Rant This thing of ours (La Cosa Nostra)

[LZA]

@LZA, did you ever get the feeling he was putting on in the interviews? I don't mean to suggest that he is lying, but I mean the way he repeats phrases like, "It didn't affect me at all," and "it was nothing to me"

I don't know, I guess I always kind of felt like he loved talking about himself and sounding hard.

I actually did. Not as much how he acted, but really more the actual facts were questioned. Plus other people notice that he "saw Hollywood in his eyes" and could have bumped up the numbers of killings and certainly embellished some of the stories. Some of the legitimacy in his stories were questioned.

For example, they show Roy Demeo dead in his trunk on the Iceman doc. However, I heard from other sources that He knew, but was not actually a part of it.

To answer your question... I don't think he cared or affected him, but he did drum it up as an act to show how much of a cold and calculating killer he was... The only thought that came to my mind was if he really didn't care, he wouldn't care enough to repeatedly make sure everyone knew he didn't care... He was playing to an audience. Kinda like when he was bragging how he kills to the undercover guy. He likes embellishing and telling stories.., He thought he would kill the guy and get away with it, but that shows me he likes to "puff out his chest" so to speak...

[Stella 1977]

@LZA Michael Franzese looks insanely good for a 66 year old, also what an aura. Mr. Faranzese is brilliant, well spoken, humble and very personable. I'm watching all his interviews.

[LZA]

@Stella 1977 He would have succeeded in whatever he wanted to do. Someone like his father Sonny pretty much only had the smarts for life. Even Gotti let his ego and crave for fame get out of control. Franzese mentioned in an interview that he tricked Gotti into using his ego against him to get what he wanted in an argument. Gotti was a cool figure, but bad for business.. Gravano even had a better business head than Gotti, but Gotti had that "it" factor I guess. If Franzese was boss I bet it wouldn't be nearly as big of a target for law enforcement... Gotti pretty much taunted the feds to come get him,

[Stella 1977]

@LZA I agree with you. Michael Franzese has to be one of the most interesting and honest people that person could ever want to meet. Really an interesting man. Michael is very articulate. He answers questions with class but still gangster. Michael Franzese gives fantastic interviews.

[LZA]

He goes on tours making speeches about his life, and how you can apply what he's learned as far as reading people/assessing situations in the business world. I think he is the exception not the rule as far as typical mafia guys...

[Stella 1977]

@LZA John Gotti went down for two very classic & basic reasons - arrogance and letting fame go to his head. But i think Gotti popularity and media attention probably kept his alive since Vincent "the chin" Gigante and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso were trying to kill him for the unsanctioned hit on Paul Castellano. He was a particularly hard target because of the constant media attention but if he had been a traditional mafia boss and kept a low profile, he would have probably been killed very early into his reign. What do you think?

[LZA]

@LZA John Gotti went down for two very classic & basic reasons - arrogance and letting fame go to his head. But i think Gotti popularity and media attention probably kept his alive since Vincent "the chin" Gigante and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso were trying to kill him for the unsanctioned hit on Paul Castellano. He was a particularly hard target because of the constant media attention but if he had been a traditional mafia boss and kept a low profile, he would have probably been killed very early into his reign. What do you think?

@Stella 1977 I 100% agree! In fact, the reports I read was he let everyone in the 5 families know Except Vinnie the Chin... Who is Old school like Gambino... Casso too but not as much... Gaspipe Cassio is what Richard Kuklinski would be if he was an actual boss... Cold blooded murder. He'd kill out of paranoid... He made killing meaningless since he took the rules and code of honor out of it...

I'm going off the top of my head (which is dangerous), I think you are right, but I also remember Cassio being irate that the attempted hit on him was from Gotti's friend quack-quack. Ruggerio is his name?? Cassio was just pissed and would be happy to kill anyone for any reason. Vinny the chin was pure business and acted in according to the rules... Vinnie the chin was much smarter but more reserved than Gotti. If Gotti was more reserved, I wonder if he would have died on his throne instead of in a federal hospital... He just wasn't built that way though.

Gaspipe is intriguing too, but he's a slimeball. The Feds said fuck his informant deal because of all the inconsistencies. He had the gusto as well, which is why he was sucessfull, so I guess if Gotti was more reserved I wonder if we'd even know his name?

[Stella 1977]

@LZA I really respect Victoria Gotti. Just because her Father was JOHN GOTTI doesn't mean She or her Son's are The same ! Do you know that she found out in front of her whole class that her father was in jail?

[LZA]

Nah, not If you are talking about the final time he got arrested, she was around 30, since it was 1992. Her oldest son was born in the mid 80's so I'm not sure if he was in school, and would be too young to know what was going on anyway...

Ya, she's a professional woman who parlayed herself on a show... I'm sure Mafia Wives was based on Growing up Gotti. She a hard ass too though, reminds me of a typical New Yorker.

Someone I feel sorry for is Roy Demeo's son. Some of these people are only guilty by association.

[Stella 1977]

@LZA Not defending Casso but pretty gross how hard the fed worked to avoid compromising Gravano. It seems like the little guys are always the toughest. Gaspipe is what you see when you look up stereotypical Italian mobster in the dictionary. I mean he is like something out of central casting.