By: HISTORY.com Editors
Mafia boss John Gotti, aka “Teflon Don,” sentenced to life
On June 23, 1992, Mafia boss John Gotti, nicknamed the “Teflon Don” after escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, is sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering. Moments after his sentence was read in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, hundreds of Gotti’s supporters stormed the building and overturned and smashed cars before being forced back by police reinforcements.
Gotti, born and educated in New York City, became head of the powerful Gambino family after boss Paul Castellano was murdered outside a steakhouse in Manhattan in December 1985. The gang assassination, the first in three decades in New York, was organized by Gotti and his colleague Sammy “the Bull” Gravano.
5 Famous Racketeering Cases
“Racketeering” is an umbrella term that covers a wide variety of criminal activity. Here are five notable racketeering trials in American history.
“Racketeering” is an umbrella term that covers a wide variety of criminal activity. Here are five notable racketeering trials in American history.
The Gambino family was known for its illegal narcotics operations, gambling activities and car theft. During the next five years, Gotti rapidly expanded his criminal empire, and his family grew into the nation’s most powerful Mafia family. Despite wide publicity of his criminal activities, Gotti managed to avoid conviction several times, usually through witness intimidation. In 1990, however, he was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Paul Castellano, and Gravano agreed to testify against him in a federal district court in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.
On April 2, 1992, John Gotti was found guilty on all counts and on June 23 was sentenced to multiple life terms without the possibility of parole. While still imprisoned, Gotti died of throat cancer on June 10, 2002.
How Prohibition Created the Mafia
Starting in January 1920, the United States became a dry country. Prohibition banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol in an attempt to civilize unruly Americans (and some other reasons). The experiment had many unintended consequences, but most dangerously, it fostered the rise of organized crime and the American Mafia.
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Citation Information
- Article Title
- Mafia boss John Gotti, aka “Teflon Don,” sentenced to life
- Author
- HISTORY.com Editors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- October 21, 2026
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- June 16, 2026
- Original Published Date
- November 24, 2009
