JOHN Gotti was a notorious American gangster and the former boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City.
He began leading the Italian mob in 1985 after allegedly organizing the murder of the previous boss, Paul Castellano.
Who was John Gotti?
John Joseph Gotti Jr was born in Bronx, New York, and was the fifth of 13 children of John Joseph Gotti Sr and Philomena "Fannie" DeCarlo.
His ancestry hailed from San Giuseppe Vesuviano, in the province of Naples, Italy, where his parents were from.
Gotti was allegedly involved in New York street gangs as a teenager and reportedly worked with the Mafia-associated Fulton-Rockaway Boys gang for some time.
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The mob boss had five children: Victoria, Angel, John A, Peter, and Frank Gotti with wife Victoria DiGiorgio.
He worked as a presser in a coat factory and as an assistant truck driver in 1962 before forming part of the Gambino crime family.
Eventually, Gotti alongside his brothers Gene, Peter, Vincent, and Richard were initiated to the Gambino crime family.
Gotti’s work in the crime family led to multiple arrests and charges.
However, after a series of acquittals, he wound up serving a life term for racketeering and murder.
Was John Gotti killed?
In 1998, Gotti was diagnosed with throat cancer and sent to the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, for surgery.
Though the tumor was removed, the cancer was discovered to have returned two years later and Gotti was transferred back to the facility where he spent the rest of his life.
Gotti's condition rapidly declined and he died on June 10, 2002, at the age of 61.
Who replaced John Gotti as head of the Gambino crime family?
Following his imprisonment, John’s son, John A. Gotti, was appointed as the acting boss of the Gambino crime family.
He was inducted into the family on Christmas Eve of 1988 and was named a caporegime (ranking member) two years later.
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John served in the position from 1992 to 1999 before he was jailed for racketeering.
He evaded conviction in 2010 after four trials for racketeering ended in mistrials.
John later married Kimberly Albanese and the couple have six children, including his son John Gotti III who is a professional MMA fighter.
The family resides in Oyster Bay Cove on Long Island's North Shore of New York.
Gotti maintains that he has since severed all ties with the Gambino family and wrote a book in 2015 titled Shadow Of My Father.
Who is MMA fighter John Gotti III?
John Gotti III is the son of John Gotti and a mixed martial arts professional who has now made a name for himself as a superior athlete in the boxing ring.
Gotti III was a talented football player growing up but made the transition to bodybuilding and combat sports after his father introduced him to mixed martial arts.
Born November 2, 1992, Gotti has a record of 5-1 in MMA and 2-0 in professional boxing.
Gotti then went head to head with Floyd Mayweather on Sunday, June 11, 2023, before the fight descended into chaos.
The light heavyweight was disqualified from his fight with legend Mayweather after a heated battle in Florida.
The wild brawl saw the pair's teams scrapping in the ring and around the arena.
Gotti was later slapped with a six-month ban in Florida.
Gotti III has now called Mayweather an "enemy for life" on social media following the fight.
"The DBPR Florida Athletic Commission took immediate action the evening of Sunday, June 11, and suspended John Gotti III for six months," a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees the Florida State Athletic Commission, said in a statement.
