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Forty years ago today, December 16th, 1985, Paul “Big Paul” Castellano was shot and k*lled in front of Sparks Steak House in Manhattan. It sent shockwaves through New York and through every crime family, and I remember it like it was yesterday because I was deeply entrenched in that life – and three days later I was indicted on a major racketeering case myself.
In this sit down, I walk you through what that hit meant to us on the street, what we really thought about Castellano as a boss, how John Gotti ended up taking over the Gambino family, and why the FBI pressure exploded after that night. I explain why I don’t buy the line that “Gotti alone caused the downfall of the mob,” and why I believe it was the RICO statute – pushed hard by Giuliani and the feds – that did the real damage.
I also share my personal history with Castellano from my early days as a recruit driving top Colombo guys to meet him, how he was viewed as a businessman more than a street guy, the resentment over his money policies, and why a lot of men quietly weren’t sad to see him go. And I’ll show you how the Castellano hit fit into a much bigger story: the government’s war on the mob, corrupt prosecutions, and why even now I’m getting ready to expose cases where good men got railroaded.
I Was There When the Castellano Hit Shook the Mafia – 40 Years Later
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0:00 Chickens, Castellano, “I’ll prove it”
1:07 Intro, Christmas and today’s anniversary
1:47 December 16, 1985 – Castellano hit
2:29 Indicted three days after hit
3:49 1996 HBO “Gotti” recommendation
4:27 RICO starts destroying the mob
5:25 Sonny’s Market on Long Island
6:11 Bad chicken order, refund dispute
7:00 Summoned to Brooklyn sit down
7:52 Sit down with Castellano over disrespect
9:24 Gotti’s crew and drug rule
10:11 Wiretaps, damaging tapes, Paul pressing
11:15 Gotti decides to strike first
12:19 Setting up Sparks Steak House hit
13:19 Hit goes down, media explodes
14:32 Shockwaves, FBI intensity skyrockets
15:11 RICO, not Gotti, ruined mafia
16:33 Castellano seen as business guy
17:22 Heavy taxes, “White House” resentment
17:52 Support inside Gambinos for k*lling
19:09 Neil passed over for Castellano
19:51 Gotti “Teflon Don” vs Michael
20:16 Tease: upcoming corruption revelations
23:55 DOJ corruption worse than mafia
24:44 Reflecting on Castellano anniversary today
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