1. Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano was born on March 12,1945 and is an American former mobster who rose to the position of underboss in the Gambino crime family.
99 Facts About Sammy Gravano
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Originally an associate for the Colombo crime family, and later for the Brooklyn faction of the Gambino family, Sammy Gravano was part of the group in 1985 that conspired to murder Gambino boss Paul Castellano.
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Sammy Gravano played a key role in planning and executing Castellano's murder, along with John Gotti, Angelo Ruggiero, Frank DeCicco, and Joseph Armone.
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In 1991, Sammy 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 Sammy Gravano on a wiretap that implicated them both in several murders.
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At the time, Sammy Gravano was among the highest-ranking members of the Five Families, but broke his blood oath and cooperated with the government.
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Sammy Gravano was released early and entered the US federal Witness Protection Program in Colorado, but left the program in 1995 after eight months and moved to Arizona with his family.
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In 1997, Sammy Gravano was consulted several times for the biographical book about his life, Underboss, by author Peter Maas.
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In 2002, Sammy Gravano was sentenced in New York to twenty years in prison.
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Additionally, Sammy Gravano was sentenced to lifetime supervised release and a $100,000 fine.
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Salvatore Sammy Gravano was born on March 12,1945, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, to Giorlando "Gerry" and Caterina "Kay" Sammy Gravano.
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Sammy Gravano was the youngest of five children, having two older sisters and two siblings who died before he was born.
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Sammy Gravano's mother, Caterina, born in 1906, arrived in the United States as a young girl from Puglia, Italy.
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Sammy Gravano's father Giorlando, born in 1901, arrived in the US after jumping ship in Canada and, with help from his older brother Alphonsio Gravano, was smuggled into the US illegally; Alphonsio was already an established bootlegger during prohibition and made member of the Sicilian mafia.
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Sammy Gravano's booze made its way into the city to the Fulton Fish Market and then sold to the NY speakeasies.
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Later, Sammy Gravano's parents ran a small dress factory, his mother being a talented seamstress.
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At age 13, Sammy Gravano joined the Rampers, a prominent street gang in Bensonhurst.
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Sammy Gravano found that some older children had stolen his bicycle and went to fight the thieves.
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Sammy Gravano had dyslexia, was bullied, and did poorly in school.
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Sammy Gravano was held back from grade advancement on two occasions, the 4th and 7th grades, and punched school officials on two occasions.
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Sammy Gravano was eventually sent to a school for "incorrigibles" ; however, just before he reached the age of 16, the school refused to keep him any longer and his parents signed him out of school.
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Sammy Gravano's father tried to redirect and discipline his son, including forcing him to attend Mass, but had little success.
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In 1964, Sammy Gravano was drafted into the United States Army and served in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
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Sammy Gravano rose to the rank of corporal and was granted an honorable discharge after two years.
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In 1971, Sammy Gravano married Debra Scibetta; they had two children.
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Later in his mob career, Sammy Gravano was ordered to arrange the murder of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Scibetta.
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Sammy Gravano was a childhood friend of Colombo crime family associate Gerard Pappa, who was the leader of The Rampers.
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Sammy Gravano first became associated with La Cosa Nostra in 1968 through his friend Tommy Spero, whose Uncle Shorty Spero was an associate of the Colombo family under future boss, Carmine "The Snake" Persico.
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Sammy Gravano was initially involved in crimes such as larceny, hijacking, and armed robbery.
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Sammy Gravano quickly moved into racketeering, loansharking, and running a lucrative poker game in the back room of an after-hours club, of which he was part owner.
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Sammy Gravano became a particular favorite of family boss Carmine Persico, who used Sammy Gravano to picket the FBI Manhattan headquarters as part of Joe Columbo's Italian-American Civil Rights League initiative.
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Sammy Gravano's rise was so sudden that it was generally understood that he would be among the first to become made when the Cosa Nostra's membership books were reopened.
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Later in life, Sammy Gravano became a mentor to Colucci's son Jack, who became involved in the construction industry as a Gambino associate.
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Jack did not know Sammy Gravano had murdered his father until 25 years after the incident.
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Ralph Spero used this rumor in an attempt to gain support to have Sammy Gravano killed, or as an excuse to kill Sammy Gravano himself.
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Now with the Gambinos, Sammy Gravano became an associate of capo Salvatore "Toddo" Aurello.
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Aurello quickly took a liking to Sammy Gravano and became his mob mentor.
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Around this time, Sammy Gravano took a construction job.
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Sammy Gravano quit his construction job and went on a self-described "robbing rampage" for a year and a half alongside his associate Alexander "Allie Boy" Cuomo.
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In 1976, Sammy Gravano was formally initiated into the Gambino family as a made man, along with Toddo's son, Charlie Boy Aurello.
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However, Sammy Gravano was eventually calmed by DeCicco and accepted Scibetta's death as the punishment earned by his behavior.
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Sammy Gravano later opened an afterhours club in Bensonhurst, called The Bus Stop.
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Sammy Gravano then went to Castellano and received permission to "kill them all".
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Castellano was flabbergasted when he learned the crutch-ridden Sammy Gravano personally took part in the hit.
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Sammy Gravano entered into the plumbing and drywall business with his brother-in-law, Edward Garafola.
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Sammy Gravano invested in trotting horses to race at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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Sammy Gravano became the operator of a popular discotheque, The Plaza Suite in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn.
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Sammy Gravano reportedly made $4,000 a week from the Plaza Suite.
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Sammy Gravano owned the building and used the bottom level as his business headquarters.
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Sammy Gravano further proved himself to Castellano when he interceded in a civil war that had erupted within the Philadelphia crime family.
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Sammy Gravano then granted Simone's requests to die with his shoes off, in fulfillment of a promise he had made to his wife, and at the hands of a made man.
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Sammy Gravano later expressed admiration for Simone as a so-called "man's man", remarking favorably on the calmness with which he accepted his fate.
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Two days after the party, Sammy Gravano accepted a $1,000,000 offer from Fiala to buy the establishment, which was much higher than the property value.
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Later, after leaving the Plaza Suite, Sammy Gravano called Garafola and set up an ambush outside the club, involving Garafola, Milito, D'Angelo, Nicholas Mormando, Michael DeBatt, Thomas Carbonara and Johnny Holmes in the plan.
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Sammy Gravano was never charged for the crime; he had made a $5,000 payoff to the later discredited and disgraced New York Police Department homicide detective Louis Eppolito to ensure the investigation yielded no leads.
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Castellano had been given the details of what Fiala had done, but he was still livid that Sammy Gravano had not come to him first for permission to kill Fiala.
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Sammy Gravano was spared execution when he convinced Castellano that the reason he had kept him in the dark was to protect the boss in case something went wrong with the hit.
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Sammy Gravano was represented by Gerald Shargel and was acquitted at trial.
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Sammy Gravano eventually became embroiled in a dispute with business partner Louie DiBono, a member of another Gambino crew.
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Sammy Gravano excused the attorney and accountant and, once alone with DiBono, banged him around the room because of the scam.
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Sammy Gravano's standing with his boss slipped as a result of the incident.
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Sammy Gravano was initially noncommittal, wanting to confer first with Frank DeCicco.
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DeCicco argued that Gotti's boldness, intelligence, and charisma made him well-suited to be "a good boss" and he convinced Sammy Gravano to give Gotti a chance.
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DeCicco and Sammy Gravano made a secret pact to kill Gotti and take over the family as boss and underboss, respectively, if they were unhappy with Gotti's leadership after one year.
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At Gotti's suggestion, the shooters wore long white trench coats and black fur Russian hats, which Sammy Gravano considered a "brilliant" idea.
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Gotti and Sammy Gravano arrived at the restaurant shortly before 5 o'clock and, after circling the block, parked their car across the intersection and within view of the entrance.
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Around 5:30, Sammy Gravano spotted Castellano's Lincoln Town Car at a nearby intersection and, via walkie talkie, alerted the team of hitmen stationed outside the restaurant of Castellano's approach.
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The first person on Sammy Gravano's hit list after Castellano's murder was Nicholas "Nicky Cowboy" Mormando, a former member of his crew.
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Mormando had become addicted to crack cocaine and was suspected by Sammy Gravano of getting friend and fellow crew member Michael DeBatt addicted to the drug.
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Sammy Gravano decided because of Nicky's reckless behavior, including getting DeBatt addicted to crack, he would get permission from Gotti to kill Mormando.
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Sammy Gravano arranged to have Mormando murdered on his way to a meeting at Sammy Gravano's Bensonhurst restaurant, Tali's.
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Sammy Gravano relied heavily on Gravano, Angelo Ruggiero, and Joseph "Piney" Armone to manage the family's day-to-day affairs while he called the major shots from his jail cell.
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Sammy Gravano was friendly with DiBernardo and tried to get the murder called off until he had a chance to speak with Gotti after his trial.
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Sammy Gravano met with Joseph Piney where Piney explained Gotti wanted DiBernardo dead.
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Gotti's attempt at reconciliation with Sammy Gravano failed, leaving Sammy Gravano disillusioned with the mob and doubtful on his chances of winning his case without Shargel, his former attorney.
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Sammy Gravano ultimately opted to turn state's evidence, formally agreeing to testify on November 13,1991.
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Sammy Gravano was the first member of the hierarchy of a New York crime family to turn informer, and the second confessed underboss in the history of the American Mafia to do so after the Philadelphia crime family's Phil Leonetti.
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Sammy Gravano confessed to 19 murders, implicating Gotti in four of them.
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However, since Sammy Gravano had already served four years, the sentence amounted to less than one year.
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Apart from the Gambino family, Sammy Gravano testified against Colombo crime family acting boss Vic Orena and consigliere Benedetto Aloi, Genovese crime family underboss Venero Mangano, and DeCavalcante crime family boss Giovanni Riggi.
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Later in 1994, Sammy Gravano was released early and entered the US federal Witness Protection Program.
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The government moved him to various locations until Sammy Gravano left the program in 1995 after only 8 months and moved to Phoenix, AZ, where he assumed the name Jimmy Moran and started a swimming pool installation company.
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Sammy Gravano began living openly, giving interviews to magazines, and appearing in a nationally televised interview with television journalist Diane Sawyer.
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In 1997, Sammy Gravano was consulted several times for the 1997 biographical book about his life, Underboss, by author Peter Maas.
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Sammy Gravano finally realized that the Cosa Nostra code of honor was a sham.
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At that time, Sammy Gravano hired a publicist, despite the fact Sammy Gravano complained often about the publicity-seeking Gotti.
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Sammy Gravano later said that he did not want The Republic to publish the story, but relented after the paper allegedly threatened to reveal that his family was living with him in Phoenix.
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Sammy Gravano started a major ecstasy trafficking organization, selling over 30,000 tablets and reportedly grossing $500,000 a week.
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Sammy Gravano was implicated by informants in his own drug ring, as well as by recorded conversations in which he discussed drug profits with Debra and Karen.
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On May 25,2001, Sammy Gravano pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to drug trafficking charges.
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On June 29,2001, Sammy Gravano pleaded guilty in Phoenix to the state charges.
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In 2002, Sammy Gravano was diagnosed with Graves' disease, a thyroid disorder that can cause fatigue, weight loss with increased appetite, and hair loss.
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On September 7,2002, after numerous delays, Sammy Gravano was sentenced in New York to 20 years in prison.
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Sammy Gravano served his sentence at ADX Florence, part of it being in solitary confinement.
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Gerard Sammy Gravano received nine years in prison in October 2002.
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Debra and Karen Sammy Gravano pleaded guilty and received several years on probation.
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The charges against Sammy Gravano were dropped after Kuklinski's death in 2006.
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Sammy Gravano was listed as being in the Arizona state prison system, at a CO Special Services unit.
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Sammy Gravano was initially scheduled for release in March 2019; however, he was released on September 18,2017.
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In December 2020, Sammy Gravano started a YouTube channel and a podcast titled Our Thing.