Sammy the Bull Ecstacy Case Part 1

12/12/22 • -1 min

Retired Intelligence Unit Detective Gary Jenkins takes a deep dive into the Sammy the Bull Gravano story that sent him back to prison after he avoided a life sentence due to his work as a member of the Gambino Crime Family. This story starts when the government released Sammy the Bull from his five-year sentence after they allowed him to avoid racketeering, extortion, and murder convictions from his lifetime serving the Gambino crime family. He appears around 1995 in Phoenix, Arizona. Gravano opens Marathon Construction Company and Creative Pools. His wife, daughter, and son all appear in Phoenix simultaneously. The listener will learn how Gravano is living under the name Jimmy Moran and getting recognized by many people. He released his book, Underboss, and appeared on 60 Minutes. His wife and son opened Uncle Sal’s Italian Restaurant, and he is often seen there. A local newspaper, Arizona Republic, learned Gravano was living and working in the area, and they published a story. A Gambino-sponsored hit team arrived. Gravano’s son, Gerard Gravano, starts hanging out and partying with a local weight lifter and ecstasy dealer named Michael Papa, who was part of a White Nationalist gang known as the Devil Dogs. Despite all this, Gravano became involved in a drug-selling operation. Gary looks at the origins of the local investigation into the new party drug Ecstacy and who sells it to ASU students and others at local clubs and Raves. Local police are astounded to learn the ring leader may be the most famous turncoat mafia member of all time, Sammy the Bull Gravano. Support the Podcast Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwireClick here to “buy me a cup of coffee” To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup click here To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here. To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here To buy my Kindle book, Leaving Vegas: The True Story of How FBI Wiretaps Ended Mob Domination of Las Vegas Casinos. To subscribe on iTunes click here, please give me a review and help others find the podcast.

Previous Episode

Michael Marcello Social Security Scam

Intelligence Detective Gary Jenkins looks into the recent conviction of Michael Marcello for scamming Social Security. Michael Marcello is the brother of former Chicago outfit Boss James Marcello. He used to run all the Video Poker business for the Outfit. Michaele Marcello got into his first big trouble during the Family Secrets trial in 2007. He was meeting in a bugged visiting room with his brother Jimmy. The FBI overheard him taking orders and carrying out Outfit business. For example, he was directed to give Nick Calabrese’s family $4,000 monthly to keep him quiet. he helped gather tips from a corrupt US marshall about the location of a government witness, Nick Calabrese. Support the Podcast Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwireClick here to “buy me a cup of coffee” To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup click here To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here. To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here To buy my Kindle book, Leaving Vegas: The True Story of How FBI Wiretaps Ended Mob Domination of Las Vegas Casinos. To subscribe on iTunes click here, please give me a review and help others find the podcast.

Next Episode

Lucky Luciano and the Havana Meeting

In this episode, Gary takes a close look at the 1946 mob meeting in Havana, Cuba. In 1946 Charles “Lucky” Luciano was residing in Italy after his deportation by the United States. He obtained an Italian passport issued in his real name, Salvatore Lucania, and obtained visas for travel in Mexico, Cuba, and several South American nations. Once he obtained these travel documents, Luciano journeyed to Caracas, Venezuela, then to Mexico City, and finally to Havana, Cuba. Luciano’s old friend Meyer Lansky met him in Cuba. Acting on Luciano’s orders, Lansky reserved several rooms and a meeting room at the Hotel/Casino Nacional from December 22 to January 1. Lansky recommended that his friend Luciano purchase a $150,000 interest in the Hotel Nacional because he had an important government official, President Fulgencio Batista as a silent partner. Luciano agreed because this operation would get him back in business only 90 miles from the United States and give him official government protection in Cuba. Leading up to Christmas Day of 1946, well-known American mob bosses started arriving at the Hotel Nacional. They were all there to welcome Luciano back from exile and to acknowledge his position within the North American crime families. As would be the custom, they all arrived with cash envelopes for the boss of bosses. Lansky scheduled a dinner where Luciano was publically acknowledged as the boss, and Lansky, Frank Costello, Joe Adonis, and the other bosses presented him with envelopes totaling around $200,000. They even flew Frank Sinrata in, and several cousins of Al Capone accompanied him. During the next few days, the bosses discussed some mob leadership problems in New York City, who may invest in Cuban casinos, the mob-controlled narcotics operations, and the work being done by Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel to develop Las Vegas into a gambling mecca and problems with the Flamingo casino/hotel. Since Luciano was not allowed inside the United States, Frank Costello had been running his mafia family. Vito Genovese was straining at the harness to be the new boss. Luciano obtained a consensus from the other mob bosses that he was the boss of all bosses or the capo de tutti capi. But by the time this entire meeting was over, Luciano was deported back to Italy, and he would never be the Boss of Bosses. Support the Podcast Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwireClick here to “buy me a cup of coffee” To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup click here To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here. To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here To buy my Kindle book, Leaving Vegas: The True Story of How FBI Wiretaps Ended Mob Domination of Las Vegas Casinos. To subscribe on iTunes click here, please give me a review and help others find the podcast.