John Gotti

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PURGE

The Bureau's extensive wiretapping activities gave unique insight into Gotti the executive as he purged what he considered undesirables from his organization. Gotti was pretty direct and decisive when it came to people that he didn't like or didn't trust.

One of the early ones was Robert DiBernardo, a member of Gotti's conspiracy to kill Paul Castellano. DiBernardo's crime was that he bad-mouthed Gotti while the Boss was in jail after his bail was revoked in the Giacalone federal case. DiBernardo was also a very rich man with extremely profitable businesses. Gotti wanted the wealth for himself as well as control of the businesses.

Gotti's order to "whack" DiBernardo was given to Angelo Ruggiero who then shared it with Sammy the Bull. At first, Sammy was reluctant since DiBernardo was a long-time friend, but when he realized that Gotti wouldn't change his mind, Sammy handled the execution.

Sammy invited his friend over to his place on Stillwell Avenue after work and they sat in Sammy's basement office. Joe Paruta, an elderly soldier, was told to serve the coffee to the two capos, so he went over to the coffee machine. The old man picked up a revolver and shot DiBernardo in the back of the head.

Somewhat later, one of the Gambino family soldiers was convicted of a crime that carried with it the potential for a long jail sentence. Strangely enough, the sentence was extremely light. Gotti interpreted the light sentence as cooperation with the government so the man was shot full of holes.

Badmouthing the Boss was a very dangerous thing to do in Gotti's "family." Negative comments coming from a dangerous man like Louie Milito could lead to action which could threaten Gotti. Sammy urged Gotti to get rid of Milito, despite the fact that Gravano and Milito had been friends since childhood. Sammy organized the hit, but Johnny Carneglia, one of the soldiers, carried it out.

As the Chief Executive Officer of this vast criminal enterprise, Gotti was very well compensated. The government estimated that his tax-free income was somewhere around $10 million a year, but could be as high as $20 million.

The downside to Gotti was that as far as the IRS was concerned, Gotti was still only making less than $100,000 a year in his "job" as a salesman for plumbing supplies. So no big houses, nothing spent that couldn't be easily explained to the IRS agents who watched his finances like hawks. There were a few extravagances, such as a speedboat and a vacation home, but nothing inconsistent with his "legitimate" income.

Even though Gotti had beaten three indictments in a row, there was always the threat of another indictment and possible conviction. He was particularly concerned that the government was building a case to indict him for the murder of Paul Castellano. From a worst case perspective, he could still be the Boss from jail, but the fortunes of the Gambino family would then rest in the hands of whoever he had running the day-to-day business.

The best man for the job was Sammy Gravano who had demonstrated time and again his expertise in running both criminal and legitimate enterprises. As much as what he perceived as Sammy's greed and manipulation angered Gotti, he made a swift decision. "This is my wishes," he told Gravano and Frank Locascio, "that if I'm in the fuckin' can, this Family is going to be run by Sammy. I'm still the Boss. If I get fifty years, I know what I got to do. But when I'm in the can, Sammy's in charge." Locascio was made consigliere.