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Last Days of the Gotti Gang

PART ONE: THE TWO GODFATHERS VS. THE TWO LADIES

From the day he was born, he was raised by his father to be a murderer. Now, at age 40, John “Junior” Gotti sits
alone in a jail cell, awaiting trial for plotting the murder of a member of the Media who had the courage to denounce
his father’s evil ways.

In another jail cell in New York, Junior’s uncle Peter is being held, charged with, among other crimes, plotting the
murder of Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, the turncoat former Underboss of the Gotti gang. Across the Hudson River in
New Jersey, Gravano sits alone in a jail cell, awaiting trial for plotting the murder of a New York City police officer.
Gravano’s son, whom he set up in a scheme that sold drugs to kids in four States, sits in his own jail cell somewhere
in an American prison.

Just a little over a decade ago, the Gotti gang ruled New York City with seeming impunity. Then, after years,
indeed decades of Federal ignorance of the American Mafia, the Feds began to utilize the RICO statutes that
significantly increase prison terms for those who commit crimes as part of a “racketeering enterprise.” The
hierarchies of all five New York Mafia families are now dead, in either prison, or members of the Witness Protection
Program. With John Gotti dead, brother Gene in prison for life for heroin trafficking, and the current and upcoming
prosecutions, it now appears that these are indeed the last days of the Gotti gang.

The Prosecutor who started this long and increasingly successful attack on the American Mafia was Rudolph
Giuliani. In the mid-1980s, Giuliani pressed two cases that would make Mafia history; the “Pizza Connection” case,
in which Mafia-run pizza parlors were used as fronts for the trafficking of heroin and other drugs, and the
“Commission Trial,” in which the Godfathers of all five of New York’s Mafia families were prosecuted. Paul
Castellano, then the Godfather of the Gambino Family, did not live to face the charges against him, as he was rubbed
out in 1985 in the infamous hit outside Spark’s Steak House in Manhattan. This murder put John Gotti firmly in
control of the Gambino Family and Gotti set into motion his plans to have his son someday take over as Gambino
Godfather. This, of course, meant that ‘Junior’ would have to become a ‘made member’ of the Gambino Family,
committing at least one murder for the Family along the way, but murder was something Gotti aspired for Junior
from the first moment he held his newborn son in his arms.

Efforts to convict John Gotti proved unsuccessful at first, but after Sammy Gravano ‘flipped’ and became a
member of the Witness Protection Program, the Feds at last were able to begin to bring down the Gotti gang. John
Gotti was put away for life in 1992. It was during that trial that Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa angered Gotti
and his supporters by speaking out against Gotti and the evil deeds committed by the Gambino Family. Thugs
believed to be associates of ‘Junior’ Gotti attacked Sliwa with baseball bats in April, 1992. Then, on the evening of
June 19, 1992, Sliwa was shot five times after hailing a cab highjacked by would-be assassins. Incredibly, Sliwa
survived and for years has claimed on his popular radio show that it was associates of Junior Gotti who was behind
his assassination attempt.

For years, the case went nowhere, but the Feds made progress in other cases. In 1998 Junior Gotti accepted a plea
bargain on charges of income tax evasion and racketeering that sent him away for 6 years. Junior’s Uncle Peter Gotti
then became acting Godfather, and was convicted of Union racketeering charges in 2003 in the Federal ‘On the
Waterfront’ trials in Brooklyn. Just as time was running out on his sentence, Junior Gotti was indicted earlier this
year on charges he ordered the hit on Sliwa, along with associated racketeering charges and other charges.

As the Summer came to a close, the saga of Junior Gotti took some bizarre turns. First came Media reports that
Junior had turned against his father, renounced organized crime, and was writing children’s books. While it’s possible
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that Junior is on the level - his sister Victoria is a best-selling author and he could just be following her example,
veteran Mafia observers are cynical. The new claims appear to some as just another ploy by Junior’s criminal lawyers
to perform a public makeover of their notorious client.

Before his first trial, Gotti’s lawyers floated the trial balloon that Junior couldn’t be the Acting Boss of an Italian
Mafia Family because he is half-Jewish, (from his mother), and Mafia rules preclude someone not full-blooded
Italian from serving as Godfather. That ploy didn’t work, and it should be noted here that traditional Mafia rules also
dictate that cops and members of the Media are not to be harmed by members of LCN. Many New Yorkers have
expressed their claim to be insulted by the notion that a New York jury could acquit a Gotti of ordering a murder
because he wrote children’s books. Some also find it highly unlikely that schoolchildren who are taught that our
country aspires to provide “Liberty and Justice for All” could also receive instruction from books authored by
someone with the Gotti surname.

Curtis Sliwa has been having a field day with these turns of events, launching satires of Junior’s children’s books
on his top-rated radio show, to the obvious delight of his large audience, while at the same time denouncing Gotti’s
“lawyers” as “liars for hire!” Gotti’s attorneys have responded by filing a Motion with the Judge in the case to impose
a gag order on Sliwa. The attorneys seem to be concerned that Sliwa’s daily rants is poisoning Gotti’s potential Jury
Pool, but their tactics may have backfired in two important ways:

First, there has been a backlash against them among many members of the Media in New York. Many journalists
in New York are not particularly fond of Sliwa, due to his right-of-center politics and crime-busting organization that
some see as being a group of vigilantes. However, no journalist believes a member of their own should ever be
constrained by a gag order; it is anathema to their very being and vocation, which they take very seriously as
watchdogs for American Constitutional rights. If Junior Gotti goes to trial it is going to be very difficult for his
lawyers to convince members of the news media to consider their claims that their client is innocent.

More importantly, Gotti’s attorneys may themselves have poisoned his jury pool by their tactics: almost every
citizen in New York knows who Curtis Sliwa and John Junior Gotti is; the latest revelations have been the talk of the
town, and what many New Yorker’s have noted is that Junior’s lawyers are attempting to do the very same thing that
Junior is on trial for; trying to silence a member of the Media, in this case Curtis Sliwa. These actions by Junior
Gotti’s attorneys, acting on his behalf, undoubtedly has convinced many that he is in fact guilty of the crimes he has
been charged with.

It is, of course, possible that Junior Gotti is innocent, and that it was his father, not he, who ordered the murder of
Curtis Sliwa. Will Gotti’s criminal attorneys mount a “Daddy Dearest” defense, attempting to blame these charges on
the sins of the father?

This remains to be seen, but before New Yorkers get a chance to see how a jury of peers reacts to the conflict
between children’s books and murder plots, the trial of Peter Gotti, now underway, will suffice to hold the attention
of those who follow the saga of the last days of the Gotti gang.

Epilogue:

In the end, Peter and Junior Gotti, both of whom were anointed by John Gotti to be acting Godfathers of one of New
York’s patriarchal Mafia families, must answer instead to two ladies, both of whom claim superceding authority over
them. One of these is a lady called ‘Liberty,’ whose beacon of Freedom shines from her proud stand in New York
harbor. The other is a lady who goes by the name of ‘Justice,’ and while she may be blind, she isn’t stupid

PART TWO: PETER GOTTI CONVICTED, JUNIOR AWAITS TRIAL

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The Holiday Season was a dark one for the brother and son of former Gambino Family Godfather John Gotti; brother
Peter was convicted on most of the Federal charges he was facing, which should send him to prison for the rest of his
life, while “Junior” Gotti’s attorneys failed in their attempt to spring him from prison on bail. Junior spent Christmas
alone in a jail cell. If Media reports are correct that Junior was inducted into the Mafia as a “Made member” some
years ago, Junior’s incarceration on Christmas Day was one consequence of a blood ritual Junior then participated in,
during which his soul was promised in a secret ceremony that invoked the Eternal flames of Hell. Induction into this
cult of Evil was an ambition planned for Junior by his father since the day he was born into this world.

Fellow participants in such blood rituals are now set to testify against Junior in his upcoming trial in which he
faces a variety of charges, including allegedly ordering the murder of talk show host Curtis Sliwa, an outspoken critic
of Junior’s father and their criminal enterprise. Sliwa has further enraged Junior’s criminal attorneys by blasting
Junior and the Gambinos on his top-rated radio show which he shares with criminal attorney Ron Kuby, who also
was the target of an alleged hit plot by former Gambino Family Underboss Sammy “The Bull” Gravano. Junior’s
lawyers have cried foul, attempting unsuccessfully to have a Federal Judge impose a gag order on Sliwa to prevent
his ‘poisoning’ of the jury pool in New York which will decide young Gotti’s fate. This ploy has backfired in the
minds of many New Yorkers, who are quick to observe that what Junior’s lawyers are attempting to do is the very
thing Junior is accused of; silencing Curtis Sliwa.

Lawyers for Junior’s co-defendant “Little Joey” D’Angelo have now filed a Motion with the Judge in this case to
have the trial moved out of New York, where, they claim, their client cannot get a fair trial because of the continued
public rantings of Sliwa. However, a more effective ploy on the part of D’Angelo’s lawyers might be to file a Motion
to have their trial severed from Junior’s, given that the actions of Junior’s lawyers has also had an impact on New
York’s jury pool, with Junior and his alleged ambition to give up a life of crime in order to write children’s books the
talk - and joke - of the town.

At the very heart of this case is something that is the quintessential experience of the American people; our
Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech. What Junior Gotti is charged with is far more serious than drug
trafficking, for no one places a gun to someone’s head and forces them to take drugs. Junior’s problems are far more
serious than operating an illegal gambling pool; no American has a gun pointed at their head and forced to gamble
away their family’s wages.

Lawyers in this case are probably right in their belief that the Defendants in this case cannot get a fair trial in New
York, but they may be in for a bit of a surprise if they succeed in getting a Change of Venue; are the citizens of
Nebraska, or Wyoming, or Kentucky, or any other State of the Union, any LESS supportive of our Constitutional
Rights to Freedom of Speech as are New Yorkers?

The attempt to silence Curtis Sliwa was not only an attack on every single American citizen and our way of life,
but a violation of American Mafia protocol as well, which dictates that members of the Media and law enforcement
are immune from retributions by members of organized crime. Someone violated these laws and now Justice must be
served. Was that person John Gotti, who showed his contempt for Mafia protocol by murdering his predecessor Paul
Castellano without consent from the Mafia’s ruling “Commission,” or was it his son Junior, whom, from the very
moment he was first held in his father’s arms, was raised to be a murdered?

PART THREE: "DIRTY DOZEN" TRIAL OF JUNIOR GOTTI BEGINS

It was a busy week for what remains of the Gambino Mafia Family formerly headed by Godfather John Gotti; for
one, the NBC affiliate in New York aired secret tapes of capo Greg DePalma blatantly bragging about life in the
Mob. De Palma and 31 Gambino Family members were indicted in March on charges involving assault, shaking
down businesses, loansharking, embezzlement of Union funds, illegal gambling, stolen property rings, counterfeit
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goods trafficking, and mail fraud. More recently, three New York area physicians were charged with supplying
DePalma with pills of the potency drug Viagra, which DePalma allegedly distributed to his partners in crime.

While DePalma and his co-horts were awaiting trial on these charges, former acting Boss Peter Gotti, John Gotti's
brother, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for plotting to murder turncoat Underboss Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.
Peter Gotti’s trial earlier this year was punctuated by his filing for divorce from his wife of four decades, an action
precipitated by the loyal support of his girlfriend, who tragically was found dead in a motel room, an alleged suicide.

Despite all of this drama, it was the beginning of the trial of John Gotti’s son "Junior" that captured most of the
Media’s attention in New York. Jury selection began with a bombshell revelation; the Feds dropped the Count in the
indictment accusing Junior of conspiring to murder radio talk show host and vehement Gotti gang critic Curtis Sliwa.
Sliwa was ambushed in June 1992 by associates of Junior in a stolen cab, during which Sliwa was shot several times
at close range by a handgun, miraculously escaping death by propelling his body through a window of the cab as it
was speeding down the streets of Lower Manhattan. Prosecutors have lined up a ‘dirty dozen’ of co-operating
witnesses who will testify that Junior ordered the assault on Sliwa, although it now appears that witnesses will testify
that Junior only ordered that Sliwa be beaten, not killed, and that his associates took matters a step further. While
Junior still faces charges that could land him in jail for over 25 years if convicted, the new revelation indicates the
Feds’ case against Gotti may not be as strong as once thought by those following the case.

As the trial was about to begin, Prosecutors and Defense attorneys slugged it out once again in pre-trial hearings
regarding ‘gag orders’ proposed by the Defense against Curtis Sliwa and Prosecutors who reacted angrily to a front-
page ‘interview’ with Junior in the New York Post. Prosecutors argued that the article was a carefully-crafted ploy to
gain sympathy towards Junior among New York residents from which will emerge a jury of peers that will decide his
Fate. Defense attorneys have for some time been seeking a gag order on Sliwa, who on a daily basis blasts the
Gambino Family on his top-rated ‘Curtis and Kuby’ radio program. In the end, Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin issued
neither gag order request, noting both Gotti’s and Sliwa’s Constitutional rights regarding Freedom of Speech.

Curtis Sliwa has also been critical of Federal Prosecutors in this case, denouncing their co-operation agreements
with criminals such as "Little Joe" D’Angelo, a former protégé of Gambino Family Underboss Sammy Gravano.
D’Angelo was the alleged driver of the stolen cab the Gambino’s intended to be Curtis Sliwa’s hearse.

Sliwa has also criticized the Federal Prosecutors for what he perceives as keeping him out of the loop on the trial
proceedings. Sliwa’s attitude, however, may reflect a lack of understanding of the recent history of the U. S.
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which is prosecuting the case. Back in the late 1990s, when
that office was prosecuting the first case against Junior which led to his plea bargain on various charges, controversy
arose when New York Post reporter Al Guart was accused of receiving information from a member of the
Prosecution team. During that time, lawyers for embattled President Bill Clinton were raising the same issue, alleging
that members of the Prosecution team of Kenneth Starr had leaked Grand Jury information to members of the Media.
As a result of both of these cases most Prosecutors nationwide suddenly broke off any and all communication with
members of the Media in order to avoid even the appearance of ‘prosecutorial misconduct,’ a situation of silence
which continues to this very day.

Thus, Federal Prosecutors have ‘frozen out’ Curtis Sliwa from any but the most necessary communication,
especially given his status as an outspoken member of the Media. Sliwa has been served with a Subpoena to testify as
a Prosecution Witness, and as such that will preclude him from covering the trial as a member of the Media. Sliwa
has already arranged for associates of his radio show to sit in on the trial and provide coverage.

This trial is likely to become something of a ‘Media circus,’ as is the upcoming trial across the Brooklyn Bridge of
the two accused 'Mafia Cops,' Lou Eppolito Sr. and Steven Caracappa. It is not yet clear to observers of Junior’s trial
as to whether he will have the public support of his sister Victoria, a best-selling author, accomplished Editor, and
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star of the reality show ‘Growing Up Gotti.’ In his public statements "Junior" has expressed his desire to give up ‘the
Life’ and follow in his sister’s footsteps as an author. (of children’s books!) However, Junior has also made
disparaging remarks against his father, whom his sister Victoria has never criticized publicly. Such remarks are seen
by some to indicate that Junior’s criminal attorneys may attempt to portray him as a victim of his father’s ambitions, a
"Daddy Dearest" defense, and that it was he, the Godfather, who was the one responsible for the crimes being now
laid at the feet of his son.

EPILOGUE

From the day Junior Gotti was born, he was raised by his father to be a murderer. Now, those aspirations of the
late Godfather have come home to roost, and the trial of Junior Gotti may well turn out to be a modern day morality
play, in which father is turned against son, and sister against brother. Such is the legacy of the American Mafia.

PART FOUR: CURTIS SLIWA GETS HIS DAY IN COURT

CHRISTMAS EVE, 1988, NEW YORK CITY

On this, one of the Holiest of days of the Christian calendar, many New Yorkers are celebrating in the traditions
handed down in their particular family. For some, it means spending a quiet evening with their family exchanging
gifts. For others, it means taking in the spectacular of the ‘Rockettes’ at the annual Christmas extravaganza at Radio
City Music Hall. Outside that building, many thousands of others will marvel at the stories-high Christmas tree that
illuminates those few skaters circling the ice rink below. Many other New Yorkers will spend the evening watching
"It’s a Wonderful Life," the movie classic of an average, desperate American whose life is saved by Divine
Intervention.

For a member of the John Gotti family, however, this evening will be spent in a secret ceremony of Evil. On that
night, John "Junior" Gotti was inducted as a ‘Made Man’ into the Gambino Mafia Family in a blood ritual overseen
by Underboss Sammy "The Bull" Gravano. Joining Junior in this act of Will was his closest friend Michael "Mikey
Scars" DiLeonardo, among others. A knife would be used in this incantation, and the eternal flames of Hell would be
invoked as the young men dedicated themselves to a lifetime of crime.

Nothing Good would come of this pact with the Devil.

17 years later, Mikey Scars would spend what will be likely his last moment in the same room with John "Junior"
Gotti. The setting was the Courtroom of Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan Federal Court, with Prosecution
Witness DiLeonardo taking the stand just a few feet away from his lifelong friend, Junior. Mikey Scars detailed for
the Prosecution the Sins he had committed during his life of crime, including murder, including his last effort which
failed, that being when his intended victim was himself. Such was the pain he claimed to have experienced over
betraying Junior by co-operating with the government that he felt suicide would be more honorable than facing Junior
in Court. As is often the case, even those adept at killing others often fail to succeed when they themselves are their
target. Thus, Mikey Scars lived another day to betray Junior and the Gotti Gang on the Witness Stand.

The angst and pain Mikey Scars and Junior apparently felt during this dramatic confrontation was in stark contrast
to the earlier testimony by Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. For 13 years Sliwa had longed to have his day in
Court in which he would detail the events of an evening in June, 1992, when the outspoken critic of the Gotti Gang
stepped into a cab to take him to his job as a radio talk show host. There, in that stolen cab, Sliwa was trapped by
doors and windows rigged not to open, and a gunman hidden in the front passenger side of the car began opening fire
point-blank at Sliwa with a handgun. Miraculously, Sliwa, having been shot at least twice by that time, somehow
managed to propel his body past the gunman and out the open window on the front passenger side. Such an unlikely
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scenario contributed to the rumors at the time that the shooting was just some sort of publicity stunt Sliwa had
concocted.

At the time of Sliwa's shooting New York City was at the height of an unprecedented era of lawlessness during the
dark days of the Administration of Mayor David Dinkins. During those four years, 8,000 people would be murdered
in New York City. Every Fourth of July during the Dinkins Administration police officers stood by outside the Gotti
Gang’s headquarters, the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club in Ozone Park, to ensure no one interfered with John Gotti’s
right to hold a massive illegal fireworks display. Such police protection of the Gotti Gang was in stark contrast to the
treatment Sliwa and the members of his organization received from some members of law enforcement carrying out a
hostile agenda against them.

Many at the time did not take seriously Sliwa’s claims that, according to his various sources, it was members of
John "Junior" Gotti’s crew that had abducted and shot him. Then, years later, on the Witness Stand recalling his
nightmare, Sliwa had to endure hours of cross-examination by Junior’s criminal lawyer, who left no stone unturned in
his attempt to discredit the victim of this shooting. Whether or not such tactics by this lawyer alienated the jurors
against client Gotti remains to be seen.

Curtis Sliwa had walked into that Courtroom that day seeking what he considers to be Justice. Sliwa will return to
that Courthouse once more when the Verdict is delivered. Junior Gotti claims he has renounced the Mafia and just
wants to leave his past behind and write children’s books. Most of his co-horts in crime are now either dead, in
prison, or in the Witness Protection Program. Thus, when the Verdict is rendered, Junior Gotti will either go to prison
for most of the rest of his life, or he will go free, but in either event, when that Judgment occurs, that will be the last
day of the Gotti Gang.

PART FIVE: JUNIOR’S TRIAL INTERSECTS ‘MAFIA COPS’ TRIAL

It was probably inevitable, but a reference to a murder in the upcoming ‘Mafia Cops’ trial, regarded as one of the
biggest Mafia trials in years, was made by two Prosecution witnesses in this year’s other sensational Mafia trial, that
of John "Junior" Gotti, accused of a variety of crimes, most notably the 1992 shooting of talk show host Curtis Sliwa.
Co-operating witnesses Anthony Rotondo and "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo both made references during their
testimony in Junior’s trial to the murder of Gambino associate Bobby Boriello, who was gunned down outside his
Brooklyn home in 1991.

Anthony Rotondo is a former member of the New Jersey-based DeCavalcante Mafia Family, the exploits of which
have been portrayed for several years in the HBO hit series ‘The Sopranos.’ Rotondo has previously testified in the
‘Sopranos Trial’ of his New Jersey Mafia co-horts, which included the sensational testimony that Mafia Godfather
John D’Amato was whacked by members of his own family for being gay.

Accused ‘Mafia Cops’ Stephen Caracappa and Lou Eppolito, Sr. are under indictment for nine murders, including
that of Boriello. Interestingly, information given to the Feds about the Boriello murder by Sammy ‘The Bull’
Gravano and Mikey Scars reveal that at the time of the murder, some members of the Gambino Family were unaware
that Luchese Family Underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, with the alleged help of his "crystal ball," Detectives
Caracappa and Eppolito, was behind the hit. In his depositions with the government once he became a co-operating
witness, Gravano detailed how top members of the Gambino Family had a sit-down with counterparts in the
Genovese Family, demanding that they kill their associate Preston Geritano, whom they mistakenly believed was
behind Boriello’s murder. In his trial testimony against his ‘brother’ Junior Gotti, Mikey Scars DiLeonardo
regurgitated the same information about the murder of Bobby Boriello.

WHO WAS BOBBY BORIELLO?

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If there is one lesson that ‘wiseguys’ in the Mafia should learn from recent organized crime history, that lesson is
that it is extremely dangerous for a ‘Made’ member of the Mob to be a driver and/or Underboss of an American
Mafia Family. Because Godfathers are frequently the targets of assassination from both within and without their own
Mafia families, a tradition has evolved over the decades in which a Godfather will designate his most trusted
associate, either an Underboss or other high-ranking associate, to be the ‘driver’ of his car. Such traditions are rooted
in the experiences in the 20th Century in which car bombs were frequently used to take out gangsters. This practice
reached it’s zenith in and around Youngstown, Ohio, referred to by it’s residents as ‘Murdertown, USA.’ Irish
Mobster Danny Greene’s car bombing murder in 1977 was a pivotal moment in American Mafia history, and would
lead to the extinction of the Cleveland Mafia Family, as detailed in Rick Porrello’s book ‘To Kill the Irishman.’

Such lessons of the dangers of entering one’s car were not lost on Gambino Family Godfather Paul Castellano and
his Underboss, Thomas Bilotti, a childhood friend of accused Mafia Cop Stephen Caracappa. On December 16, 1985,
Bilotti alone entered Castellano’s car at his palatial Staten Island estate known as the ‘White House,’ located at the
top of ‘Todt Hill,’ so named from early Dutch settlers, which translates ‘Death Hill.’ Bilotti inserted his key into the
ignition and the automobile started up without incident. Godfather Castellano then climbed in, late on his journey for
a meal at one of his favorite restaurants, Sparks Steak House in Mid-Manhattan, a supper to be shared with Gambino
associate Frank DeCicco. However, upon exiting their car at Sparks, both Godfather Castellano and Bilotti were
executed by a hit team of John Gotti’s.

These murders elevated John Gotti to the rank of Godfather, with Frank DeCicco his Underboss and driver.
However, once again, the automobile of a gangster would prove fatal. In April, 1986 DeCicco got into his car parked
on a Brooklyn street, which Gotti had also planned to be in, and a bomb underneath the car was detonated. DeCicco
was blown to pieces. Some suspected that Genovese Godfather Vinnie "Chin" Gigante, the "Oddfather" notorious for
his bizarre, apparently insane behavior, was behind the assassination, his motivation being that Gotti had not obtained
the ‘permission’ of the "Commission," the ruling body of all Five New York Mafia families, to take out Godfather
Castellano.

Godfather Gotti regrouped from this car bombing and named as DeCicco’s replacement as Underboss Sammy
"The Bull" Gravano. Gravano may have been a vicious murderer, but he wasn’t stupid, so the former hairdresser was
more than willing to let John Gotti’s trusted aide Bobby Boriello perform the duty of chauffeuring the Godfather
around New York City. Boriello also performed the same vital duties for Gotti’s son, Junior.

Bobby Boriello was himself a hitman of accomplishment, and will be best remembered for his role in the 1990
murder of Gambino associate Louis DiBono. DiBono was one of just several Gambinos whose lucrative businesses
the greedy Sammy Gravano coveted. DiBono had secured, most likely through bribery, the lucrative contract to
install fireproofing foam on the infrastructure of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, while they were being
built and afterwards as routine maintenance. DiBono, however, found that he could save millions by cutting corners
and not properly applying the fireproofing foam throughout the building. His criminal negligence was not unnoticed
by various officials but went uncorrected for decades. Experts have testified in recent years that had the Twin Towers
been properly fireproofed, they probably would have collapsed due to the events of 9/11, but still would have stood
many hours longer, thus allowing the rescue of hundreds of firefighters and other rescue personnel, as well as those
trapped inside the burning buildings, who otherwise perished on that Fateful day.

When Bobby Boriello was elevated to the status of ‘driver’ in the days after the murder of Gambino Underboss
Frank DeCicco, that Family was in a state of chaos. The Gambinos believed that Vincent Gigante was most likely
behind the event, and soon determined that Luchese Mafia Family Underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso was
probably involved in the bombing also, aligned with the Genovese Family to avenge the unsanctioned murder of
Godfather Castellano. Thus, on September 14, 1986, several members of the Gambino Family attempted to
assassinate Gaspipe. Although wounded by gunshots, Casso survived. Inside Casso’s car, cops found evidence that
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Gaspipe had at least one secret source in law enforcement that was assisting him in his criminal enterprise, which
assisted him in the commission of the murders of 36 people.

The Gambinos had picked the wrong crazed murderer to shoot. Once recovered from his wounds, Gaspipe set out
on a campaign of revenge to kill all those he believed were in on the hit.

The American Mafia operates in very secretive ways, and often members will associate, and even commit murder
with, people whom they only know by nicknames. Often, those names are apparently unrelated to the description of
the wiseguy in question; the short, skinny father of Detective Lou Eppolito, for example, Ralph Eppolito, was known
by his moniker "Fat the Gangster." For several years, the Feds allege, Gaspipe Casso gave thousands of dollars
through an intermediary to the son of "Fat the Gangster," whose identity he only learned when Casso came across
Detective Eppolito’s book ‘Mafia Cop.’

As to the identities of those involved in the attempted hit on him, Gaspipe was only certain of one of them; James
Hydell, an accomplished hitman for the Gambino Family. In their current indictments, the Feds allege that Mafia
Cops Caracappa and Eppolito kidnapped Hydell, under color of law as police officers, feigning arrest, and delivered
Hydell personally to Gaspipe. Casso then tortured Hydell before killing him in order to determine the identities of all
of those involved in his shooting. One such name was that of Nicholas Guido. The Mafia Cops allegedly used NYPD
computer files to give to Gaspipe the address of one ‘Nicholas Guido’ who lived in the Bensonhurst area of
Brooklyn. Unfortunately, the Mafia Cops came up with the address of the WRONG Nicholas Guido. On Christmas
Day, 1986, a young, innocent kid by that same name died a hero protecting his Uncle from an assassin who suddenly
appeared out of nowhere to blast bullets at Guido through the windshield of his new car. This sloppy work on the part
of the Mafia Cops forever stole Christmas away from the family and friends of Nicholas Guido.

The Mafia Cops were more professional in regards to their efforts to murder Eddie Lino, another Gambino whom
Gaspipe suspected was in on his assassination attempt. Lino was also an accomplished hitman, having been one of
the triggermen in the murder of Godfather Castellano and Bilotti. Gaspipe knew Lino would be difficult to take
down, so he allegedly hired the two Mafia Cops to pull Lino over on the pretense of a traffic stop in November, 1990.
Lino did just that and was blasted away by Caracappa, at least one witness to which will testify to in their upcoming
trial.

More often than not, hired killers by the Mafia are eventually killed themselves by other Mafia hitmen. A few
months after Gaspipe Casso effected the murder of hitman Eddie Lino, came Bobby Boriello’s turn to die.

On April 13, 1991, Boriello strolled outside his Bensonhurst home towards his car. Waiting for him was one of
Gaspipe Casso’s hitmen, who gunned him down dead in his driveway.

EPILOGUE

It appeared to be of no concern to Gaspipe Casso nor his hired gunman who killed Bobby Boriello that by
murdering him in his driveway his dying body might be found by his wife and two young sons. Nor did the revelation
to the ‘Mafia Cops’ 5 years earlier that their supplying the wrong information to Gaspipe as to the address of
"Nicholas Guido" - a mistake that took the innocent life of a young man on Christmas Day - stop, through guilt and
remorse, the accused cops of continuing to assist Casso in the commission of murders for profit, such as that of
Bobby Boriello.

While Mikey Scars DiLeonardo was testifying in Junior Gotti’s trial as to the murder of Bobby Boriello, the New
York Post ran an interview with his widow, who said DiLeonardo turned his back on her request for assistance after
her husband’s murder, but that John "Junior" Gotti stepped up to the plate and provided both financial assistance as
well as emotional support for Boriello’s two boys.
 9

Many in New York laughed when it was revealed that Junior Gotti had renounced the ‘life’ and planned to move
far away from New York if acquitted and write children’s books. Others saw this as a desire on Junior’s part to return
to the innocence of childhood and get a second chance in living out his life. Only God and Junior Gotti know what is
truly in his heart, but as to his immediate future, that will be determined for him by a jury of his peers.

PART SIX: HOMECOMING FOR JUNIOR GOTTI

In one of the most riveting and suspenseful trials in recent Mafia history, John "Junior" Gotti has beaten a Federal
Prosecution - for the time being - and will be reunited with his wife and 5 kids for the first time since accepting a plea
bargain with the same Prosecutor’s office back in 1999. After 8 days of deliberations, the jury acquitted Junior of one
charge relating to securities fraud and deadlocked on three other counts of the indictment.

Shooting victim Curtis Sliwa was stunned by the verdict, and compared the jury’s decision to that of the O. J.
Simpson murder trial. Speaking outside the Courthouse in downtown Manhattan, Sliwa, flanked by members of his
citizen’s crime patrol ‘Guardian Angels,’ the outspoken talk show host announced that Federal Prosecutors had
assured him they would retry Gotti on the three Counts that resulted in a hung jury, including the pivotal conspiracy
count relating to the government’s allegation that Junior Gotti ordered Sliwa to be kidnapped and beaten for making
remarks against his father on his popular talk show.

Gotti appeared to be the beneficiary of both the skilled legal defense by his attorneys Jeffrey Lichtman and Marc
Fernich, and by confusion on the part of the jurors. With three Defendants facing multiple charges, ranging from
kidnapping and murder, to stock fraud and extortion, coupled with Junior’s ‘withdrawal Defense,’ in which it was
claimed the son of the former Gambino Godfather John Gotti had quit the Mob after going to prison, the jurors
indicated in notes to Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin they were confused over the voluminous charge given to them to
direct their deliberations. Even Judge Scheindlin, regarded as one of the most brilliant legal minds in New York, was
confused as to the legalities of the case, as were also both the Prosecutors and Defense attorneys.

Members of the Gotti family, including mother Victoria and sisters Victoria and Angel, were overcome with
emotion when the Judge announced the partial verdict, which indicated Junior had not been convicted. The decision
was seen as a personal, defining moment by Defense Attorney Lichtman. Outside the Courtroom, speaking as much
to himself as to others, Lichtman, his voice heavy with emotion, declared: "All my life people have underestimated
me!"

Outside the Courthouse, the paparazzi and reporters practically ignored Victoria Gotti, star of the reality TV show
"Growing Up Gotti" in favor of her mother, Victoria, who had been a daily, compelling presence during the trial. In
previous trials Mrs. Gotti had remained in the background, but this time around the defiant and unapologetic mother
of the Defendant embarked on a personal crusade to portray her son as a devoted husband and father who was not a
danger to society. It was the co-operating witnesses, originally a ‘dirty dozen’ but half that during the trial, that Mrs.
Gotti claimed were the real threats to society, roaming the streets of America with impunity, despite having
committed numerous murders, having attained their freedom in exchange for agreeing to testify against a man whose
surname was Gotti. Attorney Marc Fernich echoed that sentiment, telling AmericanMafia.com "The Witnesses they
called were so bad you can only imagine the credibility of those they didn’t call!"

One such witness was "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo, who tried in his testimony to present himself as someone who
loved his ‘brother’ Junior Gotti, despite the fact that his testimony could send Junior away for most of the rest of his
life. What the jury did not hear, as a result of a decision by the Judge in the trial, were secretly recorded conversations
of Junior Gotti in prison, in which he renounced organized crime and his previous association with dangerous
criminals such as DiLeonardo. The jury also did not hear the compelling words of the widow of Bobby Boriello, a
close associate of Junior’s who was murdered in 1991. Mrs. Boriello told the New York Post that after her husband’s
 10

murder, she turned to DiLeonardo for financial and emotional support for her family and was rebuffed by the career
criminal. Junior Gotti, however, provided financial and emotional support to Mrs. Boriello and her kids.

Mrs. Boriello had in fact offered to testify on behalf of Junior Gotti, but Junior nixed the offer, prepared to be
convicted and sent to prison rather than subject Mrs. Boriello to an invasion of her family’s right to privacy by both
the Federal Prosecutors and the Media.

Apparently, it was such selfless devotion to those Junior cared about most that helped motivate his defense team to
reportedly work 18 hour days, seven days a week to secure his acquittal. However, the celebratory mood Gotti’s
attorneys exhibited in the moments after the partial Verdict was delivered came hours before Judge Scheindlin
unsealed the documents of the jury, which revealed that the jury was deadlocked 11-1 for conviction on four parts of
Count One, the racketeering charge that would have sent Junior to prison for most of the rest of his life.

EPILOGUE

After the partial Verdict, Curtis Sliwa told the Media he is looking forward to ‘Round Two’ of the U.S. vs. John
"Junior" Gotti. Both Junior and his mother have indicated it is Junior’s desire to relocate far away from New York
and start a new life, away from the thugs who committed almost every conceivable crime, including murder, crimes
they claim they committed in the name of Gotti. While out on Bail, Junior will be under severe restrictions, including
House Arrest until his second trial, which could come two years or more down the line. Regardless the outcome of
that trial, New York has finally seen the last days of the Gotti gang.

PART SEVEN: ‘PLAN B’ TO ‘GET GOTTI’

Just two days after Prosecutors failed to obtain a conviction against John "Junior" Gotti on charges including the
1992 shooting of talk show host Curtis Sliwa, Federal Prosecutors in Brooklyn filed murder charges against a reputed
Gambino captain that ultimately may be aimed towards Gotti. Dominick ‘Skinny Dom’ Pizzonia has been charged
with the murders of Thomas and Rosemary Uva, a pair of thieves who had the audacity to rob Gambino and Bonanno
social clubs, crimes which, for obvious reasons, never got reported to the cops. Dubbed "Bonnie and Clyde" by
incredulous wiseguys, the fearless duo who appeared to have a death wish were gunned down in their getaway car on
a New York street on Christmas Eve, 1992. At his arraignment in Brooklyn Federal Court Dominick Pizzonia
pleaded Not Guilty. Seasoned Mafia experts believe that the Feds seek to convict Pizzonia in the hopes that he could
subsequently implicate Junior Gotti in ordering the murders of the Uva couple.

The theory that Junior Gotti was involved in the Uva murders gained momentum in 2003, when Bonanno Family
Underboss Salvatore Vitale ‘flipped’ and became a co-operating witness. According to Court filings, Junior Gotti
allegedly met with Vitale and Bonanno Godfather Joseph Massino, during which he took credit on behalf of his
Family for the murders. After Vitale told this story to the Feds, something unprecedented occurred; the Feds charged
Massino with an eighth murder, for which they would seek the Death Penalty.

This tactic was unheard of in Mafia Prosecutions. It also worked; Massino soon became the first Godfather of an
American Mafia Family to become a co-operating witness for the Feds, trading his execution date for a ‘get-out-of-
jail-free-card.’ Not all of the information, however, that Massino proffered turned out to be accurate. Massino
directed the Feds to an empty lot in New York at which it was believed they would find the bodies of several men
alleged to have been murdered by John Gotti. While two bodies of victims of the Bonanno family were found buried
there, no such alleged victims of Gotti were recovered.

The allegations of Vitale regarding Junior’s alleged role in the Uva murders has supposedly been corroborated by
Massino as well as by ‘Mikey Scars’ DiLeonardo, who testified against Gotti at his recent trial in Manhattan. The
murder charges against Pizzonia, however, were brought in Brooklyn Federal Court by one of the same Prosecutors
 11

going after accused ‘Mafia Cops’ Steven Caracappa and Lou Eppolito. Whether or not Prosecutors seek the Death
Penalty against Pizzonia remains to be seen but the Feds are already resorting to hardball tactics. The Prosecutors in
this case have filed a letter with Judge Jack Weinstein seeking the removal of Pizzonia’s attorney Joseph Corozzo,
citing conflicts of interest and charges that Corozzo has acted as "House Counsel" to the Gambino crime family.
Corozzo is related to two members of the Gambino crime family.

Corozzo was removed from representing one of Junior Gotti’s co-defendants last year in the trial that just ended.
Similar allegations were made by Prosecutors in Brooklyn before Judge Weinstein in July in regards to Bruce Cutler,
the attorney for accused ‘Mafia Cop’ Lou Eppolito. Cutler was not removed but only after Eppolito waived any right
regarding potential conflicts of interest Judge Weinstein warned the former Detective might exist, now or in the
future, regarding Cutler’s previous representation of accused members of the Gambino family.

How all of this will play out over the course of the next few months is anyone’s guess, but should the Feds attempt
to pin the Uva murders on Junior Gotti, such a case would be problematic at best. Attorneys for Gotti could credibly
point out that Joseph Massino had a motive to murder the couple, given that they were ripping off at gunpoint
members of his crime family. Despite his claim in Court in recent weeks that he loved his "brother," Junior Gotti,
Mikey Scars DiLeonardo, like Massino a proficient murderer, also has credibility problems, as does Salvatore Vitale.
Still, an alleged conversation is hardly proof of a murder conspiracy, although people have been convicted of crimes
on far less evidence.

Junior Gotti’s attorney Marc Fernish is unimpressed with these new developments. "File this under ‘ancient
history,’ he tells AmericanMafia.com. "The government knows full well there’s no evidence linking John to this stale
crime from the early 1990s. Otherwise, they would have indicted him for it long ago. Indeed, as we said in open
Court, John flatly rejected a plea offer including the Uva murders because he’s absolutely innocent of the crime."

Junior Gotti is now at home with his wife and five kids, having been released on a Bail package. A retrial on
unresolved counts from his recent trial is scheduled for next year. Following the testimony of Mikey Scars, Junior’s
mother Victoria remarked to her son regarding DiLeonardo’s claim to love his ‘brother:’ "Imagine if he didn’t love
you; he’d get you the Death Penalty."

Indeed, for Junior Gotti, the outcome of the murder trial of Dominick Pizzonia and his associates may turn out to
be a matter of life and death.

PART EIGHT: A FATHER’S SINS

Will the ‘Sins of the Father’ be visited upon the son, or did the son in question commit his own Sins without any
prompting from his infamous Father?

That is the question to be answered in the morality play currently unfolding in Manhattan Federal Court, as John
"Junior" Gotti, son of former Gambino Godfather John Gotti, faces a second trial for allegedly ordering the
kidnapping and near-murder of Curtis Sliwa, who had angered the Gottis by exercising his Constitutional right to
Freedom of Speech by speaking out against the Gotti Gang in his popular radio program. This event occurred back
during the dark days of the Administration of New York City Mayor David Dinkins, during which time criminals
such as the Gotti Gang flagrantly violated the law and crime reached unprecedented levels.

Six years after Dinkins was voted out of office, "Junior" Gotti defied his famous father by pleading guilty to
racketeering charges, in the hopes, his attorney claims, that he could leave behind his family’s criminal legacy and
secure a better future for his faithful wife and 5 children. A 6th child is on the way.
 12

A defiant Curtis Sliwa, who has already received ‘vindication,’ given that it is generally agreed by most that his
shooting in 1992 was not a ‘publicity stunt’ but rather a brutal attack against someone who had the courage to speak
out against organized crime and it’s impact on Americans, particularly America’s children, is now seeking - indeed
demanding - Justice. Sliwa is hopeful that an anonymous jury will send Junior Gotti to prison for the rest of his
natural life.

This second trial involving the plot against Sliwa is much different than the one last year, in which jurors may
have been confused over the myriad of charges involving three separate Defendants. Junior Gotti was not convicted
of any of the various charges in that trial and the current case focuses on the plot against Curtis Sliwa. The previous
jury was deadlocked on this charge.

Had Sliwa died of his gunshot wounds received in a stolen cab hijacked by members of the Gotti Gang, who
picked him up outside his Manhattan apartment in June, 1992, Junior Gotti could be facing murder charges, for which
there are no statutes of limitations. However, since Sliwa survived, the Feds are forced to invoke racketeering laws,
which have a 5-year statute of limitations. The Feds allege that Junior Gotti continued in the ‘racketeering enterprise’
of the Gotti Gang that stretches back to the shooting of Sliwa. However, Junior’s attorneys are arguing that the Gotti
scion gave up the mob when he pleaded guilty in 1999, and thus he no longer participated in the Gotti racketeering
enterprise while in prison.

Similar questions regarding the statute of limitations of alleged racketeering enterprises have emerged in the case
of the two accused "Mafia Cops," Stephen Caracappa and Lou Eppolito Sr., who will soon go on trial in Brooklyn
Federal Court on charges of 8 (originally 10) Mafia murders, racketeering, bribery, and other charges, on behalf, the
Feds allege, of former Luchese Family Underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso. Even should Federal Judge Jack
Weinstein throw out the entire case because of his perceived problems with the 5-year limitation on racketeering
charges - which he has threatened to do on several occasions - both former police detectives would still face a Federal
trial in Las Vegas on drug trafficking charges, as well as the income tax evasion charges Eppolito and his second wife
Fran are also accused of.

Also facing charges are Eppolito’s son Anthony, accused of trafficking the drug ‘crystal meth’ at the direction of
his father. The Feds allegedly have this all on videotape, and those tapes will likely determine if the Sins of Father
Eppolito will be visited upon his youngest son.

PART NINE: THE THREE VICTIMS

The current trial of John "Junior" Gotti on charges he ordered the 1992 kidnapping of talk show host Curtis Sliwa, an
event that resulted in Sliwa being shot and nearly killed, has degenerated into a Media circus that would challenge the
moral tone of a typical episode of ‘trash TV’ programs such as the Jerry Springer Show. The Fed’s star witness in the
trial, Michael DiLeonardo, created a sensation on the witness stand by claiming that both Junior Gotti and his father
had indulged in extra-marital affairs.

Recognizing that ‘sex sells,’ the New York tabloids, as well as the ‘mainstream media,’ went on a feeding frenzy
chasing down the bedroom activities of all principles involved in the story. Michael DiLeonardo is walking the streets
of America a free man - ironically with his own girlfriend and ‘love child,’ despite murdering at least 3 people, all
because the federal government gave him a ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’ in exchange for testifying against Junior Gotti.
While Curtis Sliwa is pointing the finger at Junior Gotti, claiming he is responsible for his kidnapping and shooting,
and the Gotti family is quick to point out the multiple sins of DiLeonardo, and DiLeonardo himself is making
allegations about the private lives of the Gottis, one could make the case that all three men, each in their own way, are
victims of excesses committed by the Federal government.

VICTIM NUMBER ONE: JOHN "JUNIOR" GOTTI

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Junior Gotti alleges that several years ago he made a difficult yet momentous decision; to put the best interests of
his wife and kids above everyone and everything else, even if it meant defying his own father, Gambino Mafia
Family Godfather John Gotti. Junior did just that in 1999, defying his father’s wishes by accepting a plea bargain on a
variety of Federal charges, most notably income tax evasion. Perhaps naively, Junior Gotti planned to serve his time
in Federal prison and re-emerge years later to start a new life for his wife and kids far removed from the thugs in
organized crime he had once associated with.

Secretly-recorded conversations of Junior Gotti while he has been incarcerated have made it clear that he wants
out of the life of organized crime, while at the same time he is very traditional in regards to ‘family values.’ The Feds
also have in their possession conversations of Junior Gotti criticizing men he was associated with who were not
faithful to their wives. Junior Gotti’s wife has born him 5 children, and a 6th child is now on the way.

Junior has also acted as a surrogate father to a number of young kids who have been in need of a male role model.
One such case involves the two sons of Bobby Boriello, Junior’s former assistant who was murdered in 1991. Upon
Boriello’s death, Junior provided emotional and financial support to Boriello’s widow and sons. Junior Gotti also
acted as an ‘Uncle’ to the son of Michael DiLeonardo. The kid, now a young man, grew to love and respect Junior
Gotti more than his own father.

These facts about Junior Gotti are in stark contrast to the allegations put forth by government employee Michael
DiLeonardo. The FBI has literally thousands of surveillance photographs of Junior Gotti, yet not a single photograph
was produced to back up the allegations of DiLeonardo that Junior had an extra-marital affair. Junior Gotti is not
charged with having an extra-marital affair; he is charged with ordering the kidnapping of Curtis Sliwa. Should Gotti
be acquitted, many Americans will still always believe in the back of their minds that Junior Gotti had an affair with a
woman who was not his wife.

VICTIM NUMBER TWO: MICHAEL ‘MIKEY SCARS’ DILEONARDO

In 2002 Michael DiLeonardo was arrested on racketeering and murder charges that could send him to prison for
the rest of his life. For 5 long months the government held DiLeonardo in Solitary Confinement. Individuals
incarcerated under such conditions frequently suffer complete mental breakdowns due to the harsh physical
environment and deprivation of human contact. This was, of course, what the Feds had planned all along, for, as
Junior’s father had predicted in warning him not to take a plea bargain, the Feds were not finished with someone
who’s surname was Gotti.

Eventually, DiLeonardo broke down and agreed to testify against Junior Gotti.

Whether DiLeonardo agreed to tell the truth, or tell lies, or both, the cost of such a decision came at a high price.
DiLeonardo’s own son - and namesake, turned against him. Once DiLeonardo made his claims about the private lives
of Junior Gotti and his father, the Media went after him in regards to his own private life. Most notably, New York
Magazine published a scathing report on DiLeonardo’s sexual escapades, and how he pretty much abandoned his
wife and child for another woman, with whom he had a ‘love child.’ In the process, his ex-wife and son also became
victimized by this situation, as was the woman whom was alleged to have had an affair with John Gotti, and the
young woman the Media gleefully reported was Gotti’s illegitimate daughter.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel, ‘The Scarlet Letter,’ which detailed American society’s hypocritical sexual
mores in the 17th Century, suddenly seems quite relevant today.

VICTIM NUMBER THREE: CURTIS SLIWA

 14

As a young man, Curtis Sliwa embarked on a valiant yet dangerous career move; the Brooklyn native decided to
form a ‘gang’ of his own, young men and women who would patrol the violent streets of New York as a ‘citizen’s
posse,’ a group his critics would dismiss as "vigilantes." Thus, the "Guardian Angels" were born. During that time,
crime had reached unparalleled levels, yet the New York City Police Department, as well as the Media, were hostile
towards Sliwa and his crew. In response, Sliwa embarked on some ill-advised publicity stunts in order to pursue his
organization’s agenda.

Thus, in the Summer of 1992, when Sliwa was found on the streets of lower Manhattan with bullet holes in his
body, many in the Media as well as law enforcement believed this was just another, somewhat desperate, ‘publicity
stunt’ on Sliwa’s part to gain attention to his organization and radio talk show.

For years afterward, Sliwa was bitter over his perception that the law enforcement community would not take his
allegations seriously. However, as the years passed, Sliwa slowly emerged as a popular talk show host, once teamed
with his political opposite, the radical left-wing criminal lawyer Ron Kuby.

As the date neared for the release from prison of Junior Gotti, suddenly, the Feds in Manhattan began to take an
interest in the long-ago shooting of Sliwa. Sliwa was left ‘out of the loop’ in the process, prompting his angry
diatribes against the very law enforcement agency that was conducting the investigation.

When Sliwa testified in the first trial last year, he was the center of the expected Media circus. However, this time
around, his testimony was overshadowed by the Media frenzy regarding the sex allegations made by DiLeonardo.
The New York Daily News reported that DiLeonardo’s allegations "threatens to wobble the defense team at a crucial
moment." This may in fact turn out to be the case, but the pendulum could just as easily swing the other way; most
Americans do not believe the Federal government has any business prying into the bedrooms of citizens, even that of
an alleged criminal. Some observers of this trial were appalled and angered by the Fed’s stooping to having their
witness go down the road of alleged sexual misconduct. Thus, if some jurors in Junior Gotti’s trial react the same
way, the allegations of DiLeonardo may create a backlash against the government and their case.

Should that occur, Curtis Sliwa will not receive what he perceives to be ‘Justice’ in this case because of the
Federal government’s decision to open the bedroom door of John Gotti to peer into what was going on inside.

On that day, all three men, Curtis Sliwa, Michael DiLeonardo, and John "Junior" Gotti will, each in their own
way, be victims of the prosecution of the United States vs. John A. "Junior" Gotti.

PART TEN: ‘MIS-TRIAL AND ERROR’

In the second time in the space of half a year, John "Junior" Gotti has escaped conviction on charges he ordered the
1992 kidnapping of talk show host Curtis Sliwa, an event that left the controversial Guardian Angels boss shot and
nearly killed. This second time around, however, the vote count was very different.

In the first trial, jurors were deadlocked 11-1 to convict Gotti. In the new trial jurors were deadlocked 8-4 for
acquittal. The second trial featured only two different circumstances than the first. One was the sensational allegation
by government witness ‘Mikey Scars’ DiLeonardo that both Junior Gotti and his father, former Gambino Mafia
Family Godfather John Gotti, had an affair with another woman during their marriage and that the Senior Gotti
fathered a ‘love child.’ The allegations, not mentioned by DiLeonardo in the first trial, created a Media sensation, as
the various publications in New York aggressively pursued the sex scandal story.

AmericanMafia.com was perhaps the only publication before the Verdict vote to suggest that there might be a
‘backlash’ amongst the jurors in regards to the sex allegations, given that many Americans do not believe the
government has any business poking around in the bedrooms of citizens, even alleged notorious criminals.
 15

The second major difference in the retrial was the testimony of Ron Kuby, the controversial attorney who is the
partner of Curtis Sliwa in their daily, top-ranked WABC radio program, the Curtis and Kuby Show. Kuby was forced
to testify under subpoena that ‘Junior’ Gotti complained to him some years ago that he ‘wanted out’ of the Mafia.
Central to Junior’s defense was his claim that in 1999 he defied his father’s wishes by accepting a plea bargain to
racketeering charges, vowing to leave organized crime forever once having served his sentence, upon which time he
would relocate his wife and kids to a Mafia-free location and start a new life.

However, the only member of the anonymous jury who came forward to speak to the Media was the jury foreman,
who claimed that neither the sex allegations nor Kuby’s testimony was a significant factor in his decision to vote to
acquit on all charges. Instead, the juror’s public statements suggested he - and at least several others - simply did not
believe a single allegation made by the Prosecution’s star witness, Michael DiLeonardo.

In the Court of public opinion, two events during this Media circus may have turned some public sentiment in
Junior Gotti’s favor. One, of course, was the public disdain for the government’s invasion of the Gotti family’s
privacy in regards to the sex allegations, although many of those disgusted by this event were surely among those
who plunked down pocket change to buy the tabloid’s latest reporting on the scandal.

Secondly, in a demonstration that nothing is sacred when it comes to the selling of newspapers, members of the
Media violated Junior Gotti’s right to privacy by sneaking a reporter and photographer inside a local Church in which
he was praying with his kids. Gotti was even criticized for his attire, yet none of the Media involved in this outrage
volunteered at to what they were wearing while they violated the privacy of not only Mr. Gotti, but every person in
that Congregation. Many Americans do not believe the government should be present in their bedrooms, nor the
Media inside their places of worship.

Thus, the actions of the Feds and the Media may have prejudiced the jury pool in New York to the point where it
will be impossible for the Feds to find 12 jurors who can objectively decide this case in the third trial, now scheduled
for the day after the Fourth of July.

Ultimately, the victim in this case may be Curtis Sliwa, who all of his adult life has sought to manipulate the
Media to his own advantage. If indeed Junior Gotti was the person who ordered the assault on Curtis Sliwa and yet
escapes conviction, then Sliwa has only the Media, or which he is a member, to blame.

PART ELEVEN: FIRST AMENDMENT UNDER SIEGE

Federal Prosecutors in the on-going case of John "Junior" Gotti have failed in their attempt to deprive Gotti’s mother
Victoria of her Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech. In a pre-trial hearing, Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled
against the Prosecutors, who sought a gag order on the outspoken widow of former Gambino Family Godfather John
Gotti.

Federal Prosecutors have also failed in their attempts to deprive Junior’s brother Peter Gotti and pal Steve Dobies
of their Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech. Both men have been subpoenaed by the Feds in Manhattan to
testify before a Grand Jury in what Gotti’s attorney argues is an attempt to silence them from testifying on Gotti’s
behalf. Judge Scheindlin ruled that both men cannot be forced to testify before the Grand Jury until the conclusion of
Gotti’s trial, still set for July 5.

Junior Gotti is set to stand trial a third time for allegedly ordering the attempt to deprive talk show host Curtis
Sliwa of his Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech. Sliwa, the Feds allege, had angered Junior Gotti back in 1992
by his virulent attacks against his father on his popular radio talk show, prompting the Godfather’s son to order his
lackeys to kidnap Sliwa and beat him to the point requiring hospitalization. However, the plan went awry when one
of Junior’s alleged accomplices in the plot shot Sliwa inside a stolen cab, nearly killing the flamboyant Guardian
 16

Angels Founder in the process. Junior Gotti denies having any part in the assault on Sliwa and claims he made the
decision to leave the Gambino Family while imprisoned in the late 1990s.

Jurors in the first trial last year were deadlocked 11-1 for conviction of Gotti in the plot against Sliwa. However, a
second jury this year was deadlocked 8-4 for acquittal in a trial that featured Sliwa’s radio talk show partner, attorney
Ron Kuby, as a Defense Witness. Kuby backed up Junior’s claim that he had decided to forever end his association
with New York-based criminals.

Freedom of Speech is regarded as the most critical right of citizens in order for a Democracy to survive and
flourish. Recognizing this, America’s Founding Fathers made it the First Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Thus, the attempt by Prosecutors to deny Mrs. Gotti her Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech is an action that
would be taken very seriously by Judges, Constitutional attorneys, critics of government corruption, and civil rights
activists. Still, both Prosecutors and Defense attorneys on occasion will seek gag orders in high-profile cases, given
that public statements in the Media can have the effect of ‘prejudicing the jury pool’ for or against the government’s
case.

Here is what this is about: during jury selection, Prosecutors will attempt to ascertain if a prospective juror has any
pre-conceived notions as to the guilt or innocence of a Defendant. Also, very subtly, Prosecutors will attempt to
determine if a prospective juror harbors, for whatever reason, ‘anti-government sentiment’ that could preclude such a
juror from making an objective decision based solely on the evidence as presented at trial. In recent years, several
high-profile trials throughout America, in which the Prosecution’s evidence was overwhelming, nevertheless resulted
in acquittals due to what is termed "jury nullification," in which jurors acquitted seemingly guilty Defendants based
on emotional baggage the jurors brought with them into the Courtroom.

In some locales across America, a high-profile person, usually a politician or star athlete, will possess what is
considered ‘folk hero’ status, in which the person can literally get away with crimes up to and including murder. One
case that may illustrate this is that of former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. On 2 separate occasions,
Prosecutors took Edwards to trial on corruption charges, crimes which he openly bragged about committing in public.
(Edwards was finally convicted in a third trial.) In other American jurisdictions where communities are divided along
racial lines, such tensions have been known to be a factor in ‘jury nullification.’ This dynamic can work in either
direction; a fictional account of such is to be found in the motion picture classic TO KILL A
MOCKINGBIRD, which features a trial in which an all-white jury ignores compelling evidence that an African-
American man has been falsely accused of rape. While that movie was made over 40 years ago and depicts an
American Justice system of over 70 years ago, race divisions remain to this day a factor in some jurisdictions that can
affect the outcome of a jury’s verdict.

Today, there are many in America’s Judicial community who believe that a trial is either won or lost during jury
selection, and a cottage industry has emerged of ‘experts’ who have developed certain criteria for identifying the
prospective juror that is predisposed to render either the Prosecutors’ or the Defense team’s desired outcome. By rote,
during trial, Judges throughout America constantly admonish jurors not to discuss the case with anyone, nor pay
attention to Media accounts of the proceedings. Still, jurors, being human, are often subject to influence by what they
read, see, and hear about a case before and during a trial.

Thus, Prosecutors in the Gotti case were likely displeased with Mrs. Gotti’s vehement public defense of her son
and late husband after the Prosecution’s star witness, "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo alleged in Judge Scheindlin’s
Courtroom that Junior Gotti and his father both had sexual affairs while married and that Gotti Senior had fathered a
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‘love child.’ DiLeonardo’s allegations - which he did not make during the first trial last year - created a Media circus
in which reporters nationwide relentlessly chased down the story.

In seeking the gag order against Mrs. Gotti, her son’s Prosecutors may have feared that a public ‘backlash’ of
sympathy in favor of the Gotti family may have resulted from the extensive Media coverage given to Mrs. Gotti in
defense of her family. If that was the case, this was a setback of the Prosecutor’s own making, given that it was their
star witness who opened the bedroom door on Junior Gotti and his father. With the ‘sex scandal’ allegations the talk
of the town, many New Yorkers were quick to note that Junior Gotti was not on trial for having an alleged girlfriend,
nor for his father having an alleged love child; the Gotti scion was charged with plotting to deny Curtis Sliwa’s
Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech. In her remarks denying the government’s request to deny Mrs. Gotti’s
Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech, Judge Scheindlin noted that Mrs. Gotti herself was not the one on trial.

The Media itself may also have made it impossible for the Feds to find a jury of 12 peers who have no emotional
baggage about this case. Many New Yorkers were outraged when a local newspaper snuck one of their photographers
inside a Church and photographed Junior Gotti and his children attending a Catholic Mass. With the Feds’ star
witness poking inside the Gotti’s bedroom, and the Media poking inside Gotti’s Church, many New Yorkers asked
out loud the following question: "Is nothing sacred?"

On the flip side, Junior Gotti’s jury pool may have been negatively influenced by recent Media reports that alleged
Gotti was considering accepting a plea bargain of a few years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to the plot
against Curtis Sliwa. Many citizens perceive that innocent people do not consider plea bargains, thus the Media
reports may have prejudiced some potential jurors against Junior Gotti.

There also may be at play among some members of Gotti’s jury pool a hidden Societal bias and sympathy in favor
of those young men who carry the burden imposed upon them by the surname of their famous/infamous fathers,
whether that person is Frank Sinatra, Jr., Lou Eppolito, Jr., or John Gotti, Jr., and whether the sins of those fathers
should be visited upon their sons.

Thus, as the son of Gambino Mafia Family Godfather John Gotti heads towards a third trial in a Federal Court of
the United States of America, there are likely varied, opposing, and contradicting perceptions in the public from
which a jury of peers will be selected to judge his Fate.