Locals Pay Respect

Gotti's final resting place opens to the public

By Simone Weichselbaum | STAFF WRITER

June 17, 2002

The once spotlight-hungry John Gotti now lies out of public view in a wood-paneled corridor on the third floor of a huge stone mausoleum in St. John's Cemetery in Middle Village.

Inside, it takes patience and a good eye to spot the name of the photogenic mob kingpin and his son, Frank, etched in gold letters on the last column and last row on a wall they share with 23 other drawers containing up to three coffins each.

Yesterday, was the first time since Gotti's death Monday that the public was permitted to pay their respects to the mobster in the same room as his family members.

Hector Caraballo, though, brought along his wife, two children and mother-in-law to visit the casket of relatives, and look in on Gotti's as well.

The Floral Park resident said he once met Gotti through a mutual friend and said Gotti had a good relationship with his neighbors in Howard Beach.

"It is out of respect," Caraballo said as to why he brought his family to the cemetery. "As far as I am concerned he did no damage to anyone I knew."

Among the trickle of visitors was a woman who said she'd had positive encounters with Gotti. Her daughter was friends with Frank Gotti, the 12-year-old son killed by a neighbor in a traffic accident, and knew Gotti fairly well.

Also visiting was Paul Gray, who drove from his home in Brooklyn with a friend to see the casket site, and for a time stood next to a relative of Gotti's.

Gray said he has always been curious about the death styles of the rich and famous.

"He was an icon for the city," he said of the Dapper Don.