John Gotti - the Last Don
Our tour of SoHo/NoHo takes you past the Ravenite Social Club - headquarters of the famous 80's mafia Don John Gotti. In 1986, Gotti organized the assassination of Paul Castellano and took over leadership of the Gambino crime family. The audacity of the crime - which occurred right outside Spark's Steakhouse on 46th St - together with his love of the limelight, made Gotti an instant celebrity.

Always smiling (see photo), The Dapper Don - so named for his $2000 suits - drove the authorities crazy. After defeating prosecutors in federal court for the third time in five years, they changed his nickname to The Teflon Don.

But eventually, in an apartment above the Ravenite, the FBI caught him on tape giving orders to his lieutenants “Frankie Loc” LoCascio and “Sammy the Bull” Gravano. Gravano then testified against Gotti about the murders they'd carried out, and Gotti got life without parole. In 2002, Gotti died of cancer in prison.

Mafia in America

During the glory days of Prohibition, organized crime in New York consolidated under two men - Joe ‘The Boss' Maseria and Salvatore Maranzano. Both were Sicilian, and they lost no time in transplanting their criminal organizations here on virgin shores. Given the influx of Southern Italian and Sicilian immigrants to the US during those years, it was easy to find recruits.

All the future mob leaders of the 40's, 50's, and 60's were already in place by the mid-20's - Charlie ‘Lucky' Lucciano, Bugsy Siegal, Meyer Lansky, Joe ‘Bananas' Bonano, Carlo Gambino, Vito Genovese. These men were all part of a legendary generation of mobsters.

In 1928, the Castellammarese War erupted between the forces of Maseria and Maranzano. It would prove to be the seminal event in the history of the America mafia. Dozens of assassinations were carried out all over the five boroughs of New York. In 1931, first Maseria and then Maranzano would be killed by their own lieutenants, and the era of the five families would begin.

Both Maseria and Maranzano had sought to become the boss of all bosses - il capo di tutti capi. But the revolt of their Young Turk lieutenants left power in many hands, so it was decided to form a Commission to peacefully regulate the activities of the separate parties. The Commission even had an executive branch called Murder, Inc., that carried out executions for the benefit of all.

By the end of the 30's, representation in the Commission had been reduced to five seats - one for each of the five families who carried the names of their founders: Gambino, Genovese, Luchese, Bonano and Colombo. For the next 50 years, these organizations would oversee organized crime in America.