Sammy Gravano - Made Man

Made Man

In the early 1970s, Colombo mobster Ralph Spero, brother of Shorty, became jealous of Gravano's success, fearing that he would become a made man before his son Tommy. To avoid conflict, Shorty Spero allowed Gravano to leave the Colombo family and join the Gambino crime family.

Now with the Gambinos, Gravano became an associate of capo Salvatore "Toddo" Aurello. Aurello quickly took a liking to Gravano and became his mob mentor. Around this time, Gravano took a construction job (he later claimed to have considered leaving the criminal life). A former associate, however, falsely claimed to the New York District Attorney's Office that Gravano and another associate were responsible for a double murder from 1969. After Gravano was indicted, he desperately needed money to pay his legal bills. He quit his construction job and went on a self-described "robbing rampage" for a year and a half. One week into the trial, the prosecution moved to dismiss the charges. Gravano later said of this legal problem:

That pinch (arrest) changed my whole life. I never, ever stopped a second from there on in. I was like a madman. Never stopped stealing. Never stopped robbing. I was obsessed.

Gravano's robbery spree impressed Aurello, who proposed him for membership in the Gambino family. In 1976, the Cosa Nostra's membership books were finally reopened and Gravano became one of the first to be sworn in.