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Karen Gravano Biography & Facts

Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano (born March 12, 1945) is an American former mobster who rose to the position of underboss in the Gambino crime family. As the underboss, Gravano played a major role in prosecuting John Gotti, the crime family's boss, by agreeing to testify as a government witness against him and other mobsters in a deal in which he confessed to involvement in 19 murders. Originally an associate for the Colombo crime family, and later for the Brooklyn faction of the Gambino family, Gravano was part of the group that conspired to murder Gambino boss Paul Castellano in 1985. Gravano played a key role in planning and executing Castellano's murder, along with John Gotti, Angelo Ruggiero, Frank DeCicco, and Joseph Armone. Soon after Castellano's murder, Gotti elevated Gravano to become an official captain after Salvatore "Toddo" Aurelio stepped down, a position Gravano held until 1987 when he became consigliere. In 1988 he became underboss, a position he held at the time he became a government witness. In 1991, Gravano agreed to turn state's evidence and testify for the prosecution against Gotti after hearing the boss making several disparaging and untrue remarks about Gravano on a wiretap that implicated them both in several murders. At the time, Gravano was the highest-ranking member of the Five Families, but broke his blood oath and cooperated with the government. As a result of his testimonies, Gotti and Frank LoCascio were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 1992. In 1994, a federal judge sentenced Gravano to five years in prison; however, since Gravano had already served four years, the sentence amounted to less than one year. He was released early and entered the U.S. federal Witness Protection Program in Colorado, but left the program in 1995 after 8 months and went to Arizona with family. In 1997, Gravano was consulted several times for the biographical book about his life, Underboss by author Peter Maas. In February 2000, Gravano and nearly 40 other ring members—including his ex-wife Debra, daughter Karen and son Gerard—were arrested on federal and state drug charges. In 2001, Gravano and his son, Gerard, were indicted on mirror charges with the federal government. In 2002 Gravano was sentenced in New York to twenty years in prison. A month later, he was also sentenced in Arizona to nineteen years in prison to run concurrently. Additionally, Gravano was sentenced to lifetime supervised release and a $100,000 fine. He was released in September 2017. Childhood and early life Salvatore Gravano was born on March 12, 1945, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, to Giorlando "Gerry" and Caterina "Kay" Gravano. He was the youngest of five children, having two older sisters and two siblings who died before he was born. Both of Gravano's parents hailed from Sicily. Sammy's mother, Caterina, born in 1906, arrived in the United States as a young girl from Puglia, Italy. While his father, Giorlando, born in 1901, arrived in the US after jumping ship in Canada and, with help from his older brother Alphonsio Gravano, was smuggled into the US illegally. Alphonsio was already an established bootlegger and made member of the Sicilian mafia. During Prohibition, Alphonsio was a successful bootlegger and transported booze into the US on both North East and North West coasts. As part of the Sunset Fleet, Alphonsio ran booze through the Hudson River and other New York waterways. His booze made its way into the city to the Fulton Fish Market and then sold to the NY speakeasies. On the West coast his operation ran the booze from Canada to Oregon, near the Bull River. Gerry worked as a skilled fisherman in Sicily. In the US, he became a painter, working on houses and buildings as New York grew at a staggering rate. Later, Gravano's parents ran a small dress factory, his mother being a talented seamstress. They maintained a good standard of living for the family. Early on, one of Gravano's relatives remarked that he looked like his uncle Sammy. From that point on, everyone called Gravano "Little Sammy" instead of "Salvatore" or "Sal". At age 13, Gravano joined the Rampers, a prominent street gang in Bensonhurst. He had found that some older children had stolen his bicycle and went to fight the thieves. Made men who were watching from a café saw him take on a few of the older boys at once and they gave Gravano back his bike. As he was leaving, one of the made men remarked on how little Sammy fought "like a bull", hence his nickname "The Bull". Gravano had dyslexia, was bullied, and did poorly in school. Teachers classified him as being "a slow learner". He was held back from grade advancement on two occasions, the 4th and 7th grades, and also punched school officials on two occasions. Gravano was eventually sent to a school for "incorrigibles" (600 school); however, just before he reached the age of 16, the school refused to keep him any longer and his parents signed him out of school. Gravano's father tried to redirect and discipline his son, including forcing him to attend Mass, but had little success. In 1964, Gravano was drafted into the United States Army and served in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. While an enlisted man, Gravano mainly worked as a mess hall cook. He rose to the rank of corporal and was granted an honorable discharge after two years. In 1971, Gravano married Debra Scibetta; they had two children. His daughter Karen Gravano appeared on the VH1 reality series Mob Wives beginning in 2011, and released a book in 2013 titled Mob Daughter: The Mafia, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, and Me! Later in his mob career, Gravano was ordered to help arrange the murder of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Scibetta. Gravano is also the brother-in-law of Gambino soldier Eddie Garafola. Gravano was a childhood friend of Colombo crime family associate Gerard Pappa, who was also the leader of The Rampers. Colombo associate The Mafia had a longstanding presence in Bensonhurst via the Profaci family, which evolved into the Colombo family. Despite his father's attempts to dissuade him, Gravano, like many of his Ramper colleagues, drifted into the Cosa Nostra. He first became associated with the Cosa Nostra in 1968 through his friend Tommy Spero, whose Uncle Shorty (also named Tommy) Spero was an associate of the Colombo family under future boss, Carmine "The Snake" Persico. Gravano was initially involved in crimes such as larceny, hijacking, and armed robbery. He quickly moved into racketeering, loansharking, and running a lucrative poker game in the back room of an after-hours club, of which he was part owner. Gravano became a particular favorite of family boss Carmine Persico, who used Gravano to picket the FBI Manhattan headquarters as part of Joe Columbo Italian-American Civil Rights League initiative. Gravano's rise was so sudden that it was generally understood that he would be among the first to become made when the Cosa Nostra's membership books were r.... Discover the Karen Gravano popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Karen Gravano books.