Gotti: Rise and Fall

by Jerry Capeci, Gene Mustain

He was the most famous and infamous mobster since Al the handsome, expensively groomed Godfather who beat rap after rap to become a folk hero to the masses and a nightmare to the forces of law and order. He was also a vicious killer, a ruthless manipulator, a Machiavellian master of intrigue and double cross, and an ardent womanizer, whose rise to the head of America’s most powerful crime family was marked by corpses, lies, and betrayals.
 
By using FBI tapes and a host of sources on both sides of the law, star organized crime reporters Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain tell the whole, true, uncensored story of John Gotti. With scores of fearfully fascinating characters, brutal vignettes of life and death inside the Cosa Nostra, tense courtroom dramas, and ominous answers to the question of how much power Gotti still wields, this is a great gangster story and the definitive account of John Gotti’s rise and fall.

Genres: True Crime, Biography, Crime, Nonfiction, History

Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1996

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book SUCKS, that's right..SUCKS. It will SUCK you in and won't let go of you until you are done reading it. There is a lot of detail on Gotti and Gravano in the book. I had a hard time putting this book down. As I kept on reading, it got better and better. To me Gotti was nothing more than just a gangster, he liked the fact that he was famous. He brought a lot of attention to himself, and maybe it was a mistake that led to his downfall. To his family, crew, friends and neighborhood, they might think he was great...but he was not a true Mafioso like Joe Bonanno.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Description: He was the most famous and infamous mobster since Al Capone: the handsome, expensively groomed Godfather who beat rap after rap to become a folk hero to the masses and a nightmare to the forces of law and order. He was also a vicious killer, a ruthless manipulator, a Machiavellian master of intrigue and double cross, and an ardent womanizer, whose rise to the head of America's most powerful crime family was marked by corpses, lies, and betrayals.

By using FBI tapes and a host of sources on both sides of the law, star organized crime reporters Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain tell the whole, true, uncensored story of John Gotti. With scores of fearfully fascinating characters, brutal vignettes of life and death inside the Cosa Nostra, tense courtroom dramas, and ominous answers to the question of how much power Gotti still wields, this is a great gangster story and the definitive account of John Gotti's rise and fall.

"Gotti was identified by eyewitnesses as a police Bergin insider and was arrested for the killing in June 1974. He was able to strike a plea bargain, however, with the help of attorney Roy Cohn, and received a four-year sentence for attempted manslaughter for his part in the hit."





Trump asking "where's my Roy Cohn?" is particularly rich, given what Trump did to Roy Cohn.

Angels in America

[Lance Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating peek behind the curtain of the Gambino Crime Family while John Gotti was at the helm. It begins with his seizure of power through the murder of previous boss, Paul Castellano, and follows him through his downfall and eventual prison sentence.

What I enjoyed most was seeing what Gotti was really like, which was detailed by interviews as well as evidence now turned over by the FBI. I remember, as a child, falling for the image of the "Dapper Don." I even cut a picture out of my dad's GQ magazine and hung it in my bedroom. I didn't understand why my dad berated me and made me take it down, but I do now.

Gotti was simply a thug who muscled his way to the top of, what was then, America's most powerful organized crime family. While in charge, he was blinded by a megalomaniacal view of himself as the boss everyone loved who could sniff out a rat from a mile away. Ultimately, though, he was brought down by the testimony of one of these "rats." And not just any rat, his second in command, under boss and consigliere,Sammy "Bull" Gravano.

This is a very well researched and structured account that shines light on the internal workings and violent treachery within the dark underworld of the mafia in 1970-1980's America. If any of that sounds at all interesting, I would definitely recommend this book.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting and sometimes riveting account of how John Gotti's life of crime began, how he strong-armed his way to the top of the Gambino crime family by orchestrating the murder of then-boss Paul Castellano, and how, through his own ego and lip-flapping, his whole way of life came crashing down.

The authors did an excellent job of alternating between Gotti's rise and that of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano. The two men were staunch Cosa Nostra members with contradictory styles who ended up 1-2 in the Gambino Family administration. Their lives were also forever linked in a way that neither of them was aware of until the end.

The most satisfying part of the book was the "turning" of Gravano into a government witness. This was a lifelong criminal who was not at all sympathetic, who admitted to the murder of 19 people (including his wife's brother!), who, in the end, could no longer remain loyal to a family where the rules were constantly broken and to a boss who spoke out of both sides of his mouth. He also admitted that he wasn't becoming a witness because it was the right thing to do, but because he was looking out for Number One.

Very intriguing book indeed.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you consider yourself a gangster, just know you are nowhere near as gangster as the Teflon don himself, Mr. John Gotti. Jerry Capeci did a great job showing how big of a gangster Gotti really was. I mean, come on, gambling, theft, racketeering, killing, and not to mention becoming the head of the notorious Gambino crime family after having the former boss Paul Castellano killed. And when I say he had his boss killed, I'm not talking about no secret murder. Gotti had the man shot six times outside of a freaking steak house!!! It's safe to say John Gotti didn't give a damn, and this book does a great job of making that known. Capeci took me by surprise with this book.
I thought this book would start by talking about John Gotti at the height of his career, but it started off by talking about his upbringing as a child. This was my favorite part of the book because it allowed me to learn new things about the Teflon Don, and let's just say John Gotti was a gangster even as a teenager. The stories of his teenage years that were told in this book fascinated me, especially on page 13, which talks about how he dropped out of school when he was just 16 years old and joined a gang. It then goes into talk about how the 16-year-old Gotti would commit crimes such as grand theft auto and mugging drunks that were coming out of the local parlor; after reading that, I couldn't help but think about how crazy it is that he was doing all of that at 16 years old. I mean, hell, all I was doing at 16 years old was going to school and eating whatever my mom had made for dinner that night. Don't think I'm saying I wish I were committing felony-level crimes at 16 because I'm not, lol. It's just fascinating to me when I read about how arguably the most famous mafia member in history grew up. Now, it wouldn't be right for me to do this review without giving a massive shout-out to Capeci for including some badass pictures. The pictures, such as those on page 212, really helped you feel John Gotti's aura. The pictures and how the author described John Gotti's persona made me feel as if I had traveled back to the 1980s and was watching Gotti come up through the ranks in the Gambino crime family. When I think about it, I'm not really sure why I'm so fascinated with this book. I'm by no means pro-murder, theft, tax evasion, and all the other crimes that Gotti and the rest of the mafia families committed. However, I find it interesting how the mafia was structured. This book shows that structure and how it was a hierarchy of power. With that being said, John Gotti didn't give a shit about the damn hierarchy. He wanted to be the leading man in the family, so he went against the rules and had his boss killed so he could take over. How he wasn't taken out after doing that baffles me, and that is one thing I wish the book had talked about more. I mean, Gotti straight up turned his back on the family, and nothing happened to him. Why is that Capeci? I need answers!!! Was John just too powerful to mess with at the time? Were other members in on it too? Now that I have rambled about how much I loved this book, I want to tell you to read it, too, if you haven't yet done so. Don't walk, run! If you like non-fiction, mafia history, gangsters, or just want to read a book that will keep your interest from start to finish, then you will love this book just as much as I did. Shout out to John Gotti for being a kick-ass gangster, and shout out to Jerry Capeci for writing a kick-ass book!

[James Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book was a guilty pleasure read.

I can wrap it up as having some profound educational value by drawing life lessons from the role Gotti's ego played in his downfall and how, by ignoring the edict that 'loose lips sink ships', the Teflon Don facilitated the US Government's tactic of turning Underboss Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano against him using his own words caught on wiretap, but in truth I read this book because I'm fascinated by the 'other' - the real Gangsters, their life and their crimes.

If you like True Crime, it's a good read. Capeci is a veteran crime reporter who covered Gotti and the Gambino family at the time. It's not as flashy as 'Wiseguy' by Pileggi, which was later adapted into the movie 'Goodfellas', or as packed full of detailed recollections as 'Donnie Brasco', the true story of FBI Agent Joe Pistone, or 'I heard you paint houses', made into Netflix smash 'The Irishman'. Although according to former mobster Michael Franzese, the HBO adaptation of this book, also called 'Gotti', which you can watch for free on Youtube, is the most faithful retelling of what life was actually like in the Mob, devoid of all the glitzy, glamorous film-making of a Scorsese flick.

The book wont be for everyone, but that's cool - it doesn't need to be.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you think John Gotti was a criminal mastermind, a modern day Machiavellian, read this book and laugh, or weep. Gotti had more impact on the American mafia than almost any other mob figure since the Sixties, and all for the worse! Break the rules of Cosa Nostra and you better have something to take their place. Gotti did not. Killing your way to the top of the Gambino crime family by assassinating the boss, Paul Castellano, in 1985, was bound to enrage the heads of the other New York families---Luchesse, Genovese, Columb0, Bonnano---who never forgave Gotti for this act of usurpation. Gotti, in fact, was targeted in a car bomb attack by Genovese boss Vincent Gigante. he missed. Monopolizing the profits from Gambino family enterprises, loan-sharking, gambling, and construction, while starving the soldiers, was either incredibly naive or stupid. His biggest sin in the eyes of his criminal peers, earning him life in prison, was breaking the biggest rule of all by going public and becoming a media darling. Gotti turned Cosa Nostra into Cosa Publica. Jerry Capeci, author of the GANGLAND website favored by wiseguys, understands his subject while condemning him. By the time Gotti passed away in Marion Federal Penitentiary La Cosa Nostra had moved into nostalgia.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep thinking I’m going to get tired of these mob books and it hasn’t happened yet…

Even if you think you’ve heard everything about John Gotti, I still recommend this book. I find John Gotti to be the least-interesting of the infamous mobsters but I still couldn’t put this book down.

[Wayne Stimpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A portrait of an ego maniac who destroyed the Mafia in NYC as we know it. Two solid authors, very well researched. A classic.

[Roel · Rating 5 out of 5]

great. liked it

[Willie Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very first time for me reading about John Gotti.I enjoyed my time understanding this book.

[Micky Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Interesting read of life and murder inside the mafia where you can't trust anyone your best friend will smile at you then kill you 🤷🏾‍♂️

[Gary Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was good but there was a lot going on with so many names being thrown about it can be a struggle to keep up with who's who and what their position was within the crime family etc.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific page turner that does an excellent job of chronicling both Gotti and the Gambino family. It also revealed, somewhat ironically, that legal prosecuting agencies were having similar turf battles of their own, although these never got to the point where someone had to be whacked.

[Bobby24 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its a good read but if you know the story there's not much more to it won't know. IMO the real criminals are the ones that let multiple killers get away with murder so that they can strike the king and get promotion, that is the true racket here.

[FDR · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a book that focuses on Gotti and his legal battles during his period as boss. I expected to read more about his earlier years and the Gambino's, but you mainly read the perspective of law enforcement (their earlier book Mob Star might have been a better option). And while it's a book about a man that ends up going away for life, the writers use of very long sentences made it a drag to read.

[Erica Thoman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book when I was in 8th grade. I found the crime element interesting and John Gotti was a notorious gangster. I cannot recount details, it's been around 20 years since I read it, but I think this book would appeal to high school age kids.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read about John Gotti's rise to the position of boss in the Gambino crime family in New York. I found this book especially good as a lot of the conversations between Gotti and other family members had been secretly recorded by law enforcement agencies and so were quoted verbatim, unlike some true crime books where conversations are merely conjecture on the part of the author. This book is a reissue and was originally released in the late 1990s. It is fascinating to see how much the family members value one another when loyal, but how easily they can turn on former allies and kill for the family. It gives a good insight into some of the inner workings of the major cosa nostra crime families and the way in which the hierarchy of those families works, as well as how easily they can get away with jury tampering and manipulating members of the public. The one big disappointment for me was the photograph section. Although the book is about John Gotti, I expected pictures of other major players such as Sammy Gravano in order to be able to put faces to names. Other than this, a superbly written book which tells an intriguing story.

[Toby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy reading I guess. An annoying journalists' book, how they struggle with the longer form. Heavily dependent on trial & FBI tape transcripts. Enormously repetitive, over and again telling the same stories, making the same simple characterisations.
Gotti courted notoriety at the time the old Mafia was being swept away by law enforcement, but he was a relatively small player in organised crime. Nasty piece of work though. Big on boasting and murders.

[Mick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I knew everything there was to know about the relatively short reign of John Gotti as boss of one of the most powerful organized crime families in North America, until I read this book. Capeci details Gotti's early life and his beginnings in the underworld, right through his violent coup in the mid-80's when he seized power, and his eventual fall from grace. Compelling stuff.

[Summer Cosgrove · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read if you are into this topic, but the actually quality of writing was pretty poor. There were lots of mistakes in grammar, etc, but if you are looking for something sensational, give it a try.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I lived in little italy in Cleveland I was fascinated by the Mob. This is a great bio of a sick man

[Jb Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical account of a true enigma. Compelling reading and insight into what was once a secretive society that imploded.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing duplicity in his life. Chilling.

[Oscar Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started as a great book, but halfway in the book it got boring. Good, but not a great book.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book describes the rise and fall of a Mafia boss.

Interesting story, but the narrative is confusing in places (simply too many different people being described at once).

[Tissue123 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best mafia book around.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sammy doesn't give a shit.

[B. Echols]

Donated by: B. Echols

Fall 2019
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