Sammy Gravano Recalls 1985 Plot to Kill Gambino Boss Paul Castellano

Q: What chilling secrets about the 1985 mafia assassination is Sammy the Bull finally revealing on tape?

Sammy “The Bull” Gravano is newly alleging on tape that he was directly recruited in advance of the 1985 assassination of Gambino boss Paul Castellano and that the approach came from Angelo Ruggiero in John Gotti’s name. In the Hannity podcast interview, Gravano says Ruggiero told him, “we need you — me and John Gotti” for the hit. Gravano recalls being stunned, replying, “You’re gonna kill the boss of bosses?” He also says that when he asked where Gotti was, he was told Gotti “had something to do,” a detail Gravano presents as evidence of how serious and secretive the plot was. Those remarks add a more personal, behind-the-scenes account of how the conspiracy was framed to him before Castellano and underboss Thomas Bilotti were gunned down outside Sparks Steak House in Midtown Manhattan on Dec. 16, 1985. The killing was a decisive internal power move that cleared the way for Gotti to take control of the Gambino family. What is chilling is not that the broad outline was unknown—Gotti was long ago tied to the murders and later convicted of ordering them—but that Gravano is now describing, in his own voice, the recruitment conversation, his immediate reaction, and the implication that trusted insiders were sounding out participants for the execution of their own boss. The taped account therefore offers fresh detail on the mechanics and mindset behind one of the Mafia’s most notorious public assassinations.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 18

Sammy "The Bull" Gravano said on Sean Hannity’s podcast that Angelo Ruggiero asked him to help John Gotti kill Gambino boss Paul Castellano, calling it one of the mob’s boldest power plays.
Gravano said he was stunned by the request because targeting the "boss of bosses" could bring deadly consequences, and he challenged why Gotti was not present for such a high-stakes ask.
Castellano and underboss Thomas Bilotti were later shot dead outside a New York City steakhouse in 1985, a hit that cleared Gotti’s path to power.
Gotti was later convicted of ordering the murders, while Gravano’s interview also revisited his mob career and involvement in nearly 20 killings.