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Quick Facts
- NAME: Sammy "The Bull" Gravano
- OCCUPATION: Drug Dealer, Organized Crime Boss
- BIRTH DATE: March 12, 1945 (Age: 68)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Brooklyn, New York
- Nickname: "The Bull"
- AKA: Sammy Gravano
- Full Name: Salvatore Gravano
- ZODIAC SIGN: Pisces
Best Known For
Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, a mobster turned government witness, is best known for testifying against his mafia associates in exchange for government protection.
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Sammy "The Bull" Gravano - Full Episode
Salvatore "Sammy" Gravano, the highest-ranking mobster ever to break the mafia's blood oath of silence and testify against his boss, John Gotti, is considered the mafia's best-known "rat."
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Play NowSammy Gravano. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:38, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/sammy-the-bull-gravano-9542090.
Sammy Gravano. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/sammy-the-bull-gravano-9542090 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"Sammy Gravano." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 05:38 http://www.biography.com/people/sammy-the-bull-gravano-9542090.
"Sammy Gravano," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/sammy-the-bull-gravano-9542090 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"Sammy Gravano," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/sammy-the-bull-gravano-9542090 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
Sammy Gravano [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/sammy-the-bull-gravano-9542090.
Sammy Gravano, http://www.biography.com/people/sammy-the-bull-gravano-9542090 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
Sammy Gravano. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/sammy-the-bull-gravano-9542090. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Born in 1945 in Brooklyn, New York, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano became the highest-ranking mafioso in history to turn government witness. His testimony helped to jail 36 of his former mafia associates and, as part of the deal, admitted to the murders of 19 people, including that of his brother-in-law. Gravano then entered the government's Witness Protection Program, but left the program in 1997 to promote his autobiography, Underboss. However,
Gravano didn't leave his life of crime behind. In the late 1990s, he began a multimillion-dollar Ecstasy trafficking faction in Arizona, and in 2000, he was arrested on trafficking charges. In 2001, he pleaded guilty to federal and state drug-trafficking charges, and the following year, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He is currently serving his sentences in a Colorado prison.
Mob Underboss and Government Witness
Salvatore Gravano, better known as Sammy Gravano, was born on March 12, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York. An admitted "underboss" of the Gambino crime family, Gravano became the highest-ranking mafioso in history to turn government witness in the mid-1990s.
Gravano's testimony helped jail 36 of his former mafia associates, including the boss of the Gambino crime family, John "the Teflon Don" Gotti. As part of his deal with federal prosecutors, Gravano admitted to the murders of 19 people, including that of his brother-in-law, but he served less than five years in prison. Gotti was serving a term of life in prison until his death in 2002. After testifying, Gravano entered the government's Witness Protection Program, but left the program in 1997 to promote his biographical book, Underboss, written with Peter Maas.
A Criminal Returns
However, Gravano, who had relocated to Arizona, didn't leave his life of crime behind. His son, Gerard Gravano, became friends with an Arizona gang known as the "Devil Dogs," and by the late 1990s, Sammy Gravano had also become involved with the group. Living in Arizona at the time, Sammy Gravano began what would become a multimillion-dollar Ecstasy trafficking faction, bringing in a reported $500,000 per week.
Not long after, in February 2000, Gravano and several other members of his Ecstasy ring were arrested on trafficking charges. The following year, Gravano pleaded guilty to federal and state (Arizona) drug-trafficking charges. In 2002, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a federal judge for drug trafficking. His son, Gerard Gravano, was also convicted on federal drug charges. Sammy Gravano is currently serving his state and federal sentences in a Colorado prison.
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