The Mafia. It is a figment of many people's imaginations. To some people it is a true problem of society. For some people the Mafia and organized crime is a way of life. Popular culture has seen elements of the Mafia in such movies and television shows like The Godfather, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. The Mafia and organized crime is very real. Organized crime however has been on a steep decline. Since the detainment of John Gotti and the defection of Sammy Gravano to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, organized crime has become less prevalent in society. John Gotti was the last great Mafia figurehead and since his indictment and inevitable life sentencing in jail, organized crime has been on a decline.

John Gotti was born into a poor Italian family. He lived in a broken home, his father was unemployed most of the time and any money he could attain he lost gambling (Rising Talent 1). The local Mafia life seemed like paradise to John. Throughout his childhood, he ran frequent errands for local gangsters. By the time he was 16 he was already working for the local boss. He started his own tough-guy group, which was aptly named the Fulton-Rockaway Boys, named after a c

The Government was looking at ways they could nail John Gotti for good. Twice during the 1980's the government filed suit against John Gotti. Both cases dealt with racketeering and tax evasion. However, the government did not have enough evidence to convict and twice Gotti walked away a free man. The trials brought national attention to Gotti. In New York, he was gaining public support and cries were given to leave Gotti alone. The government knew that if it was going to nail John Gotti, it would need some pretty damaging evidence. The FBI soon started wire-tapping Gotti's phones and set bugs in rooms where they suspected Gotti to talk about his illegal affairs (Blum 50). Soon enough however the FBI would get their most damning and most critical piece of evidence. Sammy Gravano betrayed John Gotti and gave testimony against him in order for his own freedom from persecution (Gravano 1.)

"John was the boss; I was the underboss. John barked, I bit."-Sammy Gravano (as quoted in Gravano 1).

Gravano admitted to the FBI that John had ordered him to kill 19 men (Gravano 1). This brought about 19 counts of murder one against Gotti. There was no way he could get himself out of this debacle unscathed. Gravano had betrayed him and the family, and he was heart-broken. Gravano further went to testify that John had fixed his previous two trials by bribing jury members (Guidice 26). He also ratted out cops on Gotti's payroll (Blum 25). Gotti was finished. In 1991 the jury found him guilty on all charges and he was sent to life in prison without parole (Blum 53). Gravano only received 5 years in prison on a racketeering conviction. While in prison, Gravano wrote this poem about his life with Gotti and organized crime:

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Approximate Word count = 1611
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)