Summary

• Sammy "The Bull" Gravano played a key role in taking down John Gotti, helping the FBI to secure convictions against the notorious mob boss.
• Gravano started as an associate for the Colombo crime family before ing the Gambino crime family, where he aligned himself with Gotti and other notable mobsters.
• After his release from prison, Gravano started a podcast and YouTube channel, showcasing his transition from a life of organized crime to a new public persona.

Given the high stakes associated with organized crime, Get Gotti viewers might be wondering what happened to Sammy “The Bull” Gravano after he helped take down John Gotti. Nicknamed the “Dapper Don” due to his penchant for fancy clothes and willingness to appear on the news, Gotti was the former head of the Gambino crime family. Before earning the title, he orchestrated the murder of his predecessor, Paul Castellano, and went from running drugs with his crew in Queens to helming America’s most successful crime syndicate. However, not all the Gambino associates stuck with John Gotti in the end.

After weaseling his way out of several other trials in the 1980s — thanks in large part to illegal witness tampering, intimidation, and monetary bribes — Gotti, a.k.a. “The Teflon Don,” didn’t seem catchable. Still, the feds continued to pursue cases against Gotti. As illustrated in Netflix’s three-part docies, the FBI finally secured some help from Gotti’s once-associates, including Sammy “The Bull” Gravano. Even Get Gotti's Anthony Ruggiano Jr., another former Gambino crime family member, helped the FBI to lessen his sentence. In the case of Gravano, aiding the feds came with its own repercussions, including making plenty of enemies within the Gambino crime family.

Sammy Gravano Helped The FBI Take Down John Gotti

While Andrea Giovino's connection to the Gotti family might have been the most complex dynamic chronicled in Netflix's Get Gotti, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano played a key role in eventually taking down the titular mob boss. While he later went on to aid the feds in taking John Gotti down, Gravano made his mark on New York's organized crime world. Known for being an underboos in the Gambino crime family's syndicate, Gravano got his start as an associate for the Colombo crime family. After ing up with a Gambino faction, Sammy the Bull allied himself with Gotti — the future head of the syndicate — as well as other notable mobsters, like Angelo Ruggiero, Frank DeCicco, and Joseph Armone.

It was that group of Gambino associates who eventually helped John Gotti kill Paul Castellano in 1985. With the Gambino boss successfully out of the picture, Gotti assumed control of the syndicate and promoted Gravano for his contributions to Castellano's assassination. Once another long-time Gambino capo stepped down, Sammy the Bull became a captain and, eventually, a consigliere — a trusted adviser and mediator. By the late '80s, Gravano was a Gambino underboss. After overhearing the Teflon Don's disparaging remarks about him, Gravano testified on behalf of the feds, making him the highest-ranking member of the Mafia's "Five Families" to break a blood oath (via The New York Times).

Sammy Gravano’s Time In Prison Explained

As show in Netflix's Get Gotti, John Gotti was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1992. Two years later, Gravano was convicted of his own crimes, with the judge giving the former underboss a five-year prison sentence. While The Bull's anti-Gotti testimony definitely helped him face a less severe sentence, his long-time involvement with the mob — and his high-ranking role — didn't allow him to evade prison entirely. Despite confessing to being involved in (at least) 19 murders, Gravano definitely got a better shake than other Gambino associates (via The New Yorker).

At the time of the sentencing, Sammy the Bull had already served four years. In total, he was incarcerated for less than a year more. Upon his release, Sammy Gravano ed the Witness Protection Program, but didn't stick with the initiative long term. Roughly a decade after the Gotti trial, Gravano was arrested on federal and state drug charges, and sentenced to roughly 20 years in two states — both New York and Arizona — which he served concurrently (via The New York Times). When Gravano was eventually released from prison nearly two decades later, it was with a lifetime supervision stipulation.

Where Is Sammy The Bull Gravano Now

In 2017, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano was finally released from prison. Although he served substantial time for running drug trafficking rings in both New York and Arizona, he didn't spend nearly the same amount of time in prison for his mob-related activities. Still, it was widely known that Gravano, as an underboss, ordered hits for years. This violent reputation didn't help his chances at parole, though he was released a few years earlier than expected (via 12News.com). In 2020, the former mobster started a podcast, and tie-in YouTube channel, called Our Thing. Undoubtedly, Sammy Gravano is one of the most interesting figures chronicled in Get Gotti.

Sources: The New York Times, The New Yorker, The New York Times, 12News.com