
Gotti and his colleague Sammy “the Bull” Gravano. The Gambino family was
known for its illegal narcotics operations, gambling activities, and
car theft. During the next five years, Gotti rapidly expanded his
criminal empire, and his family grew into the nation’s most powerful
Mafia family. Despite wide publicity of his criminal activities, Gotti
managed to avoid conviction several times, usually through witness
intimidation. In 1990, however, he was indicted for conspiracy to commit
murder in the death of Paul Castellano, and Gravano agreed to testify
against him in a federal district court in exchange for a reduced prison
sentence.
On April 2, 1992, John Gotti was found guilty on all counts and on
June 23 was sentenced to multiple life terms without the possibility of
parole.
While still imprisoned, Gotti died of throat cancer on June 10, 2002.
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