Grief For Gotti

Many mourn mob boss' passing

By Bobby Cuza and Anthony M. DeStefano | STAFF WRITERS

June 12, 2002

Well-wisher carries a bouquet of flowers to the home of the family of John Gotti in Howard Beach yesterday. (Photo by Robert Mecea / June 11, 2002)

They still speak with awe of the yearly July 4 festival John Gotti threw for residents of Ozone Park and the feeling of safety that came with the Dapper Don's presence.

"He did things for the neighborhood. That's what people respected him for," said Pete Zaun, 55. "He always took time to smile and wave even though he didn't even really know me."

While family and friends grieved inside the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club - Gotti's old headquarters - Ozone Park residents remembered Gotti as an upright man who was unfairly singled out by law enforcement.

"He was a wonderful man," said Debra Suarez, 42, of Ozone Park, who taped a poem about Gotti to the front door of the Bergin. "A lot of people, they make it big - regardless of illegal or legal - [and] they never give back to the community. They forget where they came from. And he never forgot where he came from."

John Gotti's brother, Richard V. Gotti, 59, received a steady stream of visitors at the club yesterday, greeting them with a kiss on each cheek.

Funeral arrangements have not been set, he said. Gotti's body had not been released as of late yesterday, according to Lewis Kasman, a friend and the late mob boss' self-styled adopted son.

Kasman, who was with one of Gotti's sons, Peter, at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo., yesterday, believed an autopsy was being performed.

Bruce Cutler, the attorney who represented Gotti in many of his criminal cases, said funeral plans cannot be finalized until the body has been released. Speculation is that Gotti's funeral will be held in Queens with a burial at St. John's Cemetery.

In Ozone Park yesterday, some people made the sign of the cross as they passed the makeshift shrine outside the Bergin, where well-wishers had placed more than a dozen flower bouquets, stuffed animals and votive candles.

A similar scene played out at Gotti's Howard Beach home, the site of numerous flower deliveries.

"It's like your father dying," said Danny Messina, 32, a family friend, who described the scene inside the club as somber. "He meant everything to the community. Everyone loved him."

Those who have lived in Ozone Park long enough to remember Gotti described him in glowing terms, and uniformly bemoaned the turn the neighborhood has taken since his departure.

"He made this area safe, which it isn't anymore," said Joe Caroleo, 33, a flier distributor from Ozone Park.

Others, though, expressed mixed feelings about Gotti's glorified status. One neighborhood woman, who asked not to be identified, remembered children booing the cops when they cracked down on the July 4 party because of illegal fireworks. "They made a hero of him," she said. "It was terrible."

Cutler said he expected to soon make a new bail application for Gotti's elder brother, Peter, who has been held since Friday for trial on a racketeering case, so that he could attend the funeral and wake.

"He handled it with much aplomb," Cutler said about Peter Gotti's reaction to his brother's death. "It's a very strong family, certainly a very proud family."

Staff writers Andrew Johnson, Bryan Virasami and Akiko Matsuda contributed to this story.