Childhood and Early Life
Salvatore Gravano was born in 1945 to Giorlando (Gerry) and Caterina (Kay) Gravano. He was the youngest of three children, and the only boy. The Gravano family lived in Bensonhurst, a largely Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn. Early on, one of Gravano's relatives remarked that he looked like his uncle Sammy. From that point on, everyone called Gravano "Sammy" instead of "Salvatore".His father ran a small dress factory and maintained a good standard of living for the family.
At age seven or eight, Gravano started stealing two cupcakes every day from a corner store in Bensonhurst on his way to school. After being caught by a store employee, a distraught Gravano received a stern warning. At age 13, Gravano joined the Rampers, a prominent street gang in Bensonhurst.
Gravano did poorly in school, possibly due to dyslexia. However, teachers dismissed his problems as "being a slow learner." Gravano was held back from grade advancement on two occasions. At first, other children taunted him about this at school, but the taunting ended after Gravano assaulted several bullies. When Gravano reached age 16, the school refused to keep him any longer. Gravano's father tried to redirect and discipline his son, including forcing him to attend Mass, but had little success.
In 1964, Gravano was drafted into the United States Army and served in the United States. While an enlisted man, Gravano mainly worked as a mess hall cook. He rose to the rank of corporal and was granted an honorable discharge after two years.
In 1971, Gravano married Debra Scibetta; they had two children. As of 2012, his daughter Karen Gravano was appearing on the VH1 reality series, Mob Wives. Later in his mob career, Gravano was ordered to help arrange the murder of his brother-in-law, Nicholas Scibetta. Gravano is also the brother-in-law of Gambino capo Edward Garafola and Mario Garafola. Gambino was a childhood friend of Colombo crime family associate Gerard Pappa.
Read more about this topic: Sammy Gravano
Famous quotes containing the words childhood and, childhood, early and/or life:
“...I really hope no white person ever has cause to write about me
because they never understand Black love is Black wealth and theyll
probably talk about my hard childhood and never understand that
all the while I was quite happy.”
—Nikki Giovanni (b. 1943)
“When we suffer anguish we return to early childhood because that is the period in which we first learnt to suffer the experience of total loss. It was more than that. It was the period in which we suffered more total losses than in all the rest of our life put together.”
—John Berger (b. 1926)
“Although good early childhood programs can benefit all children, they are not a quick fix for all of societys illsfrom crime in the streets to adolescent pregnancy, from school failure to unemployment. We must emphasize that good quality early childhood programs can help change the social and educational outcomes for many children, but they are not a panacea; they cannot ameliorate the effects of all harmful social and psychological environments.”
—Barbara Bowman (20th century)
“The life of a creator is not the only life nor perhaps the most interesting which a man leads. There is a time for play and a time for work, a time for creation and a time for lying fallow. And there is a time, glorious too in its own way, when one scarcely exists, when one is a complete void. I meanwhen boredom seems the very stuff of life.”
—Henry Miller (18911980)