Mob boss Gotti’s grandson arrested in major oxycodone sweep
John J. Gotti, grandson of the late mob boss John Gotti, is led out by NYPD officers in handcuffs from the 113th Precinct in Jamaica, Queens, on Aug. 4, 2016. Credit: Andrew Schwartz
The grandson of the late Gambino crime boss John Gotti was arrested Thursday with his girlfriend and seven others on charges they sold oxycodone and other prescription drugs in Queens, officials said.
Nabbed in the case was John J. Gotti, 23, son of the late crime boss’ son Peter, who was not accused of any wrongdoing. Police arrested the younger Gotti at the home of his grandmother Victoria, the widow of the mob boss, where cops found hundreds of oxycodone pills, according to investigators.
Dubbed “Operation Beach Party,” the probe resulted in undercover purchases of more than $46,000 worth of oxycodone in the last year, said NYPD chief of detectives Robert Boyce.
The younger Gotti was living in his grandmother’s home with his girlfriend, Eleanor Gabrielli, 27, when police showed up early Thursday with a search warrant, defense attorney Gerard Marrone said. Police not only handcuffed Gotti and his girlfriend but also dragged his grandmother, who has had a history of strokes, down the stairs in the house, said Marrone.
“She was very upset,” Marrone said of Victoria Gotti, who also wasn’t accused of any wrongdoing. “She is a sick lady.”
Marrone noted that while the late john Gotti was alive his home was never raided by police or the FBI, even when he was arrested for the last time in December 1990 on federal racketeering charges. Gotti died in prison in June 1992 from the effects of throat cancer.
“The drugs in which the defendants have alleged to have primarily trafficked — oxycodone — is especially popular with club patrons despite the fact that it poses serious health risks,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.
Brown said Gotti was intercepted discussing his drug trafficking business in detail, allegedly stating he sold more than 4,200 pills a month and did approximately $100,000 a month in drug sales, believing that he pulled in a total of $1.6 million, said Brown.
According to investigators, undercover officers bought $46,080 worth of oxycodone from Gotti from April 22 to July 28.
Gotti is accused of being a major trafficker and also faces various drug-sale and money-laundering charges, Brown said. Gabrielli faces charges of third-degree drug possession, he said.
The other defendants faces assorted drug possession, drug sale, money laundering and conspiracy charges. Steve Kurger, 57, of Howard Beach, Queens, and Justin Testa, 41, of Ozone Park, Queens, also face with Gotti accusations of being major traffickers, officials said.
Marrone said arraignments were expected to occur late Thursday in Queens state court.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
