31 Facts About Thomas Bilotti

Thomas "Tommy" Bilotti was an American mobster who briefly served as underboss of the Gambino crime family in New York City.

The son of Italian immigrants Lillian and Anthony Thomas Bilotti, he was born on the Staten Island borough of New York City.

Thomas Bilotti later became a criminal associate of John's brothers Alexander "Pope" D'Alessio and Michael "Mikey D" D'Alessio.

Thomas Bilotti spent time as the chauffeur and bodyguard of Alexander "The Ox" DeBrizzi, an uncle of the D'Alessio brothers who controlled the Staten Island waterfront for the Gambino crime family.

Thomas Bilotti became an integral member of the D'Alessio crew and was involved in labor racketeering, extortion and loansharking.

In 1969, Thomas Bilotti was arrested on Staten Island on a felony charge of possessing stolen property.

In one incident, Thomas Bilotti assaulted Colombo crime family associate Robert Pate.

Thomas Bilotti had no tact, no charm, no sense of humor.

Thomas Bilotti had a big mouth, and his piggish eyes were too close together.

Thomas Bilotti was a reputed hitman for the D'Alessio crew, and was allegedly involved in at least eleven murders.

Bilotti was a resident of 33 Kensington Avenue on Staten Island in April 1970, when he and an accomplice, Thomas Papanier, were observed discarding firearms and arrested following a shooting in Jamesburg, New Jersey.

Thomas Bilotti then agreed to meet with D'Alessio at the Wild Acres bar in Dingmans Ferry, near D'Alessio's summer home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, on September 2,1971.

Thomas Bilotti had a severely autistic son who had been institutionalized since childhood, and although Bilotti visited the boy regularly, he rarely spoke of him.

Thomas Bilotti was best man at the wedding of actor Gianni Russo, a fellow native of Staten Island.

Thomas Bilotti served as Castellano's primary chauffeur, bodyguard and enforcer.

Thomas Bilotti's self-esteem derived from adoration of the master, and he could afford to be well-behaved.

Problems occurred when Thomas Bilotti was sent on errands of his own.

Thomas Bilotti tried to play the big shot; he overdid things.

In one incident, Thomas Bilotti entered a Staten Island bar armed with a baseball bat to collect an interest payment from the owner, who was still recovering and trying to pay medical bills from a beating sustained weeks earlier.

Thomas Bilotti's voice got louder and louder, he made less and less sense.

Thomas Bilotti was inducted as a "made" member of the family in October 1977, and his older brother Joseph followed suit in 1980.

When Castellano moved into a custom built palatial mansion at 177 Benedict Road atop Staten Island's Todt Hill in 1980, Thomas Bilotti moved into a less ostentatious home nearby.

Thomas Bilotti was a regular visitor and dinner guest at Castellano's mansion and was considered a close family friend.

However, when Castellano started an affair with his live-in maid Gloria Olarte, Thomas Bilotti kept it secret from Castellano's wife Nina.

Thomas Bilotti obtained more than $2 million in subcontracts on city and Transit Authority construction projects between 1984 and 1986 alone.

Paul's son Philip Castellano was installed as president of Scara-Mix, and Thomas Bilotti served as the company's vice president, overseeing day-to-day activities on various construction projects in New York City and New Jersey in which the Gambino crime family had an interest.

Thomas Bilotti was heavily involved in the Steam Fitters Local 638 of the Plumbers Union that was represented by George Daly, an associate who belonged to Bilotti's crew.

Thomas Bilotti is buried fifty yards away from Castellano in the Moravian Cemetery of New Dorp, Staten Island.

Five years after Castellano's murder, Gotti was arrested by the FBI in late 1990 on racketeering and denied bail 10 days with the help of Gravano becoming a government witness, Gotti was convicted of numerous racketeering charges, including the 1985 Castellano and Thomas Bilotti Gotti was sentenced to life in federal where he died of throat cancer a decade later.

Thomas Bilotti is portrayed by Richard Foronjy in the TV movie Boss of Bosses, Ron Gabriel in the 1996 made-for-TV movie Gotti, and Jerry Grayson in the NBC network TV movie Witness to the Mob.

Thomas Bilotti was portrayed by an uncredited actor in the biopic 2018 Gotti.