John Gotti Sr.’s Generosity, John Jr.’s Greed: Lewis Kasman, Bruce Mouw, Mikey Scars, John Alite
Chris Kasparoza *This story was updated on March 26, 2025. Updates include the addition of the October 16, 2023, Michael DiLeonardo video/quote.
This story features quotes from articles, books and podcasts by people who knew John Gotti Sr. and or Jr. well, on the topic of their greed and generosity.
They are listed in order of publication. This website makes no claims as to their veracity, except where noted.
The links below to the books quoted are affiliate links. Clicking them will take you to their Amazon.com pages. Should you purchase them there in eBook, hardcover, or paperback — not audiobook — you will not be charged extra, but a small commission may be generated that helps support this website.
Quoted here are:
Bruce Mouw: He was head of the New York FBI Gambino squad that put John Gotti Sr. in prison for life, after which Mouw focused on incarcerating John Gotti Jr. during the 1990s.
John Alite: He testified that he was a Gambino crime family associate who became a government informant in 2007, when in reality, he was a cooperator during the 1990s, which the FBI covered up. Alite was a close friend of John Gotti Jr. and a violent member of his crew before their falling out in late 1991.
Lewis Kasman: He is the self-proclaimed “adopted son” of John Gotti who became an FBI confidential informant during the 1990s. Gotti was a father figure to Kasman, who gave the eulogy at his wake after he died in June 2002. Kasman, a businessman who says he was a Gambino crime family associate, was very close to John Gotti’s family, and his trusted confidant who allegedly helped him manage and launder millions of dollars.
Michael “Mikey Scars” DiLeonardo: He testified that he was a Gambino crime family captain who became a government witness in 2002. DiLeonardo was a good friend of John Gotti Sr., and during the 1990s was one of the closest friends of John Gotti Jr., who has publicly stated that he and DiLeonardo were inducted into the Gambino family together on December 24, 1988. DiLeonardo later baptized one of Gotti’s sons.
Los Angeles Times
Like Godfather, Like Son? Gotti Wears Name on Ankle
Article by Larry McShane
Published: January 17, 1999
Honor was always a hot-button issue for the Gotti family. “I’m gonna call ‘em as I see ‘em,” John Sr. once bragged on a government wiretap. “That I gotta do till the day I die.”
But law enforcers say there are differences between father and son: Where John Sr. inspired fear, Junior draws ridicule. Where John Sr. was battle-tested, Junior is inexperienced. And where John Sr. was philanthropic, Junior is greedy.
“The old man really wasn’t that money-conscious,” says ex-FBI agent Bruce Mouw, whose Gambino squad helped jail Gotti Sr. “The money came in, the money went out. The father was more concerned with power and control of people. Junior is just the opposite.”
Shadow of My Father
Book by John Gotti Jr.
Published: January 19, 2015
“I am not a fan of Mouw, but he does have my respect.”
*John Gotti Jr.’s book was written with the help of his loyal yet underappreciated lawyer, Adam Mandelbaum. Who Gotti Jr., apparently greedily, did not credit in the book, or his interviews and media appearances promoting it. Instead, Gotti Jr. took sole credit for writing it.
Read more: Who Wrote John Gotti Jr.’s Book?
Gotti’s Rules
The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia
Book by George Anastasia
Published: January 27, 2015
“With Junior, it was always about money,” Alite said. “Friendship didn’t matter. You could have been his friend for a dozen years and he’d still rip you off. He didn’t care. That’s just the way he was.”
Cosa Nostra News
Michael DiLeonardo On the Gotti Reign
Article by Ed Scarpo
Published: May 7, 2015
DiLeonardo said that greed, a major trait of Junior Gotti, was a major problem for the Gambino crime family…
“His father was charismatic. When Junior put the suit on, he knew he wasn’t his father. That’s why he felt more comfortable in the baseball cap and the sweatsuit. His persona was his muscles. He looked in mirrors, walked down 101st Avenue getting his picture taken. That was his armor, his muscles.
“He didn’t understand this is Cosa Nostra. You could be an old man and live off a lifetime of respect.” Rather, his mentality was: “‘I’m Gotti, I have muscles,” DiLeonardo said. “He’d sit at the table in a restaurant and take a deep breath and flex his pecs, with just me sitting there…
“I’d been telling him that we had to stop the murders and the drug dealing. I also told him he had to let the family earn.” Michael was referring to old timers especially, who wanted to generate revenue.
NO EXCUSES: Michael DiLeonardo and RJ Roger
John Gotti: “Flush the steak! We All Eat STEAK or No one Eats Steak!”
Hosts: Michael DiLeonardo, RJ Roger
Published: October 16, 2023
DiLeonardo: “When you’re in federal prison they have something called Salisbury steak. It’s like a glorified hamburger. It’s common fair, that usually the Muslims get it, uh, and all that other stuff. If you have special commissary and stuff, and things like that, usually we’d trade it off. Alright so, John told a story about steak. And one guy had a steak, and there was, or their crew that they ate with in prison, right. And um, John said, they had the steak, and John said, ‘Flush it. Throw it in the toilet bowl. Throw it away. Why? We all eat steak, or nobody eats steak.’ Right? That’s John’s mentality. That’s how he galvanized, and created, loyalty, and respect. ‘I’m the boss. I can eat that steak. Nope, I can’t do that to my men. I can’t eat a steak and watch them eat potatoes.’ That was, John. All together or none together.”
The Sitdown with Jeff Nadu
John Gotti’s “Adopted Son” SPEAKS OUT! | EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Host: Jeff Nadu
Guest: Lewis Kasman
Published: April 23, 2024
(20:06)
Kasman: “Paul Castellano was a cheap guy. He took money off of everybody. He never let any of his guys make a living. He was, he was disrespectful to Tommy Gambino, which he shouldn’t have been. John was the kind of guy, everybody made a living with John when he was the boss. He, he always used to tell me, ‘Lewis, don’t reach in anybody’s pocket. Everybody’s gotta make a living.’ And you know what, he was right. He wasn’t a Sammy Gravano. Sammy Gravano would take the gold from your teeth. Here’s a guy committed 19 murders, gets off– and 19 murders that the government agreed to let him, uh, say. Because they hadda’, they hadda’ convince Judge, uh Judge Leo Glasser, that it was only 19 murders. Now anybody knows, he was a serial killer. He was a sociopath. So, my point is, there was no better boss than John. He let you live, he let you make a living, he never took nothing off of you. He was fair.”
(42:27)
Kasman: “If you wanted to be in business or if you wanted to do something, do it right, be honorable, give him his cut. That’s what, he didn’t want a dollar more. We were in business, Jeff, at the end of the month, we, I’d show him the printout, what, what we made, what, what came in, what– if it was a dollar, he would say to me, ‘Lewis, you take 50 cents, I’ll take 50 cents.”
(01:06:02)
Nadu: “Is it true the Catholic Church would not give him a funeral?”
Kasman: “Well the– that’s another story. John, John and I developed a friendship, more, more me at this point because John wasn’t a big believer and all that stuff. With uh, Cardinal O’Connor who used to, who had a 99-year lease with Leona Helmsley. So he used to park his car where John and I used to park the car at the Hemsley Palace. So we would always see the Cardinal. So, I went, Cardinal was gone at this time by the way. So I, I went to the church where John would donate money to. They needed pews, bring ’em 50,000. In Howard Beach. They needed this, bring ’em 10,000. I went to that Parish Priest and I says listen, why don’t you give back all the money. I gave you 50,000 for chairs, a month ago. Give it back.”
Nadu: “Right.”
Kasman: “He says, ‘Lewis, if I could, I would.'”
Nadu: “So they basically took his money but wouldn’t give him a funeral.”
Kasman: “But ultimately, we gave him the funeral. Ultimately it came to pass.”
Nadu: “Good, right.”
Kasman: “After, after, after Peter, and myself, we made it happen.”
(1:24:37)
Nadu: “What do you miss most about John Gotti? What, what, what do you kind of leave his, what is his lasting legacy with you at least?”
Kasman: “I miss him. I miss the person he was. I miss for what he stood for. I’m not delusional. He was a tough guy. He was a mobster. He was a gangster. He was the boss. But I knew him– how he was, as a human being and how he was as a person. And how he loved people and how he wanted to take care of people and how he wanted to help people. That’s the John Gotti I know and that’s really the real John Gotti. That’s really the real John Gotti. That he, he had a, he had a very big heart. Like I said to you many times already Jeff, if you were in his life, and you were in that life, and you stole, and you robbed, there was a penalty. That’s who he was. He wasn’t a thief. He wasn’t a, a pig to take everybody’s money. A greedy guy. He was a very– greedy? I used to tell him, John do you hate money? You know and he used to laugh.”
Nadu: “We heard Junior say that too, yeah.”
Kasman: “Yeah. It’s true. You know, these are all true things about this guy.”
The Sitdown with Jeff Nadu
Lewis Kasman | Gotti Friend & Gambino Associate | LIVE Q/A
Host: Jeff Nadu
Guest: Lewis Kasman
Published: July 24, 2024
(29:10)
Nadu: (viewer question) “Why did the Gotti family call you Judas?”
Kasman: “Well, I think because of the whole thing that took place, uh, with the cooperation. But, you know, you have to understand, I knew all about Junior. I knew what Junior was gonna do. I saw his conduct. I saw his behavior. I saw, everything– how, how, how he, robbed money, robbed people. I loaned him $150,000, to um, buy the property that Eddie Lino owned. Where he uh, where he’s getting $10,000 a month now in rent. I loaned him 150, I have a signed promissory note notarized by Richie Rehbock, never paid me back the money. And his mother loaned him $150,000. That’s what we had to give Eddie Lino. And what happened was, his mother calls me up, she says ‘Pass by the house if you get a minute.’ So I go by the house, now this is his mother. His mother says to me, ‘Listen. We’re gonna loan him the money, but you know me and you are not gettin’ the money back.’ I says yeah, I know that. So she says, ‘You do what you have to do, make sure you’re covered for the 150.’ I says, What about you? She says, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get the money back.’ She says, ‘One way or another.’ He never paid his mother, and he never paid me. We, I was his partner. ‘You’re gonna be my partner there.’ I was a partner in everything according to him. I don’t see no money comin’ in, maybe it’s going to you (Nadu). I never got a dime from any partnership. He’s gettin’ 10, 12, maybe 15,000 a month from that property, never paid me back. I should, I should execute that note.”
Nadu: “You should.”
Kasman: “Any business you went into with Junior, you got fucked. Whereas any business you went into with Sr., right down the middle. So you tell me. And he was the boss, the real boss. Bosses don’t have to give you 50-50. Me, me, he did that with. I don’t know if he did that with everybody, I can only tell you how he was with me.”
(33:14)
Nadu: (viewer question) “Do you have any thoughts on Mikey Scars? Do you watch his channel?”
Kasman: “I think Mikey should call up Junior, they should kiss and make up. Because, Junior would have no money if it wasn’t for Mikey Scars. Junior didn’t know the first thing about construction, okay. Mikey Scars was a very well-liked guy, he was trained by Jackie Nose. Jackie Nose was a very well-liked guy. So Mikey was handling the construction for a while, which was massive. And uh, you know and they made money together. To this day I do believe, Mikey Scars would not have cooperated if Pete Gotti didn’t fuck him. Okay. When Mikey got arrested, I said to Pete, get him a lawyer. The guy’s layin’ up there, he was freezing. It was just a terrible situation. Eh, Pete says, ‘I’m not gettin’ him a lawyer, fuck him.’ But, if Junior wanted to get him a lawyer, ’cause Junior knew he was arrested, Junior could have sent word to– uh, Big Steve (Dobies), to me, to anybody. ‘Make sure Mikey Scars gets a lawyer.’ And, we got no such message of that kind. Junior was only interested how much money I was makin’ from Hudson & McCoy and why he wasn’t a partner.”
Nadu: “Wow. Yeah listen, we definitely know he was greedy for sure, and I do agree with what you said about Mikey Scars.”
(34:51)
Nadu: (viewer question) “Any good quotes John (Gotti) would say?”
Kasman: “Yeah, I could give ya a few. ‘Don’t reach into anybody’s pocket. Everybody’s gotta earn a living. Don’t be greedy.'”
(55:00)
Kasman: “Everybody– you gotta understand, John was a real tough guy. No bullshit. That’s who he was, you know. But he was also– he had like a, how do I say this– he had this personality that, he liked it to be, he wanted the– you, you, you couldn’t buy him. If you were in business with him, he wasn’t the type of guy, in other words, he wanted everybody around him to earn. He, like Paul, wasn’t like that. Castellano wasn’t like that. He, he, he was a vacuum cleaner, Paul. Keep it comin’ in, keep it comin’ in. John liked everybody to earn. Take care of their families. Senior, I’m talkin’ about. That’s really how he was. As long as he had for him, and the people he loved, he, he didn’t wanna take. He wasn’t that type of person. He let you live. He was a let and live type guy that way. But if you, if you fucked him, or, or if there was somethin’ that went down that was big, then you paid.”
(56:15)
Nadu: (viewer question) “Is there any truth to Junior Gotti ripping off Gene (Gotti) on real estate?”
Kasman: “It’s possible because that’s how Junior operates, um, but I think he’d be making a big mistake to, to fuck with Genie.”
Nadu: “100%.”
(59:33)
Nadu: (viewer question) “What are your thoughts on John Alite?”
Kasman: “He did a lot of work for John, uh John Jr. He had no relationship with John Sr. But yes, he did do a lot of work, for, Junior.”
(01:03:18)
Nadu: (viewer question) “What are your thoughts on Carmine Agnello?”
Kasman: “Carmine’s a good guy. You know, he did time, he’s a, he’s a good guy. You know, married Vicky (Gotti). Tremendous earner. You know, uh, I only have good stuff to say about Carmine. You know, Junior of course tried to, you know get over on him too. I don’t think Junior missed anybody. But Carmine, I always had a good relationship with Carmine.”
(01:09:18)
Nadu: (viewer question) “How racist was John Gotti?”
Kasman: “Not at all. Not at all.”
(Nadu expresses doubt.)
Kasman: “No, no, let me tell you something.
Nadu: “I don’t know.”
Kasman: “The homeless, he used to make me go give money out to the homeless. Thanksgiving, he would call up, um, uh what do you call it, uh Phil Castellano. He’d fill up two trucks of turkeys, he would drive through the Bowery, drive through Hell’s Kitchen and give out turkeys to everybody. He was not a racist, at all.”
Nadu: “Well, I’m not gonna say he was a racist, but he did say being a n-word was an embarrassment, being John Gotti’s grandson is an honor.”
Kasman: “Yeah, I can only tell you how he was with me, and what I saw him do for people that were less fortunate on holidays and Christmas and different things, and uh, you know, that’s all I could, and think an– you know I can only speak to what I know.”
Nadu: (addressing a viewer) “I would, I don’t know if he donated money to charity, Tim, but you know as Lewis just said he, he gave out turkeys and he was very giving–“
Kasman: “No we gave. We uh, St. Helens in Howard Beach, we gave $50,000 to.”
Nadu: “That’s right.”
Kasman: “John was not a religious man, he didn’t believe in any of that kind of stuff.”
(01:11:16)
Nadu: “Who was your least favorite person around, on a regular basis?”
Kasman: “Least first favorite wise guy?”
Nadu: “Yeah.”
Kasman: “Junior.”
Nadu: “Gotti?”
Kasman: “Yep. He didn’t have a sincere bone in his body. All about the money, and who he could rob and get from. We put an extension on the house, in Howard Beach, and it was $150,000 extension. Because, you know, those are small houses in Howard Beach. You know, unless you fix it. So, we got the contractor, and uh, John said to me, ‘Lewis, we’ll put the extension on for, for my dad.’ I said, okay, good. I said uh, he says to me, ‘I’ll pay 75,000 and you pay 75,000.’ And I says good. Jeff, did you get the 75,000? I never got it. So I paid the whole 150,000 for the extension on the house, for his father.”
Nadu: “Wow.”
Kasman: “There, there was, there was no truth, there was no sincerity. When I went to jail, jail, for that perjury thing, Junior never called my wife. Never went to the house to say, ‘Do you need anything? Do you need a quart of milk? How’s Lewis doing?’ Nothing. Zero. Zero. If it wasn’t all about Junior, he didn’t give a fuck.”
(01:13:48)
Nadu: (viewer question) “Who did John Jr. rob? Can we get some names?”
Kasman: “Everybody. Everybody, every, anybody he was associates, associated with, he took advantage of. In some way, shape or form.”
(01:19:19)
Nadu: (viewer question) “What did you think when you first heard John Jr. did a proffer and what did you think when you read the 302? What did guys in the street think about the proffer?”
Kasman: “Assuming it’s true.“
Nadu: “It’s true.”
Kasman: “Okay. They were, everybody was out of their mind over it. Out of their mind over it. Just like that story when he, wanted, went to go see his father. That he wants to, uh, he wants to leave the mob. ‘I want closure, dad. I want clo–.’ You know what, he wanted closure, he should have given back all the fuckin’ money that he made from the mob. Which he kept, and he’s living on now.”
The Sitdown with Jeff Nadu
Lewis Kasman: “Junior Gotti Still Lives In Mob Fantasy World” | Gotti’s Guy Ep1
Host: Jeff Nadu
Guest: Lewis Kasman
Published: August 22, 2024
(10:02)
Kasman: “Based on his, you know, based on, uh, John Jr.’s past track record, when it comes to money, money is his God.”
Nadu: “For sure.”
(29:18)
Kasman: “Junior lives in this fantasy world of, mob, you know, if Junior could be in the mob and never be indicted he’d be the happiest guy in the world… It doesn’t work that way unfortunately for him.”
The Goodfellow Podcast
LIVE Q&A: John Gotti’s ‘Adopted Son’ Lewis Kasman TELLS ALL On Gambinos & The Teflon Don
Host: Joe Barone
Guest: Lewis Kasman
Published: March 16, 2025
(02:29)
Kasman: “John (Gotti Sr.) was a humble guy. John was a generous man.”
(21:20)
Kasman: (on John Gotti) “You couldn’t find a better friend. You couldn’t find a better father. You couldn’t find a better, uh, mentor. He was just, to me, he was just one, one in a million.”
Barone: “Wow. Thanks for that answering that too. You said a phrase that John said, in uh my last interview with you. Uh, but I wanted to know if there’s any more phrases too. He said, what did he say to you? ‘Don’t put your hands in anybody else’s pocket there’s enough to go around.’ Is that exactly the way he said it, or?”
Kasman: “He always used to say, and that was an expression of his, ‘Don’t reach in anybody’s pocket, there’s enough for everybody.’ He used to always used to say, you know, ‘Never be a pig, because pigs get slaughtered.'”
(36:16)
Kasman: “You see you gotta understand– John was not about money.”
The Goodfellow Podcast
John Gotti’s Best Friend & ‘Adopted Son’ Lewis Kasman Spills The TRUTH On The Gambino Crime Family
Host: Joe Barone
Guest: Lewis Kasman
Published: March 17, 2025
(06:46)
Kasman: “John was the mob. Through all those years he was out. He was the Mafia. Okay? There was no stronger, and, when I say ethical, yeah, that, the Gambino family is an organized crime family. But I gotta tell you about John Gotti– Sr. When you made a deal with him, you made a deal with him. If he said to you we’re partners in, in this, that and the other thing, that was it. If we made a dollar and our deal was 50 cents each, you, that’s what he took. He was no Sammy. He was not a scumbag like Sammy. Whatever the deal was that was the deal. That’s the kind of man John was.”
(09:40)
Kasman: “John, as the boss, he was accessible. Unless Jackie Nose, or myself, buffered it, or stopped it. Otherwise, associates, you know, made guys are supposed to go to their skippers.”
Barone: “That’s right.”
Kasman: “But John, you know his whole crew, in, in, in Ozone Park and all those guys, they were access, he was accessible. If, if, if, if we had the money, that he used to give to people, for lawyers, and doctors, and whose wife is sick. Everybody, every day somebody’s wife was sick, and every day somebody needed money for a lawyer. Give this guy 15,000, give this guy 10,000, help this guy– uh, uh, here, Herb, you remember Herby Sperling?”
Barone: “Yes, I heard the name, yes.”
Kasman: “Okay. John never had nothing to do with Herby Sperling.”
Barone: “Okay.”
Kasman: “But, but, when, but he liked Herby because he knew Herby was a stand-up guy.”
Barone: “Oh, okay.”
Kasman: “When Herby’s, when Herby’s wife was in trouble, Josephine, ‘Lewis, go see Josephine. Give her $5,000, and make sure she has air conditioning in her apartment, in New York.'”
Barone: “Wow.”
Kasman: “So I went to see Josephine, I says here, here’s from John, and I had the electrician there and we put air conditioning in all Josephine Sperling’s apartment. That’s the kind of guy he was… He helped everybody.”
(22:10)
Kasman: “John had an expression, Joe. ‘Don’t reach into anybody’s pocket, there’s enough for everybody.’ You know a boss that thinks that way? In any family, you know a boss that thinks that way? He used to tell me, ‘Lewis, don’t reach into anybody, there’s enough here, whatever you want go take. But, let everybody live.’ Tell me if you know a boss like that.”
Barone: “The only one story Lewis, and you’re right though ’cause I don’t know many, there’s only one guy that I remember my father, I, I told the story a couple of times. Uh, is when my father made a score, he brought it to the boss. Which was, who was Barney, ’cause he’s in the Genovese family, and Barney had said to him, ‘You did this on your own?’ And my father said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Then that’s all yours.” He didn’t take a dime. Now, I believe that’s a true story, ’cause that went around–“
Kasman: “That’s, that’s a John Gotti.”
Barone: “Yes.”
Kasman: “That’s a John Gotti.”
Barone: “Yes. So I have to say that–“
Kasman: “John Gotti Sr. Not Junior. Junior would take the gold out of your teeth.”
