Sammy Gravano - Colombo Associate

Colombo Associate

The Mafia had been in Bensonhurst for a long time; several "wiseguys" hung around a bar that a young Gravano and his father frequently passed. On one occasion, they helped Gravano recover a stolen bicycle. At one point, one of these mobsters was so impressed by Gravano's fighting ability that he nicknamed him "the Bull." The nickname "Sammy Bull" stuck.

Despite his father's attempts to dissuade him, Gravano, like many of his Ramper colleagues, drifted into the Cosa Nostra. He first became associated with the Cosa Nostra in 1968 through Tommy Spero, whose uncle Shorty was an associate of the Colombo crime family under future boss, Carmine "the Snake" Persico. Gravano was initially involved in petty crimes such as larceny, hijacking, and armed robbery. He quickly moved into racketeering, loansharking, and running a lucrative poker game in the back room of an after-hours club, of which he was part-owner.

Gravano became a particular favorite of family boss Joe Colombo, who used Gravano to picket the FBI Manhattan headquarters as part of his Italian-American Civil Rights League initiative. Gravano's rise was so precipitous that it was generally understood that he would be among the first to become made when the Cosa Nostra's membership books were reopened (they had been closed since 1957).

In 1970, Gravano committed his first murder—that of Joseph Colucci, a fellow Spero associate with whose wife Tommy Spero was having an affair. Colucci reportedly was planning to kill Gravano and both Speros in retaliation. Gravano described the experience thusly:

"As that Beatles song played, I became a killer. Joe Colucci was going to die. I was going to kill him because he was plotting to kill me. I felt the rage inside me.... Everything went in slow motion. I could almost feel the bullet leaving the gun and entering his skull. It was strange. I didn't hear the first shot. I didn't see any blood. His head didn't seem to move.... I felt like I was a million miles away, like this was all a dream."

The Colucci murder won respect and approval from Persico for Gravano. Gravano later became a mentor to Colucci's son, Jack Colucci, who became involved in the construction industry as a Gambino associate.