Summary
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The Netflix documentary
Get Gotti
reveals new insights into the seedy world of organized crime and John Gotti’s rise to power, thanks to first-hand accounts from key figures. - The FBI and the OCTF were aware of Gotti’s involvement in murders but couldn’t prove it due to lack of evidence and threats faced by informants.
- Gotti broke mob rules by orchestrating the murder of Paul Castellano and violating the mafia’s protocol, which showed his boldness and disregard for tradition. The FBI and the OCTF eventually joined forces to bring him down.
The Netflix documentary Get Gotti reveals several fascinating facts about the seedy world of organized crime and John Gotti in particular. The series focuses on the former Gambino family boss, whose charm and ability to evade capture led to his meteoric rise in pop culture during the ’80s and early ’90s. After the suspicious murder of former Gambino boss Paul Castellano, John Gotti piqued the interest of the federal government, which aimed to take him down for his numerous crimes, including murder and racketeering. However, Gotti proved to be one step ahead at almost every turn, somehow escaping all attempts to convict him of criminal activity.
Although John Gotti’s story is fairly recent in history, Get Gotti is able to provide audiences with several new insights into his case. This is largely due to the documentary’s high volume of first-hand accounts from important figures who were involved in Gotti’s rise and downfall. From Gambino family associates to former FBI agents who worked tirelessly to take him down, Get Gotti not only has huge reveals about the criminal mastermind but also of the inner machinations of organized crime as a whole.
7 The FBI & OCTF Knew John Gotti Was Involved In Paul Castellano’s Murder Early (But Couldn’t Prove It)
A huge reveal in Netflix’s Get Gotti documentary is that both the FBI and the Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) had knowledge of his involvement in Paul Castellano’s murder. Before Gotti rose to prominence as the new boss of the Gambino family, the FBI had multiple informants who confirmed he was behind the shocking murders of former boss Paul Castellano and underboss Tony Bilotti. However, due to the personal and physical threats that could be incurred, their informants couldn’t testify about Gotti’s involvement or the identities of the shooters. Therefore, while the FBI knew Gotti was behind the murders, they couldn’t prove it.
The OCTF faced a similar conundrum as the FBI when it came to John Gotti’s involvement in the Castellano/Bilotti homicides. Rather than using informants, the OCTF had bugged Gotti’s center of operations, the Bergin Hunt & Fish Club. While the OCTF was able to catch several conversations that alluded to Gotti’s crimes, the tapes weren’t concrete enough to build a case yet. Both the FBI and OCTF having knowledge of Gotti’s masterminding of the Castellano/Bilotti murders yet not being able to prove it are an early example of Gotti always being one step ahead of the government.
6 John Gotti Reached Celebrity Status As “The Dapper Don”
After John Gotti’s earliest acquittals, the mob boss not only captured the public’s fascination but rose to a quasi-celebrity status as “The Dapper Don.” He was a frequent subject in the media and even appeared in magazines like Time, but perhaps the documentary’s most shocking reveal about this time in Gotti’s life is that his heightened status also attracted other more traditional celebrities as well. According to former Gambino crime family member Anthony Ruggiano Jr., huge celebrities like Andy Warhol, David Bowie, and Brooke Shields all hung out with the Gambino family. The fact that A-list celebrities were willing to associate with the mob demonstrates how untouchable Gotti was.
5 John Gotti Broke Mob Rules With His Crimes
Some of the most fascinating reveals in Netflix’s Get Gotti are not just about John Gotti’s crimes, but the inner workings of the mob itself. Former mob associates like Anthony Ruggiano Jr. and Andrea Giovino reveal that not only did Gotti make a habit of breaking the law, but he also broke some mob rules as well. Perhaps the biggest mob rule that Gotti broke was with his orchestrated murder of Paul Castellano. While it wasn’t against the rules to murder a boss, the murder had to be approved by the mob’s Commission. Castellano’s murder was unauthorized, which is what made his death and Gotti’s rise so shocking and suspicious.
Another, albeit lesser, mob rule that John Gotti broke occurred when he murdered Wilfred “Willie Boy” Johnson after the latter was exposed as an informant in one of Gotti’s criminal trials. Willie Boy was murdered in his own front yard, which was against the mob’s rules, which considered doing such a thing an insult to a person’s wife and children. With that context in mind, the circumstances of Willie Boy’s killing suggest the contempt Gotti held for his actions. Additionally, Gotti’s willingness to break mob rules shows an early example of the brazen nature that would later be the downfall of “The Teflon Don.”
4 The OCTF & The FBI Were Competing To Take Down John Gotti
Both the OCTF and the FBI agreed that John Gotti’s dangerous criminal acts made arresting him a priority, but Get Gotti reveals that they didn’t always agree on who should do so. According to the Netflix documentary, the two organizations competed over who would “get the glory” of taking down Gotti. This resulted in both groups withholding information, such as the OCTF charging Gotti with the O’Connor shooting without the FBI’s knowledge or the FBI not sharing information that could be vital to the OCTF’s trial. Gotti was aware both organizations were fighting to take him down, which likely made it easier for him to evade them for longer.
3 The FBI Had Unique Ways Of Getting Gotti To Share Info
In Get Gotti, members of the FBI and the OCTF discuss their usage of bugs to gain evidence of John Gotti’s crimes, but the FBI in particular had some unique tactics for doing so. In an attempt to get Gotti to talk about Paul Castellano, the FBI got America’s Most Wanted to do an episode on Castellano’s murder. While the unorthodox tactic was desperate, the plan worked, prompting figures like Gotti and Sammy Gravano to openly discuss Castellano and their hatred of him on the show. By employing such an out-of-the-box method, the FBI was able to obtain a clear motive for Castellano’s murder in Gotti’s own words.
2 John Gotti Had A History Of Rigging His Criminal Trials
One of Get Gotti’s huge reveals was that John Gotti was able to evade “guilty” verdicts for so long due to him rigging his own trials. Whether it was through physically intimidating Romual Piecyk to the point that he refused to identify Gotti in court as the person who assaulted him or by compromising jurors, Gotti had ways of ensuring trials would go in his favor. In light of these dirty tactics that Gotti employed in the courtroom along with his ruthless lawyer, it’s no wonder that the Gambino family boss was able to evade conviction for so long, even though he was being tried for crimes he demonstrably committed.
1 The FBI & OCTF Eventually Joined Forces To Take Down John Gotti
Get Gotti reveals that despite their rivalry over who would get the glory of convicting John Gotti, the FBI and the OCTF were able to finally take him down by joining forces. After the FBI obtained enough evidence to build a case against John Gotti, they eventually teamed up with the OCTF to get even more. Using information from both the organizations’ recorded tapes, the FBI was able to show proof of Gotti’s crimes that were stronger than either the FBI or OCTF’s individual cases. After Sammy Gravano turned on Gotti and became an informant, the FBI’s case against him was irrefutable, leading to the boss’s downfall.
