Murder and Betrayal Had a Front Seat at Gotti Trial : Experts say the case against the reputed Mafia boss will show how the mob influences New York City's economy.

By JOHN J. GOLDMAN

March 26, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

NEW YORK — As the curtain starts to descend, the trial of John Gotti has proved to be compelling off-Broadway theater, a riveting tale of murder and betrayal, greed and corruption. But, professional Mafia watchers say, the courtroom confrontation has revealed few fresh insights about the mob.

What has emerged, they say, is a reaffirmation of past knowledge about Cosa Nostra practices and some additional understanding about the price ordinary citizens pay for mob influence.

“As a practical matter, we knew a great deal about the mob before,” said Ronald Goldstock, director of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force, which has stalked Gotti over the years. “There have been other cases where the initiation ceremonies have been overheard. There have been other informants.”

In the courtroom, the struggle between Gotti and his hard-eyed betrayer Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano has held the spotlight, with testimony about the rubbing out of Paul Castellano, whose career as head of the Gambino crime family was ended by gunfire in front of a Manhattan steakhouse in December, 1985.

But some experts on organized crime say equally significant in the long run is testimony about how Gotti, Gravano and their cohorts in other mob families took over legitimate businesses, especially in the construction and garment industries, and influenced New York City’s economy.

Members of Manhattan Dist. Atty. Robert M. Morgenthau’s staff estimate that, by forcing manufacturers to use mob-controlled trucking companies, organized crime has received a 3.5% to 7% tax on every garment made in New York over the years. They say that, because of mob influence, cement cost 25% more in New York City than in other parts of the state at one point. For a time, organized crime influenced work rules through corrupt unions and took 10% from virtually all major painting contracts.

“A lot of people don’t want to come into New York and get shaken down,” Morgenthau said in an interview. “The mob limits the number of people who will build. The mob narrows competition and raises the cost of construction. In boom times, perhaps, this added expense could be absorbed, but with the state of New York’s economy now, it is absolutely intolerable.”

Mob economics, however, are not foremost on the minds of the spectators who have lined up in front of the federal courthouse in Brooklyn at 2:30 a.m. each day seeking seats at the trial. They have come hoping to catch a glimpse of Gotti, 51, in his expensive double-breasted suits and see movie stars such as Mickey Rourke and Anthony Quinn visit the courtroom. Perhaps the most unusual sight each morning: the alleged captains in the Gambino crime family rising in unison when Gotti enters.

Gotti, the reputed head of the Gambino family, and co-defendant Frank Locascio, 59, are on trial on charges ranging from murder to racketeering and tax evasion. If found guilty, they face life in prison. Juries at three previous trials refused to convict Gotti, enhancing his reputation in New York’s tabloids as the “Teflon Don.”

Prosecutors charge that Gotti masterminded Castellano’s slaying in order to gain leadership of the nation’s most powerful Mafia family. Gravano, 47, was arrested with Gotti and Locascio, but became a government witness. During his testimony, Gotti’s handpicked successor admitted committing 19 murders, and said that Gotti authorized 10 of them.

On another front, officials continue to worry about the degree to which jurors’ deliberations might be clouded by fears of mob retribution. Information Gravano supplied the FBI led to indictments charging that Gotti tried to bribe a juror in a previous federal court trial. Gotti was acquitted in that case, in March, 1987.

Throughout the trial, Gotti has sat behind the defense table, smiling coldly at the jurors. During the selection process, some potential jurors admitted they were frightened of him. Although U.S. Judge I. Leo Glasser has taken extraordinary security measures to sequester and safeguard the jury, some jurors may still worry about their identities being revealed, law enforcement officials admit.

On Monday, after calling 37 witnesses and playing more than eight hours of tapes secretly recorded by the FBI, the government rested its case. On Wednesday, after calling Gotti’s accountant, Murray Appleman, the defense also rested. Appleman told the jury that he advised Gotti not to file tax returns because he had a constitutional right to silence as the subject of extensive government litigation.

A Gambino Glossary

Just as Eskimos were said to employ scores of synonyms for the word “snow,” the Gambino crime family has developed a rich vocabulary for the act of doing away with one’s friends and enemies. A selected primer of Mafia-speak:

WHACK (v.): Also WHACK IN THE MOUTH. To execute; usually a close personal friend, a brother-in-law or a business partner.

HIT (v.): See WHACK.

POP (v.): See HIT.

GOING (adj.): About to be whacked. Usage: “Right after the trial, he was going.”--Salvatore Gravano.

GIVE A PASS (v.): To grant a reprieve from being whacked. Usage: “Stay in Staten Island, lay low, and I will give you a pass.”--Gravano.

PROBLEM (n.): A liability, someone likely to be whacked. Usage, from the trial:

Gravano: “He started taking drugs and became a problem.”

Prosecutor John Gleeson: “Did you do anything once you perceived this problem?”

Gravano: “Yes.”

Gleeson: “What did you do?”

Gravano: “We killed him.”

COME IN (v.): To go see the boss when summoned. Usage:

Gravano: “There were complaints he wasn’t coming in.”

Gleeson: “So what did you do?”

Gravano: “We killed him.”

GET A PLACE READY (v.): To find a burial site.

COSA NOSTRA (n.): Italian for “this thing of ours,” a mob family. Usage: “This is gonna be a Cosa Nostra till I die.”--John Gotti.

OMERTA (n.): An oath, a vow never to reveal Cosa Nostra secrets; a commitment given when becoming a “made” member (i.e. “goodfella,” “soldier” or “friend”).

RAT (n.): Also YELLOW DOG and other unprintable synonyms. An informer, lowest form of life, one who violates the Omerta.

TAKING A WALK (v.): To conduct a sensitive discussion while striding up and down the block to avoid being overheard on those pesky eavesdropping devices. Usage: “Sammy tells me you and him took a walk about a concrete plant in New Jersey.”--Gotti.

BABBO (n.): A dope, idiot, useless underling.

BABANIA (n.): Heroin, as in dealing. Lucrative but risky for mob insiders because if they’re busted, long prison terms might compel them to cut a deal and squeal. Usage: “These babania guys. They go, they get 848, 150 years (in prison). They’re in there.”--Gotti.

GIFT (n.): A bribe, sometimes for a juror. Jurors in two previous trials of Gambino family members received these, resulting in the inability of both juries to reach a guilty verdict.

Source: Washington Post, trial testimony and FBI tapes.