Underboss Quotes

“According to defense attorney, Bruce Cutler, Gravano misrepresented himself to FBI agents and prosecutors as a strong-willed, tough-as-nails gangster who had confronted Gotti when he had disagreed with his Mob policies. The lawyer recalled that in Gotti’s presence, 'Gravano was always subservient, even obsequious around John.'
And when the climactic test came, Sammy’s self-preservation was more important to him than saving his boss and dozens of his crime colleagues.”
― Peter Maas, Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia

“Remember that in life. Listen with
both ears. You listen to one story. You listen to the other one.Someplace in the middle is the truth. It’s up to your own brains and
knowledge to determine what to do, if you know the background of the people
who are involved. Don’t ever react to anything in life—legitimate or
illegitimate—by listening just to one side. You got plenty of time to
react. Listen to both sides. Think about someplace in the middle and make
up your mind. Then react. Then you do what you want.”
― Peter Maas, Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia

“So I think I picked that up from Toddo, too. Sitting there in thegarden listening to him, he’d be so wise. A lot of times, I thought he was
like a witch. How the fuck did he know how this or that would turn out? But he did. It was amazing. Like, he’d always know when to pull out of a deal—right before the bust.“So one day I finally asked him how he did it. He told me, ‘You know what it is, Sammy? In my position, a hundred people a day come to me with different problems. You see that roof over there? Say, you ask me what would happen to you if you jumped off it. If I’ve never seen anybody jump off before, I don’t know the answer for sure. But if I’ve watched a hundred people jump, maybe I’ve seen ninety-two of them break an ankle,crack a hip, sprain their knees. Eight of them are in real good shape. They don’t get hurt. Now person one hundred and one comes to me and says, ‘I’d like to jump off that roof.’ ‘Don’t do it,’ I tell them. ‘You’ll break your ankle. You’ll hurt yourself.’ I know now that ninety-two percent of the time, I’ll be right. I’m not that smart. I know from my age and from the amount of people who ask me for advice what the outcome will be. I’ve done it over and over. Someday you could be in the same position. You’ll see, this will come naturally to you. I think you have all the right qualities.”
― Peter Maas, Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia

“Sometimes, no matter how smart you are, you can’t avoid getting tripped up.”
― Peter Maas, Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia

“He was robbing us blind, the cocksucker.
“Now Ralph Spero ain’t a made guy. He never got made. But it’s an awkward situation. He’s Shorty’s brother and I’m with Shorty. I decide it was better to sell the joint, get the fuck out. Learn my lesson and tomorrow’s another day. Basically, that was what I did with people, if they turned out to be pieces of shit. I tried to avoid confrontations. If you pushed me too far over the line, then I would react. But there’s enough people to shoot in the head without looking for it all the time.”
― Peter Maas, Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia