Netflix's latest documentary drop Get Gotti digs into the past of the late, nefarious US crime boss John Gotti.
Gotti went from New York street gangs in the '60s to becoming part of America's most prominent mafia family, the Gambinos.
The mobster started out robbing trucks, but it wasn't long until his appetite for power began to grow, especially after being passed over for promotion. His rise to prominence came off the back of his involvement in the hit on the 'Boss of Bosses' Paul Castellano, head of the Gambino family.
This act thrust Gotti into the spotlight, and he thrived on the attention while the federal government did their utmost to take him down.
It is at this point that Get Gotti picks up the story.
Set in 1985, the three-part documentary unpacks the mobster's life at the height of his criminal career when he was at his most powerful but also most surveilled.
Gotti's life has inspired two documentary series, six TV movies and three films, including John Travolta's 2018 movie Gotti, but what happened to the real-life gangster?
What happened to John Gotti?
John Gotti's life went through a massive shift after he uprooted Paul Castellano from his position as head of the Gambino family and replaced him as the mob leader.
His elevation to boss put him right in the police firing line. He was arrested and charged several times for crimes, including assault and racketeering, but fortunately for Gotti, the authorities couldn't make any of those charges stick. Indeed, after he was acquitted in three consecutive trials, he earned himself the nickname 'The Teflon Don'.
His good luck would eventually run out in 1991 when he was sold out by his underboss, Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano.
Gravano's decision to give Gotti up came after he heard the comments Gotti had made about him on an FBI wiretap, implicating him and Gotti in numerous murders.
Gravano handed the FBI all the evidence they needed to go after Gotti, even going as far as to testify against him in court.
In 1992, the authorities were finally able to hit Gotti with charges that would stick.
A combination of racketeering, tax evasion, extortion, illegal gambling, loansharking, five murders and conspiracy to commit murder landed Gotti with a conviction that slapped him with life in prison without parole.
Gotti later died at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, of throat cancer aged 61, four years after he was first diagnosed.
What happened to John Gotti's son?
After his father's incarceration, John Gotti Jr became the acting boss of the Gambino crime family.
He held that position from 1992 to 1999, when he was sentenced to jail time for racketeering. He went on to face more racketeering charges between 2004 and 2009, though he claimed to have been 'pushed' into a life of crime and admitted to being "so ashamed" of his choices.
All four trials in the 2000s ended in a mistrial.
John Jr has six children, including professional MMA fighter John Gotti III.
Get Gotti is available to stream now on Netflix
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
