The Ravenite Social Club

This is the former location of the Ravenite Social Club.

It is situated at 247 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, New York.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the club was used as a headquarters by the Gambino crime family. At the time, it was common to see mobsters such as John Gotti hanging around outside the building and chatting with one another.

Gotti took over the Gambino family in 1985 after he orchestrated the murder of his boss, Paul Castellano. From that point on, he became one of the FBI's biggest targets.

The authorities were aware that the Ravenite Social Club served as a command post for Gotti and his crew. As a result, they put it under heavy surveillance.

In February of 1988, the FBI set up a video camera with a telephoto lens and pointed it at the front door. By doing this, they were able to capture photographs of mob figures and union officials coming and going.

Around the same time, agents managed to bug the inside of the club. However, the recordings proved to be worthless, as the Gambinos were so paranoid about being recorded that they kept the radio volume up at all times.

In July of 1988, members of Gotti's crew discovered a listening device at one of their other hangouts. Realizing that the FBI may have done something similar to the Ravenite, they decided to install a white noise machine inside the club.

As the investigation wore on, the surveillance team started to become suspicious about the fact that no important conversations were taking place. They also noticed that Gotti kept disappearing for periods of time.

After questioning their informants about these unexplained absences, they eventually learned that he was using a side door to sneak up to apartment 10, which was on the third floor.

The apartment was being rented by the widow of a former Gambino associate named Michael Cirelli, who had passed away earlier that year.

Sensing that they had struck gold, the FBI bugged the apartment.

The operation proved to be a huge success, as "The Teflon Don" was recorded talking about a litany of crimes, including murder and extortion.

During one conversation, he was heard speaking to "Sammy the Bull" Gravano about the assassination of Paul Castellano. In another, he spoke about the killing of an associate named Robert DiBernardo:

"I was in jail when I whacked him. I knew why it was being done. I done it anyway. I allowed it to be done anyway. I took Sammy's word that he talked behind my back."

On December 11th, 1990, the FBI raided the club and arrested Gotti, Gravano, and Frank "Frankie Loc" LoCascio.

While they were in prison awaiting trial together, Gotti forbade Gravano from listening to the tapes.

This set off alarm bells in Gravano's head, as he was Gotti's consigliere and right-hand man. Immediately, he began to suspect that his boss had said something extremely negative about him.

When the FBI offered Gravano a chance to listen to a portion of the recordings, he eagerly picked up the headphones. At that point, the agents played a conversation in which Gotti made a series of bitter remarks about him.

The comments were so negative that Gravano quickly realized that his boss had been laying the groundwork for his murder.

This was a key moment in the case, as it convinced Gravano to turn state witness and testify against Gotti.

During the trial, "Sammy the Bull" implicated his former boss in four murders.

In April of 1992, Gotti was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering. Two months later, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In 2002, "The Teflon Don" died from throat cancer at the age of 61.

Photos

Photos of the club and other related images.

---