By Asaiah Logan –
Mafia underboss Sammy “The Bull” Gravano was used to being feared: a survivor of three mafia wars, a confessed killer of 19 rivals and enemies.
But when he got hit with Corona virus, pneumonia, shingles and when he lost 30 pounds, Sammy was afraid himself.
“I was laying in bed and I heard a voice say, ‘Sammy, don’t be scared. Be you,’” he tells. “Nobody was there, but right after that, I started getting better.”
That voice now appears to be from God. Today, the ex-Gambino crime family leader is a born-again Christian.
Born of an Italian-American family in 1945 in a Brooklyn where mobsters watched street toughs to find new recruits, Sammy Gravano tended towards crime since he was dyslexic and struggled in school.
It was in his childhood that he was nicknamed “the Bull” – a priest who saw how ferociously he defended himself when other kids tried to steal his bicycle.
As part of a gang in Bensonhurst, he committed petty crimes, stealing, fighting, hustling, under the shadow of local mob crews. Gravano’s toughness and loyalty made him stand out.
In his early 20s, Gravano got noticed by the Colombo crime family, where he started with truck hijackings, burglary and loan-sharking. His work in the mob caught the attention of the Gambino crime family, one of the Five Families of New York.
Gravano was mentored by Aniello “Neil” Dellacroce, the Gambino underboss. Dellacroce respected Gravano’s work ethic and violence when needed. By the late 1970s, Gravano was officially inducted into the Gambino family, becoming a full-fledged member.
He later rose quickly under John Gotti, becoming his underboss after Gotti orchestrated the murder of Paul Castellano in 1985.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s takedown of the Gambino mob was legendary, a story of intense surveillance, hundreds of hours of recordings via wiretaps and Gravano’s stunning betrayal that broke the Mafia code of silence.
John Gotti – known as “Teflon Don” because he repeatedly beat criminal cases, often by jury tampering or witness intimidation – was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The FBI bugged the Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy, even installing a wiretap in theupstairs apartment where Gotti held meetings. The recorded Gotti discussing murders, extortion and even bad-mouthing Gravano behind his back.
Gotti suggested that Gravano was getting too powerful and had “taken too much money.” These recordings gave Gravano reason to break the oath of silence to never rat on your fellow mobster.
On Dec. 11, 1990, FBI agents arrested John Gotti, Sammy Gravano and consigliere Frank Locascio at the Ravenite. They were charged with racketeering, murder and loansharking.
Facing life in prison, Gravano made a shocking decision to break the Mafia’s oath of omertà, the strict code of silence. He struck a deal with prosecutors in 1991, becoming the highest-ranking Mafia member ever to turn government witness at the time.
Gravano’s testimony detailed 19 murders he was involved in and laid out the inner workings of the Gambino family. His insider knowledge, combined with the tapes, sealed Gotti’s fate.
Thanks to his cooperation, Gravano received only a 5-year sentence.
During his entire life, Gravano spent 20 years in prison.
After he was released from federal prison in September of 2017 under permanent federal parole in Phoenix, he started a YouTube channel called “Our Thing” and got involved in movie projects on the mafia.
He appeared in the Max documentary Sons of Ecstasy, which explores his post-Mafia years involved in ecstasy trafficking and his family’s entanglement in the drug world.
He has also been featured on podcasts such as The HoneyDew Podcast, where he revisits highlights and lowlights of his life in the Gambino family.
He has publicly spoken about prison reform, improving humane conditions for incarcerated people and raising awareness about the drug epidemic.
Then he caught Covid. He got pneumonia and developed shingles. He lost 30 pounds. It looked like the end.
Then God spoke to him.
He started to recover.
A friend invited him to church in California. Previously, his only experience with religion (aside from Catholic ritualism of his upbringing) was when he joined the Native American religion in prison. He did this only to smoke. They were the only ones in prison allowed to smoke.
When he went to church, he liked the vibe. After attending three times, the pastor got wind of the famous guy attending his church and invited Sammy to coffee. He offered to baptize him.
“I told my daughter, my son, my ex-wife, ‘I’m going to become a born again Christian. I’m going to make that step,’” he tells. “Why? I think it’s right for me.”
The outpouring online has been overwhelming. People on his podcast ask questions, and he tries to answer and give solid advice, as best he knows.
Then his son, who was struggling with his marriage, decided also to become born-again.
“I’m asking Jesus for redemption,” Sammy says. “I want peace for the rest of my life. And this is the way I’ll find it.”
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