The NY Post must have a quota of Gotti front pages it must fill each year, because today's big news--according to the Post--is that the Gotti family is fighting over money that may or may not exist. While greed is nothing new to the Gambinos, what does make this story interesting are details of a taped conversation between Gotti's daughter Victoria and "adopted son" Lewis Kasman. Kasman says to Victoria, "Do you realize how f---ed......

The Smoking Gun, via a Freedom of Information Act request, received the last photograph taken of John Gotti, the former Gambino crime family head also known as the Dapper Don or Teflon Don. According to TSG, the photo - a 1"x1" "institution commissary photo" was taken on "October 17, 2001, less than eight months before he died, at age 61" and two years after cancer surgery. Gotti was sentenced to life in prison in 1992,......

Ha! Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa wants to take John Gotti Jr. on his offer. Gotti Jr., who was unsucccessfully tried three times for allegedly shooting and kidnapping Sliwa, told reporters on Tuesday that he'd take a polygraph test "on national TV" if the FBI agent who spread rumors that Gotti was becoming a government informant was charged. Last night, Sliwa said on NY1's Inside City Hall - holding a bunch of cash, "John Gotti,......

John Gotti Jr. interrupted his lawyer and spoke with reporters after appearing at Federal Court in White Plains yesterday. Gotti, reacting to a 2006 story in the NY Post which claimed he was becoming a government informant, became angry and said that his family was scared of a possible mob hit:My family lives in fear as a result of this. What happens next? Tell me, what happens next? Does it make it all better if......

The feds must believe if you try, try, try and fail, fail, fail, you must try again, because it seems they are going to charge John Gotti Jr. with a new set of murder charges. The Post reports "Junior will likely be charged with at least five murders," including a Queens man who Gotti Jr. "allegedly disemboweled" in 1983, using a boxcutter or linoleum knife. And that's not all: Junior allegedly got help from "more......

Former FBI agent Roy Lindley DeVecchio has been on trial for four counts of murder, as prosecutors have accused him of being a mob informant. And the trial is being described as a "blockbuster" because it's "one of the worst law enforcement corruption cases in U.S. history." But DeVecchio wasn't centerstage yesterday - news about former Mayor - and former U.S. Attorney - Rudy Giuliani riveted the court. DeVecchio worked with mob informant Gregory Scarpa......

It's the umpteenth story about an engagement gone sour and hardly the first one that has the would-be groom demanding the pricey engagement ring back. But it's the first that we can recall where the ex-fiancee is the granddaughter of a Gambino crime family head! Dean Kuehnen and Andria Castellano got engaged in December of 2006. Kuehnen gave her a 3.23 carat emerald-cut ring with 160 additional diamonds in the platinum setting. But then they......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Airmail in Brooklyn, truck vs train overpass in 31st St & 20th Ave in Queens, an amputation at Grant St & St Pauls Ave in Staten Island and a bomb scare at Broadway and Mercer (NYU) in Manhattan. A former deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani is now an "ambassador" for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. But it's not that shocking, since Fran Reiter had lead the Liberal Party before joining......

What's eBay good for if not finding a place to buy and sell things like...John Gotti's cufflinks? The Dapper Don's 14 karat gold cufflinks were given to the eBay seller's father, Jim Smith. Get ready for a 20 second history lessson: Jim Smith was the right hand man to Mickey Cohen, who was the right hand man to Ben "Bugsy" Siegel. When Bugsy was whacked, Cohen took over the West Coast "operations", and eventually wrote......

With The Sopranos gone, those wishing for a slice of gangster life and a free John Gotti poster can watch out for Mob Candy magazine. Back in May, Radar explained how the magazine came to be during a conversation between editor in chief Tyrone Christopher and publisher Frank DiMatteo and that the first issue would feature "articles on Don Carlo Gambino's legacy, 50 years of rats, FBI vs. Italian Americans, along with current mobster......

We briefly mentioned the wild melee between some Staten Island residents and the cops on July 4th, after the police investigated a call about illegal fireworks. Nineteen people had been arrested, while 10 others received summons, and residents are now complaining that the police were too aggressive. Cops, many of whom were injured, say they were doing their job. The police do admit "an all-out brawl" occurred around 11PM, after a neighbor called to complain......

John Gotti Jr., son of Gambino mob boss John Gotti and long suspected of still being in the mob (even though his last trial ended in a mistrial) tells the Post he's moving out of New York because he's a bit cash-strapped. The Post touts his "don-sizing" of his Oyster Bay mansion - we wonder if any mob lore fans will want to buy Gotti's 1.96 acre home. Gotti Jr. said, "We're going to move......

Is it just Gothamist or does anyone else wish they were selected for jury duty at the United State District Court in Manhattan after reading the NY Times story about dodgeball movie dreams and theft. Judge Shira Scheindlin, the same judge who presided over the most recent John Gotti Jr. trial, ruled that a lawsuit from David Price, a national amateur dodgeball champion, and his writing partner Ashoka Thomas against the makers of Dodgeball: A......

Before you start wondering where you can get this expensive and potent pot, it turns out that the drug ring that offered it has been busted by the NYPD and feds. The Post reports that Purple Haze sold for $560 an ounce and got its name from buds with a purple stain; it also "contains highly elevated levels of THC." That must be some crazy toke. Orlando Torres, who operated the ring in upper Manhattan,......

Should John Gotti Jr.'s nickname be "Teflon Jr."? Because, for the third time in a year, a mistrial has been declared in the federal government's racketeering case against the infamous mob family figure. The jury sent Judge Shira Sheindlin a note saying, "We have been unable to come to a unanimous decision on all counts." From the NY Times: The hung jury represents a significant loss for the government, which had been intent on......

-- Some amusing news from John Gotti Jr's third trial-- he's been working on a children's book: "On one page, a cute tiger locked in a cage weeps at the site of a steaming cauldron that burns before him." -- Here's a never-before-released video of the WTC attacks taken from a tower in Battery Park City North. But beware: it's very graphic. -- Celebrities and fashionistas commemorated 9-11 the only way they know how:......

If you have ever thought that the language in The Sopranos or The Godfather or any mob movie was made up, we urge you to read about the secret prison tape of John Gotti Jr. ranting and raving about, oh, wanting to kill his uncles. While Gangland News had these tapes where Gotti complains about uncles Peter and Ricahrd exclusive back in 2004, the NY Times had a short and sweet excerpt:“I’ve made a pact,”......

The much ballyhooed trial of Mafia cops Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa ended in guilty verdicts and life sentences a few weeks ago. But Eppolito decided to stick around the courthouse a little longer, by claiming his defense from John Gotti's lawyer, Bruce Cutler, was not up to snuff. Therefore, Eppolito must be granted a new trial - hello, buyer's remorse! Eppolito got a contended that Cutler prevented him from testifying in the trial, and......

- WABC 7 interviews the man swallowed by his Long Island cesspool! - What acrobatics people will do on subways on Vimeo - Forgotten NY looks at a rally to save St. Savior's in Maspeth - check out the protester with Darth Vader cut-out - Mafia cop Louis Eppolito gets rid of his defense attorney Bruce "John Gotti's Lawyer" Cutler - Gotham Girls Roller Derby is in Brooklyn - for now - People are......

Things defense attorney Bruce Cutler brought up in his closing argument, in the "Mafia cop" case, per the NY Times, Daily News, and the NY Post (the Times has to most detailed description of Cutler's summation, comparing him to a stream of consciousness "bebopping poet" - of sorts: - The Bridge Over the River Kwai (mind you, the defendents never served in WWII or built bridges, from what Gothamist knows) - Gnome (what he called......

The first day of the trial of retired NYPD detectives turned possible mob hit men was full of screaming as the prosecution presented its first witnesses and the defense went to town. The one witness in the case against Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa, who the feds say would kill people for the mob at $65,000 a pop (plus they got a $4,000 monthly retainer), was the mother of a Brooklyn's Nicholas Guido who was......

- Teflon Don Jr? John Gotti Jr. gets a second mistrial! - Yep, people think the World Trade Center development is going way too slowly and no one is sure how it will go - President Bush tries to say Dubai-owning-ports haters are wrong wrong wrong but for some reason, both parties feel it's right right right to prove him wrong wrong wrong - A Brooklyn principal wants parents to pick up their kids......

- Man fatally stabbed at the Mill Basin Home Depot this morning - Curtis Sliwa took the stand during the Junior Gotti trial today: "I figured I had seconds, maybe minutes to live." - Other mob news: John Gotti secret family gets their 15 minutes - Former deputy mayor Marc Shaw, who was replaced (to his surprise, perhaps) by Patricia Harris will now work for real estate concern Extell; we expect Extell to milk Shaw......

- Emilie Muse, one of the great adventurous gals of the 20's and 30's died last month. ">She was 98. - The Bronx Tale actor involved in that cop shooting wants to make a movie about it. - Project Runway fan? Meet Nick's ">blog. - Two off-duty city firefighters were busted yesterday in two separate bar fights. - That ATM shark who got busted last week? Yeah, he was pulling in 32K a week.......

Gothamist has been entranced by the coverage of the John Gotti Jr. racketeering trial. From what we've read, being in the mob is exactly the way it is in the movies! Here's testimony from Michael DiLeonardo, Gambino loan sharker and star government witness, via the NY Times:He went to an apartment on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, a few blocks from the Ravenite Social Club, home base of the Gambino family. There he waited in......

Quelling the controversy simmering over the museum's intentions, Governor George Pataki officially evicted the International Freedom Center from the World Trade Center site. His statement read, "Since June, we have offered the International Freedom Center (IFC) the time they needed to clarify their intentions and work with stakeholders to reach a consensus There remains too much opposition, too much controversy over the programming of the I.F.C., and we must move forward with our first priority,......

- Derek Jeter, the product of an interracial marriage, gets hate mail for his interracial dating habits - Weehawken Street has the most do-no-urinate signs per square foot in all of the city - Will outdoor showers be the new black of luxury apartments? Not if Gothamist can help it - John Gotti Jr. is free on $7 million bond; Curtis Sliwa watches and waits - Big Pussy pleads guilty to assaulting his girlfriend while......

After being told to keep working through their impasse, the jury for the trial of John Gotti Jr. told the judge they reached a deadlock, and Judge Shira Scheindlin declared a mistrial. Gotti, son of the infamous John Gotti, was acquitted of racketerring charges but jurors didn't know what to make of kidnapping charges - the kidnapping in question being of Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa (when jurors heard testimony of the kidnapping, they were......

- The two teenage girls who died on East Houston Street a week and a half ago died of heroin-and-cocaine overdoses - Goldman Sachs may be leasing at Ground Zero, but they won't paying any rent until the NYPD agrees on security - The missing grandmother with Alzheimer's had actually been at a hospital for two days...but no one contacted her family even though she had a medical ID bracelet - The stealing-from-celebrities housekeeper claims......

- Scientists may have found the hangover gene, but this sentence caught our eye: "Other studies have revealed that people of Chinese, Japanese or Jewish descent often carry genes that ward off alcoholism by increasing nausea-producing liver enzymes that make drinking unpleasant." All we can say is, Thanks a lot, Mom and Dad! - The country's mass transit threat level has been lowered, but, don't worry kids, it's still high in NYC... - And......