The Ravenite Social Club

This is the former Ravenite Social Club.

It is located at 247 Mulberry Street in Manhattan, 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 senior mob figures such as John Gotti entering and leaving the building.

Gotti seized control of the Gambino family in 1985 after he orchestrated the murder of his boss, Paul Castellano. When the FBI learned that he had assassinated Castellano, they quickly made him their prime target.

The Ravenite in particular became the subject of a heavy surveillance operation, as the authorities were aware that it served as a command post for Gotti and his crew.

In February 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 1988, members of Gotti's crew discovered a listening device at the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club in Queens. 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 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 Castellano's murder. 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 Ravenite 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 tapes, he eagerly picked up the headphones. At that point, the agents played a recording of 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 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, Gotti died from throat cancer at the age of 61.

Further information is available in the "Photos" section below.

Photos

Photos of the club and other related images.

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