Most people ask me if the Gotti name
helped or hindered my career,
You be the judge,
We'll try and keep the interviews as short as possible,
Ten radio, ten television,
Now that your father's in jail,
will you be taking over as head of the mob?
Keep the questions to the book, okay?
Yes, but how is your dad?
Rumour has it, he isn't well,
Mommy! Mommy!
Hi boys!
Hi!
Daddy made us something!
Did he?
Lucky you,
Hello!
You didn't stay long tonight,
The kids were bored, so I took 'em home early,
Besides, you know how I feel about you working,
Can't you just support me?
[phone rings]
Hello?
[Operator] Collect call from the correctional facility,
Do you accept?
Yeah,
[whispers] Dad,
Hey, kiddo, Sorry to call you so late,
How are you?
[quietly] What is it?
I can tell something is wrong, Just tell me,
Uh,,, The test results are back,
And?
It's cancer,
Okay, well,,, we'll,,,we'll fight it,
[tearfully] Yeah,
He's right here; I love you too,
Okay,
Okay, bye,
[cries]
[phone rings]
Yeah?
They're here,
I was born with a congenital heart defect,
According to the doctors,
I should have been dead a year earlier,
That morning, I wished I was,
I'm Victoria Gotti, and this is the story of my father and me,
[screaming]
Push, Push, Give us a big, hard push,
[pained] Call my husband! I want my husband!
Come on now, you can do this,
No, I can't!
You're gonna be fine,
Just look at the clock,
I won't look at a clock!
I want my husband!
[phone rings]
Yeah?
Yeah, hang on,
It's the hospital,
Okay,
Yeah?
We gotta go, Ange,
This one's gonna be a boy,
Butch! We gotta go!
Wake up,
She's beautiful,
Where were you?
What happened to your face?
Don't worry about it, We gotta go,
I've told this story a million times,
About how my father stole me from the hospital,
Since they didn't have money to pay the bill,
It sets my father up as a noble criminal,
A Robin Hood,
[weakly] I just had a baby,
I often joke that stealing me from the hospital was the most
lucrative heist of Dad's life, but looking back on all of it,
all I can think of "kid, you were royally screwed,"
[loud buzzer]
Look at us,
We were so young then,
My sister Angel, she's on the right,
That's me, John Junior was five,
Now, remember, Your father works here,
so you all need to be on your best behaviour,
Daddy is helping build this place,
But, we still gotta follow the rules if we want to see him,
you got it?
Frankie, the youngest, was at home,
[heavy creaking door opens]
Gotti family? Let's go,
[laughs]
Dad,
My little princess,
Hi, Dad,
John,
Hi Dad,
Hi John,
[whispered] How are ya?
Victoria, Mom said you love to read,
[whispers] You're my smart one,
[laughs]
Make sure she gets a library card,
Yeah,
Dad, guess what?
What?
I know how to play chess,
Yeah?
I hope we can play one day,
We will,
You don't look so good,
What's the matter with her?
Nothing,
Huh?
She can hardly speak,
She's fine, just-
We're all just really tired,
Everything okay?
Come here,
There was nothing wrong with me,
I was just painfully shy,
Plus, the stories my mother told us about Dad's job
and him working so far away from home just didn't add up,
They acted like I couldn't see the armed guards,
and they wondered what was wrong with me?
Dad, do you like my dress?
Your dress is beautiful, Give me a kiss on the cheek,
All right,
Butch, What's going on?
You need some money?
I told you, we're all just really tired,
Oh,
We got a four-hour drive home,
and I still gotta go pick up Frankie,
It's not gonna be forever,
Promise I'll make it up to ya,
Gotti family,
Time's up,
Go hug your father, kids,
Time to get to work,
Give me a hug,
Okay,
Go, go,
Bye, Dad,
Bye, Bye, Bye,
[sighs]
[door slams heavily]
Mom was more than tired,
I know that now, as a mother of three myself,
with so much more than my mother had,
Before she got married, she had a job,
But as an Italian mother, you didn't work outside the home,
It wasn't done,
She missed my father, We all did,
But she never complained,
,,,And sometimes, he lets me ride in the car,
[excitedly] And he'll turn on the siren,
Thank you, Vinnie,
And thank your uncle for keeping us safe,
Have a seat,
Victoria Gotti, come on up, read us your report,
I remembered having just come back from visiting my dad,
Do I have to call your mother again?
,,,and, I started to become a very anxious child,
I was agitated, I could not sleep a lot of nights,
My mother never knew what was wrong with me,
But the anxiety was already setting in,
and it was more to do with my dad's life
and what I didn't know about that,
[Softly] My hero is my father,
Louder, Victoria,
My hero is my father,
He works on big buildings,
He's a construction foreman, and he wears a hard hat,
He's not a foreman! He's a jailbird!
My mom said so,
Everyone knows,
That's enough!
Being made fun of in front of my whole class was bad enough,
But hearing what I'd always suspected about my father
left me distraught,
Why did they call Daddy a jailbird?
I already told you, your father works in construction
and that's all there is to say about it,
So then why can't Daddy make it to see me get my teacher's award
at the graduation?
It doesn't work like that,
Daddy said he might be home then,
He said he "might be",
What do you want from me?
The teacher said only two kids
in the whole district get the award,
Daddy can't miss it,
Enough,
[cash register dings]
$15,
What's all this?
Food stamps?
It's as good as money, Just take it,
Can I get some help? This lady don't got no money!
She's fine, Ring it up,
[bell on door jingles]
[classroom bell rings]
You did good, Vic,
Come here,
Daddy!
[laughs]
My big winner!
Haaaaa!
The United Federation of Teachers Award,
Can I borrow it?
Sure,
All right, I'll give it to you later, I gotta run,
No, Daddy, you just got here,
[crying]
Listen to me,
You don't get many tears in life,
Don't waste 'em all up here,
Now, listen, I gotta take care of some business,
So, you tell your brothers and your sister
I'll be home for dinner,
Where is he going?
To show off,
I didn't want to let him go, I was hugging him so,,,
so tight, and he left,
And I was so upset,
He took the awards, but he didn't take me,
And I was crying, and my mother said to me:
"Your father is going to show off,
"That's his way of showing how proud he is of you,"
-How's your ma! -Yeah, she's good, she's good!
[car horn]
Look at this automobile!
-Dad! -Daddy!
Didn't I tell you I'd be home by dinner?
Yeah,
Hey, Frankie, come say hello to Daddy,
Hey kid!
[heavy thump]
[screaming] Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!
[furious] Who's screaming! Which one of you?
Frankie! Frankie, what happened?
Yeah, you, Come here,
Who the hell are you?
You hit my kid?
Yeah, what's it to you?
[heavy punches]
Cover your eyes,
[punches]
Oh, my God!
Somebody do something!
Show some respect!
Girls, inside now,
I'll be back,
Upstairs, upstairs,
[car engine starts]
No, Daddy,
No!
So, my father was home for a while,
Correction; he was no longer in jail,
But that didn't mean he was actually home,
He had business to attend to,
With his other family,
My mother was hoping that after he got out,
they'd be able to spend time together as a couple,
My father was never home, except to eat and sleep,
And after a while, it started to take its toll on Mom,
Angel, throw the sausage in the gravy,
Daddy! Is that the dress for my dance?
Heh, didn't I tell you I'd get it for you,
I love it, Daddy,
Hey,,,
Dinner's not done?
Does it look done?
What's with the attitude?
I'm asking cause I gotta go,
Oh yeah, because you've gotta eat and run,
Yeah, I know,
You think I don't want to be home?
I'm out busting my ass every night to provide for you,
Gee, thanks,
Do you think what I do is a game?
You sit in that club playing cards and drinking,
and going to bars, while I am at home with four kids,
cooking and cleaning every goddamn day,
I put my life on the line every time I walk out that door,
I don't need this shit from you,
[furious] Then, leave,
After all the shit I put up with from you, and for what?
I want you out,
You don't tell me
[yells] what to do!
[yells] I said get out!
Mommy, stop it!
[cries]
You're probably wondering how I felt about the violence,
In hindsight, it was horrible,
So, I did what I knew best,
Pushed the incident entirely out of my mind,
After that night, my health began to suffer,
Vicki what's the matter?
[pained] I don't know, I can't breathe,
You don't feel warm,
There's something wrong with my stomach,
It really hurts,
Okay, come on,
Mr, and Mrs, Gotti, I,,, I don't think it's anything physical,
My,,, my guess is it's anxiety,
Your guess?
She's a little girl, what's she have to be worried about?
Children worry about all kinds of things,
If I may, I can recommend a psychiatrist,
Psychiatrist?
You people are nuts,
My little girl's tougher than you can ever imagine,
Come on, baby,
Pack our things, Butch,
What are you talking about?
I'm getting us out of this shithole,
Okay,
['70s rock] ♪
For my siblings and me,
moving to Howard Beach was like moving to Beverly Hills,
Our modest four-bedroom home seemed like a mansion,
It was clear that we had left poverty behind,
[distant arguing] How are the bills being paid?
You tell me,
How are the bills being paid?
It ain't by you,
I wish they'd just get divorced already,
They're not getting a divorce,
If you say so,
They're fighting about John JR again,,,
[heated arguing] How can you sa that to your husband?
How can you say that to your husband?
Is Dad around?
What happened to you?
I was just messing with some guys up the street,
Like there's not enough problems around here?
Get over here!
I told you,
I'm not raising any punks,
Pack your bags, you're going to military school!
[panicking] Dad, no, please, I'm sorry,
You need self-discipline!
A nicer neighbourhood didn't mean an easier life,
Hey, Girls, Wake up,
Come on, we're gonna go see your father,
Let's go! Let's go!
With my brother John Jr, now away at military school,
and my father forced to hide out yet again,
Mom was left cleaning up the mess,
We're here,
Where are we?
Jersey,
I'm tired,
Yeah, well you wanna see your father?
Yeah,
This is how it goes, Come on,
Get in,
[whispered] How are you?
You guys are a sight for sore eyes,
Hey,
Anybody follow you?
No, no one followed us,
How long can we stay?
We're leaving first thing in the morning,
We just got here,
Yeah, well, there's only so much we can do,
Dad, we miss you,
You still like cherry cola?
Yeah,
Well, this hotel has the finest cherry cola vending machine
in the entire state,
Let me give you some quarters-
Okay,
And you guys go get me some, okay?
Okay, thanks,
I'm gonna be home soon,
Really?
Yeah,
Sorry, I almost believed you for a minute,
Do they have a pool?
Ah, that's a good question,
Why don't we go take a look?
Vic, you good?
[quietly] Yeah,
Okay, Come on, go, go,
Dad, when can you come home?
Soon,
Are you and mommy getting a divorce?
What?
That word's not even in my vocabulary,
When I love, I love for life,
Do you have to go away again?
You don't worry about that, It won't be for long,
You're a strong girl,
You're gonna get through this,
Yes, Daddy,
Good, Proud of ya,
My father was a throwback, really,
He believed in the family
that was his blood family,
Come on, let's make some dinner,
Okay,
Sometimes I wondered which would come first,
because that's,,, that's the allegiance he had
to this organization that he belonged to,
Let's go kids, we've got a long drive ahead of us,
Come on,
It's so early,,,
Here, Angel, take that to the car,
I mean, I watched her,
I don't know how she did it to this day,
You know, there were five of us and,,,
She always struggled, and he would always tell her,
I always remember him saying to her,
"one day I'm gonna give you the world,"
[whispered] I gotta go,
Get inside,
After a year of evading the authorities,
my father was arrested in a bar in Queens,
Ironically, he had come back to defend a friend
who turned out to be an informant,
I think he was tired of hiding, anyway,
All right, Vic, What do you feel like for dinner?
Ravioli?
Cannelloni?
Chicken Parmesan,
All right, I think we gotta stop at the butcher
and get some chicken, mozzarella,
maybe some bread crumbs,
I think I got the sauce at home too,
Take this and, I'm gonna get you,,,
Hi, can I get a pack of the, uh,,,
After the trial, and dad went away,
he officially "earned his bones",
a term used when a man becomes a wise guy,
Hey, uh, never you mind that,
Come on, let's go, we gotta finish our shopping,
[whispers] Jesus,
To me, it was crushing, but I could still hear his voice,
"You only get so many tears in life,
"and don't waste them all up,"
[smooth jazz] ♪
Hey, Wait for dinner,
Dad went down for manslaughter,
and when he came back,
it was a very different house,,
His baby girls weren't babies anymore,
Hey, Wait for dinner,
Psst Victoria, You ask,
Why me?
Just tell them we're going out together,
No big deal,
They trust you,
Angel, please,
Everyone's already there, We gotta get goin',
They're not gonna care,
Fine,
You're watching Frankie boy tomorrow though,
Yeah, yeah,
We're so happy to have you home, Daddy,
And I'm happy to be here with you,,,
and this lasagna!
Ah,
Daddy, Angel and I,,,
Hey, Frankie boy,
When's your football practice?
[uncomfortably] Oh, um, uh,,,
What?
Frankie didn't make the tryouts,
What do you mean, he didn't make the tryouts?
Coach said he was a little bit too,,, scrawny,
Too scrawny, Who's his coach?
You know what, Frankie? There's always next year,
Don't worry,
Just,,, don't press it, John?
I want to talk to the coach,
Once I get through to them, there's gonna be a tryout,
Victoria and I were invited to a party tonight,
What kind of party?
A birthday party, For a friend,
We,,, we don't have to go,
I mean, you just got home, It's fine,
Victoria, you're babysitting tonight, Remember?
Your father's taking me out to celebrate,
How late will you be?
My curfew's 11,
[sighs]
We really don't have to go,
[smooth jazz] ♪
Go have fun, Vic,
Be home by 10:00,
We'll go out later, Butch,
Really?
Yeah, I'm home, I make the rules,
Ten o'clock, not a minute later,
Give me a kiss on the cheek,
Thanks, Daddy,
Thank you,
Can I?
Yeah, please, Go ahead,
Gotta eat before your party,
Hey, cut me one, Cut me a piece,
What time is it?
Quarter to 11:00,
[John] Whatever happened to following the rules around here
[Ange] I hear ya,
First with Neil getting passed over,
now Big Paul's the boss,
and you know he don't give a shit about,,,
Quack, Quack, give it a rest,
that's not what I'm talking about,
[furious] Victoria, how could you?!
I have not had your father home in two years,
and this is how you act?
What's wrong with you?
How many beers have you had?
One?
Butch, what the hell happened around here while I was gone?
Don't worry,
Did you know none of the boys would talk to me tonight?
Boys, what boys?
Don't worry, I'm not going to any more parties,
because what's the point?
Who is she talking about?
I'm talking about you,
Everyone, everywhere I go, knows me because of you,
and they just avoid me like I'm the plague,
You better hush your mouth,
What?
[harshly] Boys will talk to you,,,
When I say they can talk to you,
This is making a scene,
I want you to get upstairs,
Why?
Go, now!
Mom!
Get in the shower,
Mom!
I can't believe you ruined my night,
[screams]
Being John Gotti's daughter was a mixed bag,
and anger toward my father started to fester,
And it only grew over the next few years,
[Radio] This is 10:30 morning news, gangland tensions continue,,,
Now, don't get me wrong, being John Gotti's daughter
had perks that most people would relish,
Me?
Good morning,
I just wanted to be normal,
Hi,
[revs engine, tires squeal]
Woah!
Woah, woah, woah!
What?
We go I we say we go,
I'm so sorry,
So, who do we have here?
Victoria Got,,,
[nervously] Okay, Miss Gotti, Whenever you're ready,
Uh, right at the stop sign,
Ooh,
It's not,,,
Okay,
Ooh!
Smooth,
Look, you don't have to treat me any differently because,,,
You're doing fine,
I want to pass or fail on my own,
Ooh,
[tires squeal]
Good,
Do you want me to parallel park?
Do you want to parallel park?
[shortly] It's on the test!
It's up to you,
[bell ringing]
Of course everyone has to parallel park,
That's why I failed,
You're so lucky,
Am I?
There's that car again,
That guy's not from Howard Beach,
What do you think he wants?
Hey,
You're Victoria Gotti, right?
Yeah, who's asking?
My name's Carmine,
You want to slow down so we can talk?
Do you live around here?
Just past the, uh, boulevard,
I seen you a few times,
I asked around about you, "Vicki Body,"
Do you know who my father is?
Sure, everyone knows,
So what?
Most guys don't want to talk to me
after they find out my last name,
Oh, Yeah, well, uh, I ain't most guys,
Carmine didn't care who my father was,
I was definitely impressed,
[traffic sounds]
So what did you think of the movie?
What? I,,, I didn't like it,
You are a tough one,
Hey, as long as I'm taking out Vicki Body,
All right,
Who else calls me that?
Guys talk,
Let's just say I know a thing or two,
Oh yeah?
Tell me,
What does "made man" mean?
Uh, it means your dad's a big deal,
You know, like, um, like getting into the inner circle,
How do you know all this stuff?
Everyone knows it,
You're not into it, right?
Don't worry,
I'm,,, doing some things on my own,
[car door slams]
[whispers] Oh my god, That's my dad,
It's okay,
I'm going to say this once, and only once,
You stay away from my daughter,
Daddy,
You don't call her,
You don't go by her school,
You see her walking down one side of the street,
you go to the other side,
Vic, get in the car!
Now!
He said "what is it with you?"
What is it about him?
And I remember looking at my father dead on and saying,
"Dad, I don't know why you're so,,,
"What is it about you that you're so against him?
"He so reminds me of you,"
And I thought that was a compliment, well,,,
My father just blew up,
Are you kidding me?
I like him,
What's to like?
Uh, he wasn't afraid to ask me out, for one thing,
Guy's not for you,
He's from the other side of the tracks,
Why does where he's from have anything to do with it?
He's a common street guy,
I want better for you,
He's ambitious and hardworking,
He does "insurance jobs" at that auto parts yard he runs,"
Oh yeah?
And what do people say about what you do?
I can't believe I'm having this discussion with you,
I don't need to explain this to you,
I moved us here so you could do better than some
street punk from Ozone Park,
Yeah, well, you can't keep us apart,
Watch me!
The story about Carmine and,,, Dad not,,,
not allowing me to go out with him was,
Dad wanted so much more for me,
and the next day he came in and he said "get ready tonight,
be dressed, uh, be ready at 8:00,"
He thought, I'll beat her at her own game,
Daddy, what is all this?
Where are we going?
It's a surprise,
I want to show you how you deserve to be treated,
And, how to be around cultured and worldly people,
[dance music] ♪
I'm on the list,
Daddy, I can't go in there, I'm not 18,
When you're with me, you're whatever age I tell 'em you are,
[dance music] ♪
Daddy, that's Andy Warhol,
You know what I like about this place?
Respect begets respect,
Order what you want - the sky's the limit,
[dance music] ♪
Daddy, it's one 1:00,
It doesn't matter what time it is,
It's important for you to see what's out there,
Tell me, how do you see your life?
I told you, I want to be a writer,
Not what you wanna be, WHO you wanna be,
Paint me a picture,
Well, after college, I wanna get a good job-
Mmhm, Mmhm,
Get married and have a family,
Ah, there's no rush for that,
I want you to see the world,
I want you to become cultured,
keep yourself open to all of life's possibilities,
Daddy, really?
What is this all about?
To show you how a real man should treat you,
Don't you ever forget that,
Promise me,
I promise,
Find a man that will give you the best of the best,
hold open doors for you, a gentleman,
a Harvard man,
Daddy,,,
Not Carmine,
You understand me?
[exhales]
I mean, I felt like it was a fairy tale,
I was a princess,
And, it was such a softer side of my father
that I had never really witnessed before,
We had such a wonderful time,
I don't think I'll ever forget that night,
But,,, there was still that intrigue,
That,,, "whatever" that pulled me to Carmine,
♪ I see the snow flakes fall
♪ Young children have a ball♪
♪ But I can't smile at all♪
♪ You're not,,,♪
Bogie's outside,
And Bogie, as I called Carmine, wasn't going anywhere,
Here, borrow my coat,
[laughs]
Howdy, stranger,
You shouldn't be here,
What, you don't want me to come around anymore?
If my dad comes home, he'll kill you, then me,
I'm not afraid,
Oh, I don't know,,,
Come on, Stay,
♪
♪ I want you for Christmas ♪
♪ My tree just won't burn bright♪
What?
Open it,
Do you like it?
I love it,
Do you love me?
[short police siren]
Oh, shit, not now,
But we're just sitting here,
Just, be quiet, all right?
Let me do the talking,
Evening, officer,
What, uh, seems to be the problem?
I,D,
I'd like you both to step out of the car,
We didn't do anything,
Hey,
That's far enough,
Get your hands out of your pockets,
Hey, what the hell is this?
This belong to you?
You got a permit to carry?
What do you think?
Turn around,
Carmine!
It's a misunderstanding, I'll be okay,
Just go inside the house, it'll be okay,
edges,
But I was hell-bent on showing my dad I was mature enough
to make my own decisions,
We've gotta hurry,
Angel's covering for me with mum,
You gotta let me explain about the gun,
It's better to have it and not need it,
But you don't need it, right?
No, of course not,
I was just being careful,
What? You don't trust me now?
I do,
You'd better,
Come here,
[car engine rattles]
Later that week, I got an emergency call from Angel,
That Carmine had been beaten and shot,
I should have broken up with him when Dad told me to,
I was worried sick that I had been responsible for it,
Go on, take a break,
Hey, Vic,
[whispers] Oh my god,,,
Who did this to you?
Must have been that joker who was trying to muscle me
out of business,
I knew they'd come for me,
That's why I had the gun,
Oh, Bogie,,, Is there anything I can do?
Tell me you love me,
I love you,
Don't leave me, Vic,
I'm not going anywhere,
I was so relieved Carmine's injuries weren't caused
by my father as a sort of warning to stay away from me,
But it was a reminder of what could happen
if we kept defying him,
How'd it go?
Great,
Coach said I'm a natural,
Yeah, What did I tell you?
Daddy, can I talk to you? Alone?
Uh, I'm gonna go get dinner started,
Dad, did you hear what happened to Carmine?
Hear what about him?
He got beaten up,
Really bad,
What do you want, Vic?
You gonna ask me somethin', ask me somethin',
I just,,, want you to let me be with him,
He really needs me,
He needs you? Are you nuts?
He just got arrested the other night for carrying a gun,
Vic, I hear everything,
Now he gets beat up by some guy on the street,
No way,
Fine,
I'm not going to lie to,,,
Fine,
Where you going?
To my room!
Come back here,
[door slams]
So, Dad was home,
I was still seeing Carmine in secret,
I was in college, when,,,
Oh wait, there's Frankie, hang on,
[honking]
Frankie!
Don't be late for dinner, or Mom will kill ya,
I know,
I'll be there,
Don't go too far,
[phone rings]
Hello?
,,,What kind of accident?
Who was that?
Frankie got hit by a car in front of the Romano's,
What?
Okay, stay here,
Mom, wait!
No, I'm going,
Mom!
Where's Frankie?
No, I told him to get in the car with Ange and I,
You can ask him,
[sobs]
Where's Frankie?
[sobs]
Where's Frankie?
[sobbing]
We lost him,
[whispers] It's okay,
[hysterical sobbing]
Mom!
[hysterical sobbing]
Doctors were too afraid to tell my mother
that Frankie had died,,,
And Dad had to tell her,
He later revealed it was the hardest thing
he'd ever had to do, ever,
To further complicate matters, the man that,,,
ran over my brother was our neighbour, John Favara,
[somber organ music] ♪
Oh my god,
What's he doing here?
Dad's gonna be through the roof,
John,
I'm terribly sorry for your loss,
I can't imagine what you're feeling,
I just,,, came to pay my respects to you and your family,
I hope that's okay,
After Frankie Boy's death,
my mom tried to commit suicide three times,
But we all had to find a way to go on,
I was left to cook, keep house, and raise the kids,
You know, he was just right there,
I feel like I could've,,, I just could've,,,
You've gotta stop blaming yourself,
[sighs] I know,
I just can't believe he's gone,
He was a great kid,
You gotta be strong now, for the rest of your family,
[weakly] Right,
I wish I could see you,
You think I could come by when I'm done work?
Are you kidding me?
What?
Has everyone lost their minds?
Vic,
The man who killed Frankie is outside having a party,
Are you kidding me?
He didn't pack up and move?
[door slams]
Oh, I gotta call you back,
Vic!
Mom!
[rock music blares] ♪
Stop!
[glass shatters]
Mom!
Hey!
Hey, get away from my car!
Mom, stop!
Get this crazy woman off my property,
You killed my son,
You park this car here every day,
to remind me that he's gone,
Hey!
Mom! Mom!
You crazy bitch,
Who's gonna pay for the damage to my car?
You killed my brother
and all you care about is your car?
I'm disappointed in you, Vic,
You shouldn't have let that happen,
Me? What did I do?
She wasn't in her right mind,
The minute she walked out that door,
You should've called me!
[choking up]
Yeah, I should have made Frankie get in the car that day
with me and Ange,
[whispers] That wasn't your fault,
It was an accident,
You gotta stay strong,
Strong?
Yeah,
Really?
Is that what we're being with John Favara?
What are you saying?
He killed Frankie Boy,
He should pay for that,
I said it was an accident,
We already gone through one tragedy in our household,
We don't need to make matters worse,
Come here,
With a heart so broken, I wanted someone to blame,
It was at that moment that I understood how one person
could actually want to hurt another person,
It was,,, just something that was incomprehensible,
I think, to my mother,
She'd walk around nights,
thinking that he was still alive,
[dazed] Frankie, Frankie,,,
Butch,
Frankie,,,
Butch!
Hey,
Come here, we gotta go,
[crying] No!
Come on!
No,
Yeah, come on,
No, he's here,
Frankie!
Come on, Come on,
[crying]
It's okay, Come on,
My mother didn't get better,
so my father took her to Florid to see her family
for a couple of weeks,
By the time Mom got back, peopl had started asking questions,
[doorbell rings]
May I speak to your mother?
Yeah,
I hate to bother you at a time like this, Mrs, Gotti,
but um,,, your neighbour, John Favara,
has gone missing,
Yeah? And?
Why don't I call my father, and you can talk to him?
No need for that,
We have reports that Favara was forced into a van
after work one day, and, uh, never came home,
I don't know anything about it,
But that drunk killed my son,
And if something happened to him,
I wouldn't be sorry,
Get the hell out of my house,
What happened to John Favara is still a mystery,
but most people assume he's dead,
Do I feel bad about it?
If I'm being honest, no,
After Frankie's death, my mother was never the same,
Actually, nothing was,
We had stopped celebrating holidays,
Dad did his best to keep us all afloat,
My sister Angel was getting married, and,,,
Dad planned the wedding,
♪ Happy Birthday, dear Victoria, ♪
♪ Happy Birthday to you,
[applause]
Happy Birthday!
Make a wish,
Tell me,
What do you want for your 18th birthday?
Come on, What do you wish for?
What I want, you won't give me,
No,
Carmine showed you respect,
He was really there for me when I needed him,
You can ask me all you want, the answer's still going to be no,
Nothing's going to change my mind,
You keeping us apart isn't making my feelings go away,
You being disappointed isn't going to make mine go away, either,
[spoon clangs loudly]
You're on a whole different planet,
You're just not even seeing where I'm coming from,
Nothing gets through to you, Nothing,
What are you talking about?
You're just in this bubble,
You think that-
What are you talking about?
You're Daddy's little girl and everything's okay,
I'm tired of hiding! I'm tired of it!
You understand that?
Can't even walk down the street with you,
What else can we do?
Well, I'm going to go into his club and talk to him,
man to man,
Are you crazy?
He'll kill you,
I don't care anymore, Vic!
I don't care!
My mom's,,, my mom's gonna be worried about me,
It was so intense, Ma,
It's like he wasn't even himself,
He's probably just nervous,
Yeah, well, I hope he isn't that way with Dad,
Yeah, I mean, his moods just, like, change with the weather,
[sighs]
Oh, it's been over an hour,
Don't worry,
He'll call,
[lounge music plays] ♪
Ho ho,
Would you look at the balls on this guy?
Boy, you must be a real glutton for punishment, kid,
Go on in, He's waitin' for ya,
[chuckles]
[lounge music plays] ♪
Relax,
[phone rings]
Hello?
[whispers] He said yes!
Ahhhh! Yes!
Later, I'd learned Dad had changed his mind
because he thought we'd elope, and he'd never see me again,
That was his worst fear,
I never said that to anyone, not even Carmine,
I've gotta say, when you came into the club,
I was pretty shocked,
[laughs]
We were like, "oh, the balls on this kid,"
Language, Quack, Quack,
What's a matter with you?
Hey, Ange, come help me,
Yeah,
Let me tell you, big Carmine,
I got rules,
She finishes college, law school,
whatever she wants,
You treat her like a gentleman, we have no problems,
Absolutely, John,
Then you got my blessing,
Let's drink,
Bon Appetito!
Salute,
There we go,
Eat up, everyone,
Mmm,
Looks good,
Vic, What's wrong?
You don't look happy,
No, I am happy,
I just don't feel that well,
The doctors thought it was female hysteria,
but the episodes and trips to the emergency room
became more frequent,
-Hey, -Hey,
Come on Victoria, you've been in bed for like three days now,
Of course in the end,
it was more serious than that,
You know what, this is crazy, I'm gonna call the doctor,
Turquoise or fuchsia?
Vicky, what do you think for my bridesmaids' dresses?
Oh, Angel, not now,
[phone rings]
Shh, Now this is important,
Hello?
[whispers] Turquoise,
Uh, yes it is,
[whispers] Or fuchsia,
Turquoise,
Turquoise, Definitely, turquoise,
You just want turquoise cause you look terrible in fuchsia,
Yeah, and I'm the one who has to wear it, right?
[playfully] No, please,
Please, Please,
Okay, I understand,
Uh, thank you,
Bye, Doctor Stern,
What is it, mom?
[footsteps]
Was that the doctor?
Yeah,
What did he say?
Uh, Victoria might need a hysterectomy,
What? No,
What does that mean, "might?"
The doctor says that you have severe dysplasia
and if we don't get you treatment,
that it can turn into cancer,
Well, can I still have kids?
You wanna have a family, then you really can't wait,
What about college? Law school?
I don't know, John,
These guys don't know what they're talking about,
We'll get a better doctor,
A second opinion,
I'll fly in the best specialists
from all over the world if I have to,
Whatever it costs, whatever it takes,
[sighs]
We're gonna beat this,
You just,,, gotta stay strong,
Family meant everything to my father,
Everything else he could control with money and power,
But those things might not be able to help him now,
and that really scared him,
Hearing the doctor tell me that I might need a hysterectomy
by age 25,
I was suddenly in a rush to start my family,
You look beautiful,
Thanks, Daddy,
Butch, come on, we're leaving,
I'm coming,
You're making the biggest mistake of your life,
Daddy, please,
I'm in love with Carmine,
You're losing your opportunity to see the world,
That was your dream, not mine,
I can undo this, It's not too late to back out,
I can turn today into one big happy Christmas party,
No one's gonna ask questions,
Say the word,
I love you, Daddy,
But I need to do this for myself,
It's gonna be the wedding of the century,
Charles and Diana would be jealous,
♪
♪ Oh, yes,
♪ baby, baby, baby, baby, baby ♪
♪ I sing you love songs
I was blown away by the number of guests,
I heard people were actually selling their plus one tickets,
But in reality, they weren't there for me,
They were there for John Gotti,
I didn't think much about it back then,
but I get it now,
On my honeymoon, I was understandably a little nervous
because I had never slept away from my parents' house before,
Hey,
Why don't you,,, come over here?
Oh, Vicki Body,
What's wrong?
What? How much did you lose?
Not all of it,
No, of course not,
Okay,,, Thank god,
We still got all the envelopes you kept,
I didn't keep any, I gave them all to you,
Oh,
Well then, I guess all of it,
Woah!
You lost 30 grand? In one night?
Yeah, Victoria,
That's how much money I had,
And that's how much money I lost,
You're insane, You're insane,
Did you ever think for one minute,
I don't know, maybe, maybe I should stop?
You know, I just said I was sorry,
No, you didn't!
Well, I feel bad about it, okay?!!
My father's gonna be so furious,
What do I care?
Excuse me?
My parents just paid for a wedding fit for a king,
and this is what I get?
You know what, my father was right about you,
Get out,,, get out of my face,
Where am I gonna go?
I don't care, back to your tables,
Just get out,
[loud smash]
Come here!
[grunts]
Remember, you're not Daddy's little girl anymore!
You're my wife!
Vic!
What I didn't know, was Carmine suffered from Manic Depression,
eing married to Carmine
wasn't going to be a walk in the park,
But I was determined to prove Daddy wrong,
I was a stubborn woman,
My father's daughter,
What happened?
He lost it,
Everything we brought,
Oh, Victoria,
Can I stay with you for a while?
Of course!
Thanks,
Look who's home,
Hey, Daddy,
Hey,
Do you mind if I sleep in my old bed
while we get our new house ready?
You're always welcome here,
Thank you,
I'll take your bags,,,
Love having you home,
Upstairs,
'Kay, Come on,
[whispers] I think I made a big mistake,
Victoria, Every woman in every marriage
in history has felt that way,
[whispers] No, he went crazy,
I mean, we were fighting, but,,, It was really scary,
Okay,
Let's get you something to eat,
No, I just,,, I just,,, I just really want to go to bed,
We can talk about it tomorrow,
I'm so tired,
Okay?
Carmine,
What are you doing here?
I'm calling, I'm calling,
I,,, I just didn't know what to do, so I came here,
What is this?
Listen, I want to talk to her, Please,
She's not feeling good,
Tell her I'm sorry, huh?
You know, it's a big, big misunderstanding,
you know, things haven't been right in my head, you know
Yeah, I know,
They're never right in your head,
[vomits]
[heavy breathing]
Ma?
[PA] Dr, Hunt to the nurse's station, Dr, Giles Hunt,,,
[clears throat]
What is it?
Is she gonna be okay?
Well, it wasn't a panic attack,
What does she have?
She's pregnant,
You're gonna have a baby,
[laughs]
Really?
Congratulations,
Honey!
You're going to be,,, you're going to be a wonderful mother,
Her tests also show a congenital heart defect,
Cardiomyopathy,
So,,, This will be considered a high-risk pregnancy,
She will be monitored,
Okay, wow,
I'd like to see you on a regular basis,
and you'll have to avoid stress,
Okay, thanks,
You'll be okay,
That night, I was honestly going to tell my father
that he was right about Carmine
[laughs]
But the idea of divorce went right out the window,
with the news of a baby on the way,
Corallo and his mob boss, Anthony Salerno,
a,k,a, "Fat Tony" Salerno, have been brought up
on racketeering charges
based on evidence gathered by FBI surveillance,,,
It never ends,
The FBI have been working on this case for over three years,,,
and according to one source,,,
Don't listen to that,
Don't worry, nothing's gonna happen to your dad,
He's too well-liked,
How do you know?
I got ears, People talk,
As long as it's just talk,
I don't want our family to have anything to do with that family,
Yeah, I know,
I'll be right back,
Hello?
Mom?
I,,, I think something's wrong with the baby,
Honey, hang up, I'm calling 911
[panicked] Carmine?
[heart monitor beeps]
No,
Daddy, no,
I'm sorry, Victoria,
I know there's nothing worse,
[crying]
Please, can't you do something?
I can't fix it, honey, I can't fix it,
[crying]
Hey,
Now's the time to use up all those tears,
[sobbing]
You know, when you bury a,,, a child,
a daughter, um,,,
It's so hard, it's so hard,
You don't understand why,,, you know,
you've grown this child, and then you go home with no prize,
And everybody else in the room, in the hallways,
you know, get this prize, and you're just home,
you know, you're hugging a crib, an empty crib,
and you're sleeping on a floor and you don't know
what went wrong, cause it happened so quickly, but,,,
you adjust to it,
You never forget it,
Every May I celebrate her birthday,
and, you always think God has this plan,
And, uh, then, my brother, you know,
my brother's death, of course,
I was so young, I never understood that,
And that stayed with me,
And everybody's always under the guise that,
you know, time heals all wounds,
ecover,
and when we got back, I was pregnant again,
So, I decided to make some changes,
Do you love it?
And, I became a blonde,
Carmine thinks it's too flashy,
Well, it's a pretty drastic change,
I love it,
You tell Carmine your hair stays the way it is,
if you want it,
He got a problem with that, come see me,
[phone rings]
Yeah?
[slams receiver]
What is it?
I just got some business to take care of,
You hate it,
Hate's a strong word,
[TV] Breaking news out of downtown Manhattan,
An alleged mafia hit leaves two dead,
What is presently known,,,
No, no, no, no,
,,,Big Paul Castellano, boss of the Gambino crime family,
The name of the other victim has not yet been revealed,
But insiders suspect that it could be John Gotti,
one of the mob's top underbosses,
Two members of the NYC mafia,,,
Where and why the killings took place,,,
Ma!
Where's Dad?
Where's Daddy?
The boys at the club don't know anything,
I always knew this would happen,
Let's all take it easy,
Victoria, you're supposed to be on bed rest,
Sit down,
[breathes heavily]
[phone rings]
Hello?
[John] Vic! What are you doing answering the phone?
Tell your mother I'll be back in a few hours,
Have someone drive you home and get in bed
before something bad happens,
♪ Dear heart♪
After Castellano's' death,
there was a changing of the guard,
My father became the new boss o the bosses of all five families
The change was not without bloodshed,
Bodies seemed to drop everywhere
around the Five Burroughs,
From that point on,
there wasn't a day that Dad wasn't on the front page,
The Gotti name sold papers,
Andy Warhol painted Dad's image for the cover of Time magazine,
Dad became larger than life,
At times, it was unbearable,
But was it all bad?
Of course not,
For a stretch, life was good,
[laughing]
I'm so proud of you,
He's perfect,
[laughing]
I'm crazy about this kid,
Oh, my goodness,
I started my family as my fathe was made the boss
of his other family,
He was loved and respected, and got the nickname
"The Dapper Don," because of ho stylishly he always dressed,
Daddy!
My princess,
[sighs]
Daddy,
Meet Carmine Junior,
Oh, come on, Give the baby a kiss, John,
All right,
[laughs]
Carmine's business was booming,
He owned the largest steel shredder in the country,
making millions,
We bought land and built our dream house on Long Island,
♪
Dad, meet John,
And despite the odds, my family kept growing,
Look at this little guy,
He looks like a chipmunk,
[laughs]
[baby cries]
Oh,,, Come here,
Go ahead, go,
They keep asking me, "are you the boss?"
"Are you the boss?"
You know what I tell 'em?
I'm the boss,,, of my wife and kids!
[all laughing]
To the man of the hour,
Everything was going smoothly,
I had my family, I had my kids, and I had a job of my own,
My own column at a newspaper,
Dad beat two major trials back-to-back,
That same newspaper dubbed him "The Teflon Don,"
because the charges didn't stick,
In time, Dad became the people's king
who feared no one and nothing,
The legend grew and grew,
[baby crying]
He's a cutie,
What're you gonna name him?
I decided on Frankie,
Oh, Frankie,,,
Doesn't he look like a Frankie?
He's beautiful,
Momma's angel,
Mmm,
The boys are gonna flip,
They're gonna be so excited,
♪
[reporter on TV in background]
You, my little angel, are named after my brother,
Frankie,
He was a special kid,
Look at you, yeah,
,,,The FBI picked up Gotti last night
and today, he will face charges of ordering a hit
on the man he allegedly replace mob boss, Paul Castellano,
Gary bigger reports,
John Gotti,,,
Shhhh,,,
Shh, shh, shh,
But these things don't last, How can they?
When your rivals want you dead, the FBI wants you in jail,
the president of the United States wants your head
on a silver platter,
I should have been able to predict it,
[gavel strikes]
Earlier in his trial, my dad had asked for my lasagna
to be delivered to him,
But he had a cardinal rule that no women from his family
were to ever set foot in a courtroom
during one of his trials,
I didn't care,
I had to be there for the verdict,
Mob boss John Gotti is facing life in prison after being
convicted of all 13 counts against him,
The jury concluded that he was responsible for murdering
five associates in the Gambino crime family,
and was guilty of racketeering charges,
[crowd chattering]
How do you feel about the verdict?
Will he file an appeal?
Any comment at all?
My father's the last of the Mohicans,
They don't make men like him anymore,
He said "the warden wants me
to sign a paper basically saying
"it's an admission that I was
"and am the boss of the entire organization,"
And I looked at him,
you were convicted of it, and you have life,
and if it will remove you from this horrific dungeon,
why not?
He said, "what part of this don't you understand?"
He said "Vicki, it's because I'm me,"
"and he was banging his chest, and he kept saying
"I'm me, I'm John Gotti,
"And I'll be John Gotti till the day I die,"
[clacking keyboard]
Dad being in prison was heartbreaking,
But with him away, Carmine working,
and the kids in school,
I turned my focus on my own career,
It was far from easy, and I worked my ass off,
But I wrote my first novel, The Senator's Daughter,
[slow soul music] ♪
Dinner's not done yet?
No, relax,
I have some fresh mortadella if you want some,
No, I'm uh, not hungry,
[sighs]
What? What's wrong?
It's no big deal,
I, um, I got into a bit of a,,, an altercation with a,
um, a business associate,
More of a competitor,
No,
Vic,,,
No,
Are you telling me that you're going to be arrested?
Yeah,
What do you think I'm sayin'?
My father's in prison, and what, now you're in trouble?
Carmine, what are you caught up in?
What have you done?
Nothin', it's not me, I swear,
I swear, I swear on my mother, come here,
I swear, Huh?
It's not me,
Right?
[soul music plays] ♪
You believe me, right?
Would I lie to you?
Yeah, okay, okay, then we fight it, right?
Right,
Fight it with everything we got,
All right,
Have you seen this bullshit?
It's obviously all about Dad, It's a setup,
Take it easy, Vic,
I will not "take it easy,"
They're coming after us now,
They're saying Carmine's mobbed up, it's libel,
I don't know how to tell you this, Victoria, but,,,
Carmine's not who you think he is,
What?
What are you talking about?
Tell me,
The papers,
They're telling you the truth,
No,
Victoria,
No,
I didn't do what you did,
He promised me, He swore to me,
Yeah, well then he lied to you,
For god sakes, Victoria, open your eyes!
He is in the life,
[yelling] No! Don't you turn your back on me!
[yelling] This is my house,
You don't turn your back on me in my house!
I want you out of the house,
Victoria! You get back here right now,
I can't believe I put up with this for so long,
You're sick in the head,
I'm sick?
You need to go to a hospital,
A hospital?
I want you out, I need a break from you,
[yells] A break? We don't do breaks, Victoria,
Who did I marry, huh? Who did I marry?
♪ ,,,Stop these changes you're putting me through,,, ♪
I can't take you anymore, I swear!
♪
Want me to rub your shoulders?
You know I won't let you leave me,
Right?
[terrified] Of course not,
Of course not, Carmine, I was just mad,
You were mad,
Right,
I'm never going to leave you,
[yells] You got it?
I know, I know,
Let me,,, Let me just get my robe, and we can talk,
[screams]
Please, please!
You can't do it in the house, you can't do it in the house,
Carmine, please,
[breathes heavily]
It was a joke,
I was only kiddin',
[sobs]
[prison buzzer]
You okay?
Yeah, I'm fine,
What do you mean, you're fine?
What,,, I can see in your face that you're not,
Don't worry about me,
How are you?
I'm gonna see a doctor next week,
How are my grandsons doing?
They're good, they're good,
Yeah, everything's fine,
You know, They're worried,
They're kids, what do they know?
More than you think,
You were right about Carmine,
That's something I hoped I was wrong about,
I know,
Most people want all of the credit and none of the blame,
You prefer none of the credit, and all of the blame,
I don't blame you, but,,, I know what I have to do,
♪
[camera shutters snapping]
[crowd chattering]
We'll try and keep the interviews as short as possible,
Ten radio, ten television,
Now that your father's in jail,
will you be taking over as head of the mob?
Keep the questions to the book, okay?
Yes, but how is your dad?
Rumour has it, he isn't well,
A lion is still a lion, even in a cage,
[camera shutters snapping]
[phone rings]
Yeah?
[gasps]
Mommy?
[whispers] Boys,
What's going on?
Hi,
I know,,,
Mommy?
I know, it's scary, Don't worry, it's okay, it's okay,
[distant police yells]
I had been told to stay strong my entire life,
but that day was too much for me,
[alarm beeps]
Come on, boys,
It's time to get up, okay?
Let's go,
I didn't know where to begin,
I never imagined myself raising three sons alone,
And in my spare time, there was my career,
My book contracts, my newspaper column,
I fought to stay strong,
When Dad told me he had throat cancer,
he didn't want the rest of the family to know,
He only told me in case it got leaked to the papers,
How are you, Daddy?
I can think of a couple of other places I'd rather be,
but I'm okay,
How are you feeling?
Are the doctors taking care of you?
It's prison,
[sniffs]
[buzzer]
Listen, did I ever tell you the story
about my brother peeing on my father?
And they blamed me?
Yes, you've told me that story,
But I don't,,, I don't want you to tell me stories,
I want to talk to you,
Isn't that what we're doing?
I read your book,
I liked it,
I'm sensing a but coming on,
You know, to be honest, I,,, I predicted the ending,
[laughs]
You know, I could never get anything past you,
You should be very proud,
I know I am,
Do me a favour,
Yeah, what is it?
When you write another book, how about a love story?
I want to know that you're swept up in love and romance,
not crime and murder,
Yeah, I'll keep that in mind,
I really miss you, Dad,
I always admired your strength through all the hard times,
You know, strength comes from within,
A lion is still a lion,
Even in a cage,
♪
He said to me before he passed away,
"one day you might write about this,
"Just make me one promise,
"Don't ever make me out to be an altar boy,
"Because I wasn't,"
John Gotti, notorious head of the Gambino family,
has died of throat and neck cancer in a prison hospital
in Springfield, Missouri,
His casket, carried by pallbearers, and attended by family members
made its way through the street of New York in a procession,
the likes of which the city has never seen,
Flowers filled the more than dozen cars motorcade
which led 50 more cars past friends and foes alike
in a last farewell to the Dapper Don,
I still cry every night,
I don't know why, um,,,
And when your father's dying and you can't,,,
you can't be there and you can't touch him,
You're watching through glass, it's,,,
it's very disturbing, so,,,
The one thing I miss the most is, is his strength,
is his protective nature,
I,,, I miss that,
It's those times when I feel overwhelmed,
and I would always go there,
And there's nobody else to go to anymore,
When he went, that went,
[solemn operatic music] ♪