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Lauren Presta
Professor Eren
The life of the American Mobster, John Gotti
William Paterson
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What do you think when you the words, “The Mafia?” The Mafia is an illusion of
numerous individuals' with creative energies. To certain individuals it is a genuine issue of
society. For certain individuals the Mafia and composed wrongdoing is a lifestyle. Mainstream
culture has seen components of the Mafia in such motion pictures and network shows like The
Godfather, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. Since the confinement of John Gotti and the
absconding of Sammy Gravano to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, sorted out wrongdoing
has turned out to be less common in the public eye. John Gotti was the last extraordinary Mafia
nonentity and since his arraignment and unavoidable life condemning in prison, composed
wrongdoing has been on a decrease. The mafia is like a business where men maintain their own
business and do however they see fit. Similarly as each business has its very own structure so
does the mafia. At the highest point of the stepping stool there is the "Capo Di Tutti Capi
(supervisor of the managers)" ( Cummings and Volkman 6). There is no head supervisor for the
entire whole mafia association itself. In any case, every family has its very own supervisor and
he runs it the manner in which he needs to in the manner in which he satisfies to do as such.
Under each manager there is an under manager, who is viewed as a chief in the mafia world. The
organization is brought in to settle the debate. On October 27, 1940, John Gotti was born
( Elliot,1990). When he was brought into the world nobody imagined that he would be the a part
of one of the greatest wrongdoing groups of New York. The family lived in the section of
Harlem where it was invaded by each parent's bad dream. This bad dream comprised of posses
that were controlled by kids. Here and there their actions would transform into everyday
violations. For example, the criminal acts they would perform consisted of moving lushes and
taking from dealers. Numerous Italian youngsters were a part of these groups, not Gotti yet,
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however. John Gotti performed numerous acts that demonstrated classical theory, social structure
theory and the ecological approach.
Classical Theory
The classical theory refers to supernatural explanations of criminality which is attributed
to demons or other world sources. This theory responses to crime with “trial by ordeal.” John
Gotti, Jr. was in his very own alliance. At a youthful age Gotti had a notoriety that nobody his
age had, a notoriety of intensity. At the point when Gotti began school he didn't have this power
immediately. Gotti went to the "state funded school A 33 close to his home" (Cummings and
Volkman 20). Ordinary Gotti would see group's encompass little children for their cash. Any
educator that would meddle with the packs activity would have gotten a beating like they have
never felt in their life. John Gotti was an individual with a rough temper when he was more
youthful. His school record had only demonstrations of battling with different understudies. He
was dependably in a terrible temperament as a result of his living style. This theory believes that
punishment should fit the crime severe enough. In John Gottis case he was convicted of five
different types of murders which included conspiracy to commit murder, obstruction of justice,
tax evasion, illegal gambling, extortion, and loansharking. He was sentenced to life in prison
without parole. As mentioned before this theory stated that the punishment should fit the crime
that was committed and Gotti was severely punished because of the acts he committed. John
Gotti made himself look like a demon and it locked him up for good.
Social Structure Theory
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The social structure theory looks at the environment and ecology state of the crime. This
includes social disorganization, institutional problems, and culture. This theory supports a
symbolic interactionist perspective which focuses on how people interpret and define their social
reality with the meanings they attach to it in the process of interaction with one another via
language and symbols. John Gotti was referred to some as the most prestigious fathers of the
mafia family who went from clothes to newfound wealth, while others feel that he weaseled his
was to the best. John Gotti was naturally introduced to a poor Italian family. He lived in a broken
home, his dad was jobless more often than not and any cash he could achieve he lost betting
(Rising Talent 1). The nearby Mafia life appeared heaven to John. All through his adolescence,
he ran visit errands for nearby criminals. When he was 16 he was at that point working for the
nearby supervisor. He began his own intense person gathering, which was apropos named the
Fulton-Rockaway Boys, named after a corner in Little Italy. John was known for his brisk temper
and immediacy to stir something up when bothered. John Gottis criminal records related to this
theory in so many ways. In John Gottis early stages of his criminal career, he started selling
narcotics. He feared that his brother who was also involved in these criminal acts with him
thought he would be killed by the gambino member Paul Castellano for selling drugs. The
environment he was in lead him to believe what he was doing was perfectly fine. He grew up in
the Bronx and thats when he discovered he wanted to be a mobster. Gotti was one of the most
powerful crime bosses in the country at the time period because he was attracting attention
through the media because he was showing off his expensive clothes. This was his way of
bragging because he knew that he was racking in so much money and no one at first knew what
he was doing.
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Ecological Approach
The ecological approach focuses on social and artificial environment influences and
acknowledges the weakness of official data. This includes population, weather and pollution.
Gotti was a gathering of hoodlums and oddballs that ran errands for the command nearby
manager Carmine Fatico (Rising Talent 1). It was through Carmine that John got the opportunity
to meet Neil Dellecroce, the underboss to Carlo Gambino (Rising Talent 2).This theory relates to
John Gottis criminal record because he knew that he had power that no one could get unless they
were doing the criminal acts he was taking on. He looked down upon others because he believed
that they had to kiss the ground he walked on because he had money no one else had. The
criminal acts he was taking on were like pollution, once he started getting the hang of it, he let it
all out in the public and people picked up on it. Some people at the time were so afraid to even
make eye contact with him because he wasn’t afraid to commit murder at any given time so
people let him be. Just like when people litter 9/10 times they leave it on the ground and not pick
it up. In this case, people were afraid so they let him a criminal. The FBI then turned the
conviction of Gotti into an organizational crusade. After pressuring the Gambino family’s new
underboss, Sammy Gravano, into testifying against Gotti, the mob leader was finally convicted
of murder and racketeering on April 2, 1992. It is estimated that, while John Gotti acted as boss,
the Gambino family made more than $500 million in revenue from illegal activities such as
gambling, drug trafficking, extortion, and stock fraud (Editors H, 2009). As a repeat offender,
Gotti was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole and sent to federal prison in
Marion, Illinois. According to federal prosecutors, after his imprisonment he appointed his eldest
son, John “Junior” Gotti, as acting boss of the Gambino family. In 1999, his son pled guilty to
racketeering charges and was sentenced to six years in prison (Editors H, 2009). John Gotti
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remained in jail until June 10, 2002, when he died in the federal prison hospital from
complications with head and neck cancer.
In conclusion, the best theory that explained my criminal well was social structure theory.
Robert Merton- social structure and anomie, “lack of norms”, Why do we have crime? Conflict
between culturally shared goals and the ability to attain Strain and unhappiness. This theory
justifys the mean attitude-trying to obtain a goal no matter how you get there. Social structure
theory looks at the environment and ecology and social disorganization. This theory looks at
institutional problems and looks at culture. Gotti once was in poverty and had no money so he
turned to crime to become wealthy. He lived in a broken home, his dad was jobless more often
than not and any cash he could achieve he lost betting (Rising Talent 1). The nearby Mafia life
appeared heaven to John. All through his adolescence, he ran visit errands for nearby criminals.
When he was 16 he was at that point working for the nearby supervisor. He began his own
intense person gathering, which was apropos named the Fulton-Rockaway Boys, named after a
corner in Little Italy. He gained more media attention by himself than any other organized crime
figure in history as he ran his organization in the traditional network style. The socioeconomic
conditions of society are the reason John Gotti committed crime.
Works Cited
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Cummings, John, and Ernest Volkman Goombata: The improbable rise and fall of John
Gotti and his gang. Boston little brown and company, 1990.
Anastasia, G. (2015). Gottis rules the story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the demise of
the American Mafia. New York: HarperLuxe, an imprint of HarperCollins.
Abadinsky, H. (2000). Organized crime. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Editors, H. (2009, December 02). John Gotti. Retrieved from
https://www.history.com/topics/crime/john-gotti.
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