John Gotti Dead
‘Teflon Don’ Dies of Cancer at Age 61

June 10, 2002

John Gotti, imprisoned head of the once-powerful Gambino crime family, died today of complications from head and neck cancer. Gotti was 61.

Federal law enforcement sources said Gotti died at around 12:45 pm ET. Gotti, once considered the No. 1 gangster in America, was dubbed the "Dapper Don" because of his penchant for $2,000 tailored suits.

Gotti took over the Gambino crime family on Dec. 16, 1985, with a burst of gunfire when he ordered the murder of the family's old boss, Paul Castellano. Gotti's henchmen gunned down Castellano and a bodyguard on a busy New York City street.

Eventually known as the "Teflon Don" for his repeated ability to evade criminal convictions, Gotti looked, sounded, and dressed like a gangster out of a movie — a modern-day Al Capone.

In 1992, after a seven-year FBI investigation, Gotti was convicted of murder, racketeering and conspiracy, and sentenced to life in prison. The racketeering case alleged five murders — including that of Castellano — and relied on the testimony of Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, then Gotti's right-hand man.

Since then he has spent most of his time in solitary confinement in a federal penitentiary in Marion, Ill., one of the nation's toughest, most secure prisons.

A longtime family friend reportedly said Gotti was transferred from the maximum-security prison to a hospital in Springfield, Mo., on Jan. 31, 2002, to be treated for cancer. Gotti has been hospitalized in recent months because of complications from his illness.

Gotti had a malignant tumor removed from the back of his throat in 1998.

Junior Takes Over

Gotti grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. He quit school to devote himself to the Mafia life when he was 16 years old. In 1962, when Gotti was 22, he married Vicky DiGorgio, and they had five children together.

After Gotti was sentenced to jail in 1992, authorities said his son, John A. "Junior" Gotti, took over as acting boss of the once-mighty Gambino family.

The younger Gotti earned a reputation as a mediocre mob leader — one tabloid dubbed him "Dumbfella." Young Gotti was sentenced in September 1999 to more than six years for racketeering and other mob crimes committed in the years after replacing his father.

Bruce Cutler, Gotti's long-time lawyer, called the mob boss a man "of pride, principle and dignity" in a 1999 interview with ABCNEWS' 20/20.

"John Gotti always made it a point of proclaiming that he was his own man, and I think a lot of people find a very appealing message in there," Cutler said.

With Gotti's death, law enforcement authorities will wonder who will take over his role as leader of the Gambino crime family. Experts say a mob boss remains the boss until he either dies or officially steps down. Gotti never officially stepped down.

"With the passing of John Gotti, authorities are watching closely to see who will take over as boss of the Gambino crime family," said ABCNEWS' John Miller, who has long followed Gotti's life and career. "It will likely be someone who chooses to take a much lower profile."

John Gotti's death comes a week after his older brother Peter, who allegedly assumed the leadership role in the family, was arrested on racketeering charges.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/gotti_obit.html