NCJ Number
126633
Date Published
1990
Length
315 pages
Annotation
This narrative details the life of John Gotti, the leader of the most powerful criminal organization in the world, the Gambino branch of the American Mafia, and explains the operation of organized crime.
Abstract
The text uses information from wiretap records, criminal justice officials, and offenders to explain how Gotti and a small group of his goombata -- the Sicilian slang for "old friends" -- managed to take control of the entire Gambino organization. The narrative notes that Gotti is one of the biggest narcotics traffickers in the United States, that he is a compulsive gambler, and that his criminal career was aided by incompetence and corruption among law enforcement personnel in the Queens borough of New York. The discussion also explains the lifestyle and rituals of the Mafia, its rigid but unwritten code of behavior, the rules of apprenticeship, the role of women, the interactions among organized crime figures and law enforcement officials, and the court proceedings against Gotti. Photographs and index