A mob rat took a few whacks at John Gotti, saying the limelight-loving Dapper Don “ruined everything†for wiseguys. “He publicized everything that was going on,†he said of Gotti, who seemed to love the camera as much as it loved him in his heyday. Click below to read the rest of the story.
Peter (Bud) Zuccaro once thought the Gambino boss was the “best thing that walked the planet†— but he didn’t mourn when Gotti died in prison in 2002.
“There was no love lost for me,†Zuccaro testified in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Then — with Gotti unable to retaliate from his resting place in a Queens cemetery — Zuccaro boldly declared the Mafia kingpin had brought unwanted attention to the underworld.
“He publicized everything that was going on,†he said of Gotti, who seemed to love the camera as much as it loved him in his heyday.
“He brought everything that was supposed to be a secret society right out to the forefront, right into the press,†Zuccaro continued.
“He let it be a known thing, you know, flash, everybody hanging out together,†he told Assistant Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis.
“Guys reporting to the (Ravenite) club while the FBI is surveilling you. Wednesday night everybody had to report to see the boss.â€
Zuccaro, 56, was sprung from prison earlier this month to testify at the murder trial of reputed Gambino associate John Burke.
He’s been settling old scores since becoming a government snitch to work off a guilty plea to two gangland murders, and he seems to relish taking shots at the Gottis.
Zuccaro was once the most loyal of henchmen, reporting to Gotti’s hit man Charles Carneglia after growing up on the rough-and-tumble streets of East New York.
In 1986, he even testified as a defense witness at Gotti’s federal racketeering trial in Brooklyn, denying that he paid the gangster tribute with the infamous line, “What am I, Santa Claus?â€
Gotti, who had bribed a juror, was acquitted — embellishing the legend of the Teflon Don, who was a fixture on front pages and evening newscasts.
