John Gotti

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SAMMY THE BULL

While John Gotti was climbing up the ranks in Neil's branch of the Gambino family, Sammy Gravano was distinguishing himself in Paul's branch. In many ways his life was similar to Gotti's and other ways quite different.

Sammy was born in the mid-1940's to Gerardo and Katarina Gravano of Brooklyn. Unlike Gotti, he was not born into poverty. His father owned a dress factory and made a good living for his family. They had solid middle class expectations for him and invested some attention and discipline in him. Unfortunately, Sammy did not rise to their expectations and did poorly at school. They did not understand it at the time, but Sammy suffered from dyslexia, which made schoolwork difficult for him. School was also an ordeal for him because he was small in stature and couldn't hold his own with the kids his age. After Sammy failed eighth grade, he was sent to a special school for kids with learning problems, but he didn't like it and dropped out of school the next year.

A youthful Sammy Gravano.

He started to hang around with the wrong friends and got into trouble. Stealing turned into car theft and finally into armed robbery and he was only sixteen. Finally he did get caught and had the choice of going to the Army or going to jail. He took the Army.

For two years he stayed out of trouble and was honorably discharged from the Army. He was fortunate to have never been sent over to Vietnam. He went to work in the construction trades with his brother-in-law Edward Garafola.

You couldn't stay alive being a criminal in Brooklyn without mob connections, so when Sammy decided to concentrate less on construction and more on robbery, he had to get himself "mobbed up." A buddy of his got him into a gang of burglars headed by a man named Shorty with associations to the Colombo crime family.

By that time, Sammy wasn't the lightweight that he had been in school. While only 5 feet 5 inches tall, he built up his body with weights and steroids. He was a strong man now, strong as a bull.

Shorty asked Sammy for a favor. He wanted Sammy to kill an enemy of his. Sammy said yes and did it competently and professionally. This got him some attention from the big guys in the family.

At this point in his life he married Debra Scibetta. Unlike the Gotti's, they got along well and produced two children. But then, Sammy was not a man to go out gambling, drinking and looking for girls every night. He was a family man. Because of the jealousy of one of the members of the Colombo family, Sammy was released from that family to go to work for Salvatore Toddo Aurello, a capo (boss) in the Gambino family. This was a lucky move for Sammy because Toddo made Sammy his protege, much like Neil Dellacroce did for Gotti. Through Toddo, Sammy was able to cultivate another important boss, Frank DeCicco, a clever man who was one of the few who could stay on good terms with both the Neil side of the family and the Paul side.

Sammy and Debra with daughter Karen and son Gerard.

Sammy also met John Gotti who was very different in style to Sammy. Gotti dressed flamboyantly in very expensive suits with elaborate silk ties, while Sammy was comfortable in jeans and a leather jacket. Gotti was loud and overbearing, Sammy was just the opposite.

Sammy was becoming distinguished by his earning ability. He used the money he made in one enterprise to invest in other businesses. He quietly owned interests in nightclubs, restaurants and bars, as well as construction companies. In 1977, he was finally "made," the term used for formal induction into the Cosa Nostra.

Sammy was tested when he was told about the impending murder of his brother-in-law Nicky Scibetta for dealing and taking drugs. When they found parts of Nicky's dismembered body in a dumpster, Sammy went through all of the proper motions of an aggrieved brother-in-law. Practiced in deceit, he went to Nicky's wake, funeral and burial and mourned with his wife the loss of her brother.

By 1983, Sammy's careful investments and ability to play by Cosa Nostra rules made him into one of Paul's most powerful men. He was in fact essentially running all of Toddo's operations on a daily basis and he was only 38 years old.