Mob bosses fear for their livelihoods after the younger brother of New York crime boss John Gotti was released from prison after a 29-year stint for heroin trafficking.
Gene Gotti has served just over half of a 50-year-long sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Louisiana for running a multi-million-dollar heroin distribution ring.
Now aged 71, a picture published this week by the New York Post depicts a portly, balding man with snow-white hair in a plain, baggy white t-shirt – a far cry from his court appearances during the 1980s, when he had dark hair and wore sharp-looking suits.
On May 9, 1988, American mobster Gene Gotti, brother of John Gotti, arrives for his own multi-million drug ring heroin trial at federal court, New York City. He was later convicted
Gene Gotti, the younger brother of legendary New York crime boss, John Gotti, has been released from prison after serving just 29 years of his 50-year-long sentence for heroin trafficking. Above is a file photo of him, before he was sent to jail in 1989
Seen outside his Valley Stream, Long Island home in New York, the Post reports that the mob is worried about how his release will impact upon their rackets.
Law enforcement sources told the New York Post that Gene Gotti was entitled to take on a role in the Gambino family, which is now led by Domenico Cefalu, while its ‘street boss’ is Frank Cali.
The paper was told that his release from jail could bring additional scrutiny of the Gambino activities.
Gene (left) and older brother John (right) ‘Dapper Don’ Gotti, who died in 2002 from cancer
Gene (right), who is now 71, is pictured above leaving the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in New York in 1987, two years before he was sentenced to 50 years in prison
The official said: ‘The Gambinos are running smoothly – gambling, pills, construction unions etc. The last thing they want is someone to put them back in papers and on TV.’
‘Everyone hopes he will be low-key and just make a living, but that is very un-Gotti-like.’
According to a story published by New York Daily News over a decade ago, many Gambinos visited Gene Gotti during his incarceration. In March 2007, Gambino capo Salvatore (Fat Sal) Scala was convicted of paying mob tribute to him in prison.
Back then, a source told the paper: ‘Gene is still treated with considerable respect, and is carried as an unofficial “consigliere” [advisor to the boss]’ of the Gambino crime family.
Gene’s infamous brother, John Gotti, was born in South Bronx in 1940, and went on to become the ruthless boss of the New York-based Gambino crime family.
Nicknamed ‘Teflon Don’ because he beat various state charges, he was also dubbed ‘Dapper Don’ for his perfectly tailored suits and flawless hair.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 1992 on charges including murder and racketeering, but died of cancer in 2002.
In 1989, Gene Gotti was ordered behind bars for 50 years for running a multi-million dollar heroin distribution ring.
A few years prior to his sentencing, FBI bugs captured Gene discussing his family’s dealings in drugs and hiding illegal cash, where he described his older brother as a ‘powerhouse captain’.
Those recordings led to the apprehension of Gene and some of his mob associates in 1983.
Two years later, his brother John rose in the ranks and took over after ordering the December 16, 1985, mob assassination of predecessor ‘Big Paul’ Castellano. The hit was said to be Dapper Don’s attempt to save his brother’s life.
The Gotti family – and the life of the Don himself – has recently become the focus of a new biopic, with John Travolta starring as the crime boss. The film pays particular attention to the family relationships among those with the infamous Gotti name.