Mob FilesPublic-domain archive of American organized crime
Surveillance photo of mobster John Gotti walking along a brick building in a dark jacket and light trousers, the lead image on the FBI's John Gotti history page.
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FBI history: "John Gotti"

FBI history page on John Gotti: the December 16, 1985 killing of Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti, Gotti's 1990 arrest, his April 2, 1992 conviction on 13 counts, and his death in prison in June 2002.

Date
2007
Kind
agency-history
Source
Federal Bureau of Investigation, History: Famous Cases & Criminals
Retrieved
2026-10-12
Rights
A work of the United States government, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Public domain in the United States. 17 U.S.C. § 105.

A page in the FBI’s “Famous Cases & Criminals” history series. It carries no date, but its text says Gotti was convicted “On April 2, 1992, 15 years ago Monday,” which places it in 2007; the date on this page is inferred from that line.

The page recounts the killing of Paul Castellano in December 1985, outside Sparks’ Steak House, when he “was gunned down along with his number two in command, Thomas Bilotti,” and says: “Having eliminated the competition, Gotti took over as head of the Gambino family.” It ends with his conviction “on 13 counts, including for ordering the murders of Castellano and Bilotti,” and his death: “He died in prison in June 2002.”

The page is the FBI’s own history essay, not a court record. One sentence calls Castellano “the apparent successor of recently deceased Gambino boss Aniello Dellacroce,” which does not match the court records filed here, where Dellacroce is the Gambino underboss (868 F.2d 524). This archive does not use that sentence.

The image shown is the page’s lead photograph, captioned by the FBI “Surveillance photo of mobster John Gotti, walking down a street in 1980s in New York City”; it was downloaded from the FBI image repository on 12 October 2026 and is filed on its own page.

itemCriminal profile graphic: John Gotti (FBI)FBI "criminal profile" graphic for John Gotti, with a photograph and a short FBI-written summary of his case. A copy is stored here.itemJohn Gotti on a New York street, 1980s (FBI surveillance photograph)FBI surveillance photograph of John Gotti walking down a street in New York City in the 1980s. A copy is stored here.itemUnited States v. Locascio, 6 F.3d 924 (2d Cir. 1993)Second Circuit opinion of October 8, 1993 affirming the Eastern District of New York convictions of John Gotti and Frank Locascio. It says the main evidence was conversations recorded at 247 Mulberry Street, in and above the Ravenite Social Club.itemUnited States v. Gaggi, 632 F. Supp. 1019 (S.D.N.Y. 1986)District Judge Kevin Thomas Duffy's March 10, 1986 opinion explaining why he denied mistrial motions after Paul Castellano, a defendant in the trial before him, was shot and killed with Thomas Bilotti outside Sparks Steak House on December 16, 1985.