John Joseph Gotti Sr. was born in Mount Vernon, NY, on May 29, 1907. He was a troubled child who left school in fourth grade. He married Philomena “Fanny” DiGiorgio in 1931 soon after being released from the Napanoch Institute for Defective Delinquents in Wawarsing, Ulster County.

They lived in the Bronx and had 13 children (two died in infancy). He worked as a laborer for the Works Progress Administration on Eastern Boulevard & White Plans Road, making $52.80 a month. John Gotti Jr. was born Oct. 27, 1940, the fifth child in a family already living in poverty. On June 29, 1941, John Sr. mugged a man and was caught and sentenced to a year in Sing-Sing on Jan. 20, 1942. In 1953, the family relocated to the East New York section of Brooklyn.

John Gotti dropped out of high school at age 16 and chartered his own course in life: the Mafia. He found love and married Victoria Di Giorgio in 1962 and they had five children. They purchased a home at 160-11 85 St. in Howard Beach in 1976 from Carlo Inzanti.

Some residents contend car thefts dropped to nil as thieves knew better than to come here. The location was also close by his Bergin Hunt and Fish Club. Gotti was elevated to godfather of the Gambino crime family upon the murder of Paul Castellano in 1985. After many acquittals, he was eventually convicted of charges including murder and sent to prison for life, dying at age 61 in June 2002. His old home has been sold several times and is now valued at around $900,000.

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