Up next in 10
He was the underboss of America's most powerful crime family. He testified against John Gotti. Now he's reviewing the mob movies that made the Mafia famous.
This is the incredible true story of Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano - the highest-ranking mobster to ever break omertà - and how he went from running New York's underworld to critiquing Goodfellas, Casino, The Sopranos, and The Irishman on YouTube.
From serving John Gotti to serving five years in federal prison, from the Gambino crime family to witness protection, Sammy's life is more dramatic than any Hollywood script. Now he's revealing what the movies got right and what they got completely wrong.
Discover how Sammy reviews the famous "funny how?" scene from Goodfellas, what he says about Casino's accuracy, why The Irishman's portrayal of mob loyalty makes him laugh, and what The Sopranos really understood about organized crime.
His YouTube channel has millions of views as people fascinated by mob culture hear the truth directly from someone who lived it at the highest levels. But the story of how he got there - and what he sacrificed - is more compelling than any movie.
📺 SUBSCRIBE for more deep-dive documentaries exploring the true stories behind famous criminals, their impact on popular culture, and the complicated legacy they leave behind.
💬 Which mob movie do YOU think is most accurate? Let us know in the comments.
⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This documentary examines the history and cultural impact of organized crime for educational purposes. It does not glorify criminal activity.
#SammyTheBull #Goodfellas #MafiaMovies #TrueCrime #TheSopranos #MobDocumentary #JohnGotti
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⚠️ Content Disclaimer:
This video is created for educational and informational purposes only. We do NOT glorify, promote, or encourage any form of criminal activity.
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0:00
Martin Scorsesei may have immortalized
0:02
the mob on screen with good fellow.
0:04
David Chase may have revolutionized
0:06
television with the Sopranos, but when
0:08
it came to actually living the life that
0:10
Hollywood glorified, there was only one
0:12
name that mattered. Salvator Graano. You
0:16
might not be familiar with his nickname.
0:18
Yet, he was known throughout the
0:19
underworld as Sami the Bull. The most
0:22
prolific killer and highest ranking
0:23
mobster to ever break him. From 1976 to
0:27
1991, he was considered the most
0:29
dangerous man in the Gambino crime
0:31
family, one of New York's five families
0:34
where he held the rank of under boss,
0:36
second only to the infamous John Gotti.
0:40
Want to get made in the Gambino family?
0:42
You had to go through Sammy. Want to
0:44
open a business in Brooklyn or Staten
0:46
Island? You had to go through Sammy.
0:49
Want to survive a mob war? You had to go
0:52
through Sammy. Even John Gotti, the
0:55
so-called dapperdone, who became the
0:58
most famous gangster in America, was
1:00
completely dependent on Sammy the Bull
1:02
to maintain his power. A federal
1:04
prosecutor who worked the case said,
1:06
"Sammy Graano knew where more bodies
1:09
were buried than anyone else in the
1:11
American Mafia." Without his testimony,
1:14
we never would have convicted John
1:15
Gotti. During his criminal career,
1:17
Gravano personally participated in 19
1:20
murders and orchestrated countless more,
1:22
helping to generate over 75 million
1:25
annually for the Gambino family,
1:27
equivalent to approximately
1:30
150 million today. At a time when the
1:32
Italian mafia operated under a strict
1:34
code of silence that had protected them
1:36
for a century, Sammy the Bull was the
1:39
exception to the rule. He broke that
1:41
code, testified against his boss, and
1:43
single-handedly dismantled the most
1:45
powerful crime family in American
1:47
history. But before becoming the most
1:50
infamous informant in mob history, he,
1:53
like many others, started at the very
1:56
bottom. Here is his story. Salvatore
1:59
Graana was born on March 12th, 1945 in
2:02
the Benenhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn,
2:05
New York. During this time,
2:07
Italian-American neighborhoods in
2:08
Brooklyn were completely controlled by
2:10
the mob with a Gambino, Columbbo, and
2:14
Genevese families operating openly on
2:16
the streets. His father, Galando
2:19
Gravano, was a hard-working man who ran
2:21
a small dress factory. His mother,
2:24
Katarina, kept House and raised Salvator
2:27
and his two sisters. They lived
2:29
modestly, but the Graanos were
2:31
surrounded by mobsters who drove
2:33
Cadillacs, wore expensive suits, and
2:36
commanded respect everywhere they went.
2:38
Sammy was small for his age, standing
2:41
barely 5'4, even as an adult with a
2:44
stocky build and dark features. He had a
2:47
learning disability that made school
2:49
difficult, and other kids mocked him for
2:51
being short and struggling with reading.
2:53
One afternoon in 1958 when Sammy was 13
2:57
years old, he was walking home from
2:59
school when three older teenagers
3:01
blocked his path on 86th Street. Little
3:04
Sammy can't read. One of them left. How
3:07
you going to make it in high school,
3:09
dummy? Sammy tried to walk around them,
3:12
but the largest kid pushed him backward.
3:14
I asked you a question. Leave me alone.
3:18
Make me. Sammy looked at the three of
3:20
them, each at least 6 in taller and 40
3:23
lb heavier. The smart move was to walk
3:25
away, take the humiliation, go home.
3:28
Instead, he picked up a garbage can lid
3:31
and swung it as hard as he could into
3:33
the biggest kid's face. The boy dropped,
3:37
blood pouring from his nose. The other
3:39
two stared in shock for a second before
3:42
jumping on Sammy. He fought like a
3:44
cornered animal, biting, scratching,
3:46
swinging the metal lid until all three
3:49
teenagers were either on the ground or
3:51
running away. Sammis father found
3:53
out about the fight that evening when a
3:55
neighbor told him his son had sent
3:56
another kid to the hospital. You could
3:58
have walked away, Jolando said, standing
4:01
in their small kitchen. They would have
4:03
kept coming. So, you nearly killed
4:06
someone over words? Sammy looked at his
4:10
father. they won't bother me again. His
4:13
father had no response to that because
4:15
it was true. The next day at school,
4:17
everyone looked at Sammy differently.
4:19
Fear is a kind of respect, and respect
4:22
was what Sammy craved more than anything
4:24
else. But the incident revealed
4:26
something crucial about Sammy's
4:28
character. He had a switch inside him
4:30
that once flipped turned off any sense
4:33
of restraint or fear. This trait would
4:36
serve him well in the world he was about
4:38
to enter. By 16, Sammy had dropped out
4:41
of school and was running with a street
4:43
gang called the Rampers. They weren't
4:45
affiliated with any crime family yet,
4:47
just neighborhood kids who stole cars,
4:49
got into fights, and occasionally did
4:51
small burglaries. However, things were
4:54
about to change. In 1964, when Sammy was
4:58
19, he was arrested during a robbery
5:01
gone wrong. Someone had gotten hurt, and
5:03
the police charged Sammy and two others
5:06
with assault. Facing serious prison
5:08
time, Sammy was terrified. His uncle,
5:11
who had connections to the Columbbo
5:13
crime family, arranged for a lawyer. A
5:16
good one. The lawyer got the charges
5:18
reduced and Sammy walked away with
5:20
probation. "Who do I thank?" Sammy asked
5:23
his uncle after the court hearing.
5:25
"Nobody." "You don't thank anyone. You
5:29
just remember that when someone asks you
5:31
for a favor someday, you do it."
5:34
This was Sammy's first real lesson in
5:37
how the mob worked. It wasn't about
5:40
gratitude or friendship. It was about
5:42
obligations, debts, and the silent
5:45
accounting that governed every
5:46
relationship. In 1968, Sammy met a capo
5:50
in the Columbbo family named Carmine
5:51
Piko, the same man who would later
5:54
become the family's boss. Proc saw
5:56
something in the short, stocky kid from
5:58
Ben, a hunger and a willingness to do
6:01
what others wouldn't. You want to earn?"
6:04
Pro asked during a meeting at a social
6:06
club on President Street. Yeah. You know
6:10
what that means? I think so. Thinking
6:14
isn't good enough. This life, you're
6:18
either in or you're out. There's no
6:21
initia. You understand? Sammy nodded.
6:25
I'm in. Over the next 2 years, Sammy
6:29
worked as an associate doing jobs for
6:31
the Columbbo family. He collected debts,
6:34
ran a lone sharking operation, and
6:36
proved himself reliable. But reliability
6:38
in the mob meant more than just showing
6:40
up on time. In 1970, Sammy received his
6:44
first contract, a murder. The target was
6:47
a man who had been talking to the FBI
6:49
about Columbbo family activities. Sammy
6:52
was told the man needed to disappear
6:55
permanently. The murder took place in a
6:57
parking lot in Brooklyn. Sammy shot the
6:59
man twice in the head at close range,
7:01
watched him fall, then walked away as if
7:04
nothing had happened. He didn't feel
7:06
guilt or remorse. He felt powerful. This
7:10
decision would change everything.
7:12
Between 1970 and 1976,
7:15
Sammy became known as one of the most
7:17
effective killers in Brooklyn. He was
7:19
involved in at least a dozen murders
7:21
during this period, earning a reputation
7:23
for being calm under pressure and
7:25
absolutely ruthless when necessary. But
7:28
Sammy wasn't just a killer. He was also
7:30
a shrewd businessman. He started a
7:33
construction company, leveraging mob
7:35
connections to win contracts and began
7:37
making legitimate money alongside his
7:40
criminal earnings. In 1976,
7:42
something unexpected happened. Sammy was
7:45
approached by members of the Gambino
7:46
crime family who wanted him to switch
7:49
Ali. The Gambinos were the most powerful
7:51
family in New York, and they needed
7:53
capable men. Switching families was
7:55
unusual, but Sammy saw the opportunity.
7:58
With the Colombos, he would always be
8:01
just another soldier. With the Gambinos,
8:04
he could rise higher. He met with
8:06
Salvatore Aurelio, a Gambino Capo who
8:09
controlled operations in Brooklyn. The
8:12
meeting took place at a restaurant in
8:14
Bay Ridge, a quiet corner table where
8:16
they could talk without being overheard.
8:18
Carmine won't like this, Sammy said,
8:21
referring to Carmine will get over it.
8:24
We'll handle that end, Aurelia replied.
8:26
What's in it for me? You'll be with a
8:28
winning team. Paul Castellano is taking
8:31
over from Carlo Gambino. We're about to
8:33
own this city and my businesses
8:37
protected, expanded.
8:40
You ll
8:42
make more money in a year with us than
8:44
you to make in 10. With the Columbos,
8:47
Sammy studied the older man's face,
8:49
looking for deception, finding only
8:52
confidence. When do I start tonight?
8:55
You're with us now. Sammy switched to
8:58
the Gambino family in 1976 under the
9:01
crew of Salv. Within months, he proved
9:03
his worth by helping to resolve a
9:05
dispute with a rival faction that could
9:07
have led to a full-scale war. By 1978,
9:11
Sammy was making more money than he'd
9:12
ever imagined. His construction company
9:14
was booming with mob influence ensuring
9:17
he won contracts worth millions. He was
9:20
also deeply involved in lone sharking,
9:23
extortion, and labor racketeering. But
9:26
there was a problem. In 1980, Sammy's
9:29
mentor Salvatore Aurelio was murdered
9:32
during an internal Gambino power
9:34
struggle. The family was in chaos with
9:36
different factions vying for control
9:38
under the new boss, Paul Castayano.
9:41
Sammy found himself without a protector
9:43
in a very dangerous environment. He
9:46
needed to align himself with someone
9:48
powerful fast. That's when he met John
9:51
Gotti. John Gotti was a rising capo in
9:55
the Gambino family, controlling rackets
9:57
and queens, standing at 5' 10 with
10:00
sllicked back hair and an obsession with
10:02
expensive suits. Gotti was everything
10:05
Sammy wasn't. Flashy, outgoing, and
10:08
obsessed with his public image. But
10:10
Gotti recognized talent when he saw it,
10:13
and Sammy was talented. They met in 1982
10:16
at the Bergine Hunt and Fish Club in
10:17
Ozone Park. Gotti's headquarters. I
10:20
heard about you, Gotti said, not
10:23
standing when Sammy entered. Sammy the
10:25
Bull. You're supposed to be tough. I do
10:29
what needs to be done.
10:31
Yeah, because I need guys who don't just
10:33
do what needs to be done. I need guys
10:36
who do it right. No mistakes, no mess,
10:39
no problems. After
10:42
Sammy met his eyes, I've never left a
10:45
mess. Gotti smiled. Good. Because Paul
10:49
is strangling us with all his rules, all
10:52
his corporate [ __ ] The real
10:54
earners. Guys like us, we're getting
10:57
squeezed. That's going to change. How?
11:00
Let's just say I'm thinking about the
11:02
future. And in that future, I need a guy
11:05
I can trust completely. someone who's
11:08
not afraid to get his hands dirty when
11:09
it counts. Sammy understood exactly what
11:12
Gotti was implying. He was planning to
11:14
kill Paul Castellano and take over the
11:17
family. I'm interested, Sammy said
11:19
carefully. Of course you are. Everyone's
11:22
interested. But are you committed? Tell
11:25
me the plan and I'll tell you if I'm
11:27
committed.
11:29
Over the next 3 years, Gotti and Sammy
11:32
became inseparable. Sammy was officially
11:35
made a captain in 1983, controlling his
11:38
own crew and generating enormous revenue
11:40
through construction rackets and other
11:42
schemes. But the real plan was always in
11:44
the background. Removing Paul Castellano
11:48
on December 16th, 1985.
11:51
That plan came to fruition. Paul
11:53
Castellano and his boss Thomas Bilotei
11:56
were murdered outside Spark Steakhouse
11:59
in Manhattan. Sammy was there
12:01
coordinating the hit, making sure
12:03
everything went according to plan. Four
12:05
shooters approached Castellano's car as
12:07
he arrived for dinner. Within seconds,
12:09
both men were dead, gunned down on a
12:12
busy New York street in front of dozens
12:14
of witnesses. Sammy watched from a car
12:16
half a block away, making sure no one
12:19
interfered, making sure the shooters got
12:21
away clean. It was the most brazen mob
12:24
hit in decades, and it worked perfectly.
12:27
John Gotti became boss of the Gambino
12:29
family and Sammy the Bull became his own
12:32
the second most powerful man in
12:34
America's most powerful crime family.
12:36
Between 1986 and 1990, Sammy and Gotti
12:40
ruled New York. They generated hundreds
12:42
of millions of dollars through
12:44
construction rackets, labor
12:46
racketeering, lone sharking, and
12:48
extortion. Sammy's construction company
12:50
alone was worth over $75 million with
12:54
his mob activities generating even more.
12:57
But Gotti's obsession with his public
12:58
image created problems. He loved being
13:01
famous, loved the media attention, loved
13:04
seeing his face in the newspapers. He
13:07
held meetings at the Ravenite Social
13:08
Club in Little Italy where FBI agents
13:11
openly photographed everyone who came
13:13
and went. Sammy warned him repeatedly.
13:17
John, they're building a case. Every
13:20
meeting at the Ravenite, every
13:21
conversation, they're recording
13:23
everything. Let him record. They got
13:26
nothing. They got everything. We should
13:29
be more careful. Gotti waved him off.
13:32
Sammy, relax. I've beaten them three
13:35
times already. I'm the Teflon Don.
13:39
Nothing sticks.
13:41
That's what worries me. They're going to
13:43
try harder this time.
13:46
Gotti wasn't wrong about beating the
13:48
government. He'd been acquitted in three
13:49
separate trials, earning his nickname in
13:52
the press. But Sammy knew that
13:53
prosecutorial failure only made them
13:55
more determined. In 1990, the FBI
13:58
arrested both Gotti and Gravano on
14:00
racketeering charges. The evidence was
14:02
overwhelming. Wire taps, surveillance,
14:05
testimony from lower level mobsters who
14:08
had already flipped. But the most
14:09
damaging evidence came from recordings
14:12
made inside the Ravenite Social Club
14:14
where Gutty had been secretly taped
14:16
discussing murders, including the
14:18
Castellano hit Sami Sat in a federal
14:21
holding cell, facing life in prison
14:23
without parole. He was 45 years old and
14:26
the government had him cold on multiple
14:28
murders. Then the FBI played him a
14:31
recording that changed everything. On
14:33
the tape, Gotti was heard complaining
14:35
about Sammy, suggesting that if things
14:37
went bad, he might point the finger at
14:39
his under boss to save himself. Sammy
14:42
listened to the tape three times. The
14:44
man he had killed for, the man he had
14:46
made boss, the man he had been
14:48
absolutely loyal to for nearly a decade,
14:51
was preparing to betray him. An FBI
14:53
agent named Frank Sparrow, sat across
14:56
from Sammy in an interrogation room.
15:00
That's your boss, Sammy. Your friend
15:04
talking about throwing you under the bus
15:05
to save himself. Sammy said nothing.
15:09
You've been loyal. You've followed the
15:11
rules. You've done everything right. And
15:14
this is how he repays you. What do you
15:17
want? We want Gaddyi. We want the whole
15:20
organization. We want you to testify.
15:24
You know what happens if I do that? I'm
15:28
dead. My family's dead. You're already
15:32
dead, Sammy. Life in prison, no parole.
15:36
Your wife and kids will be alone. Or you
15:39
testify. You do 5 years max, and you go
15:42
into witness protection. New life, new
15:46
identity. You actually get to see your
15:48
grandkids someday. Sammy stared at the
15:50
table, thinking about 19 murders,
15:53
thinking about 30 years in the life,
15:55
thinking about loyalty and betrayal and
15:57
the code that supposedly governed
15:59
everything. I want a deal in writing. 5
16:02
years guaranteed full protection for my
16:06
family. Then I'll tell you everything.
16:09
What happened next? Shocked. Even the
16:11
FBI Salvatore Graano agreed to become a
16:14
government witness against John Goti and
16:16
the Gambino crime family. His testimony
16:19
would be the most comprehensive insider
16:21
account of mob operations ever given in
16:23
an American courtroom. The trial began
16:25
in January 1992.
16:28
Sammy took the stand and testified for 9
16:30
days straight detailing every murder,
16:33
every scheme, every conversation, every
16:36
secret of the organization he had served
16:38
for decades. He described how Gotti had
16:41
ordered the Castalano hit, how they ran
16:43
the construction rackets, how they
16:45
corrupted unions and government
16:47
officials, how the entire structure of
16:49
the family operated. Goti sat in the
16:52
courtroom staring at his former ender
16:55
boss with undisguised hatred. During
16:57
cross-examination, Gotti's lawyer
16:59
attacked Sammy's credibility. Mr.
17:01
Gravano, you've admitted to 19 murders.
17:05
Correct. Yes. Yes. You've lied, stolen,
17:10
extorted, and corrupted for 30 years.
17:13
Yes. And now you expect this jury to
17:16
believe you're telling the truth. I'm
17:17
telling the truth because I have no
17:19
reason to lie anymore. I'm already going
17:21
to prison. The only reason I'm here is
17:23
because John Gotti betrayed me first.
17:26
The jury deliberated for less than 14
17:29
hours. On April 2nd, 1992, they found
17:32
John Gotti guilty on all counts. murder,
17:36
racketeering, obstruction of justice,
17:38
and conspiracy. He was sentenced to life
17:41
in prison without the possibility of
17:43
parole. Goti died in prison 10 years
17:46
later, still refusing to speak to
17:48
authorities, maintaining ameritita, even
17:51
though his under boss had destroyed him.
17:53
Sammy the Bull served just 5 years in
17:56
prison. As agreed, he was released in
17:58
1995 and entered the federal witness
18:01
protection program with his family. But
18:03
the story doesn't end there. In 2000,
18:06
Sammy was arrested again, this time in
18:08
Arizona, where he had been living under
18:10
a new identity. He was charged with
18:12
running an ecstasy drug ring that was
18:14
distributing hundreds of thousands of
18:16
pills across the Southwest. The irony
18:18
was impossible to ignore. The man who
18:20
had brought down the most powerful mob
18:22
family in America, who had testified
18:24
against dozens of mobsters who had
18:26
helped the government destroy Lacosa
18:28
Nostra, had immediately returned to
18:31
crime. Sammy served 9 years for the drug
18:34
charges, released in 2009.
18:37
He was now 64 years old. His criminal
18:40
career definitively over. Yet Sammy
18:43
wasn't done with the mob life. Not
18:45
entirely. In 2020, Sammy the Bull
18:48
launched a YouTube channel and podcast
18:50
where he tells stories about his time in
18:52
the Gambino family, discusses mob
18:54
history, and reviews mob movies like
18:57
Good Fellas, Casino, The Irishman, and
18:59
The Sopranos. It is a strange epilogue
19:02
to a brutal life. The most infamous mob
19:05
turncoat in American history. Now
19:08
critiquing Hollywood portrayal of the
19:10
world he helped destroy. When he watches
19:12
the famous scene in Good Fellas where
19:14
Joe Peshi's character murders someone
19:16
over a perceived insult, Sami nods
19:18
approvingly. That's accurate. That's
19:21
exactly how it happened. You disrespect
19:24
a maid guy. There's consequences.
19:27
When he watches Casino's depiction of
19:29
mob control over Las Vegas, he points
19:32
out the inaccuracies. They make it look
19:34
cleaner than it was. There was way more
19:37
violence, way more chaos. Those guys in
19:41
Vegas were animals. When he reviews The
19:44
Irishman and its depiction of mob
19:45
loyalty, Sammy laughs bitterly. Loyalty.
19:50
Everyone talks about loyalty until
19:52
they're facing life in prison. Then you
19:54
find out what loyalty is really worth.
19:57
The videos have millions of views.
19:59
People are fascinated by the real thing,
20:02
the actual voice of someone who lived
20:04
the life that Hollywood glorifies. But
20:06
there's something deeply unsettling
20:08
about it. Sammy admits 219 murders on
20:11
camera. Discatis, killing people as if
20:13
it was just business describes the mob
20:15
with a kind of nostalgia that ignores
20:17
the lives destroyed the families ruined
20:20
the violence and corruption that defined
20:22
his entire existence. Salvatore Gravano
20:25
today is 78 years old, living in
20:28
Arizona, making money from his YouTube
20:30
channel and podcast, selling his story
20:33
to anyone willing to listen. The
20:35
transformation of Sammy the Bull into a
20:37
media personality, shocked many who knew
20:40
him. Here was a man who had murdered 19
20:42
people who had broken the most sacred
20:44
code in organized crime. Now casually
20:47
discussing his past for entertainment.
20:50
Sammy the Bull was often described as a
20:52
man of honor by those who served with
20:54
him. Someone who followed the rules and
20:56
protected his crew. However, to his
20:59
victims and their families, he was a
21:01
cold-blooded killer who destroyed lives
21:04
without remorse. Yet, the truth is,
21:06
Salvatore Gravano was still a mass
21:08
murderer who betrayed everyone he ever
21:10
worked with. Yes, even though he helped
21:13
the government dismantle the mafia, he
21:15
was also someone who only cooperated to
21:17
save himself, not out of any moral
21:20
awakening. Gravano was intelligent
21:22
enough to have built a legitimate
21:23
construction empire and become a
21:25
successful businessman without the mob,
21:27
but instead he chose murder and
21:29
extortion as his path to wealth and
21:31
power. What people will remember about
21:34
Sammy the Bull is not the money he made
21:36
or even the people he killed, but the
21:38
fact that he broke the unbreakable code
21:41
of silence that had protected the
21:43
American mafia for over a century. And
21:45
in doing so, he ended an era. A killer
21:48
who became a witness, a mobster who
21:51
became a media personality. Salvatore
21:53
Gravano was described by federal
21:55
prosecutors as the most significant
21:58
cooperator in the history of organized
22:00
crime prosecutions whose testimony
22:02
helped convict 39 mobsters and
22:04
effectively destroyed the Gambino crime
22:06
family as an operational entity. His
22:09
life remains a contradictory testament
22:12
to the complexity of loyalty, betrayal,
22:15
and the strange American appetite for
22:18
mob stories, even from those who lived
22:20
them at their most brutal