(BIG PAUL) Talked about to this day, the hit the whacking of Big Paul Castellano and his driver Thomas Bilotti. It was a brazen unsanctioned calculated show of power. Who were the players behind this hit? For what reason or reasons for this hit? What was the aftermath? Well let’s take a look into the main player’s and the victims of the Spark’s Steak House 12/16/1985 hit.
210 East 46th St. & 3rd Ave. Mid-Town Manhattan NYC (WHAT SPARKED IT) August 1983, Angelo Ruggiero and Gene Gotti were busted for dealing herion , based primarily on tape recordings from a bug in Ruggiero’s house. Castellano, who had a rule for made men from his family dealing drugs under threat of death, wanted those tapes, and when Ruggiero said “fuck you to Big Paul” Paul threatened to demote Gotti. 
Angelo(Quack Quack) Ruggiero 
Eugene (Gene) Gotti (MENU PLEASE) 
These next set of events were the main factors in Big Paul’s fate, but first Big Paul. Born Constantino “Paul” Castellano June 26, 1915 NYC. Also known as “The Howard Hughes of the Mob” and “Big Paulie” & “PC” to his family, was a Mafia boss in New York City who took over after long time Boss Carlo Gambino 
who died on Oct 15, 1976 as Boss of the Gambino family. Castellano was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in 1915, to Italian immigrants Giuseppe Castellano and Concetta (née Casatu). Giuseppe was a butcher and an early member of the Mangano family, Vincenzo Giovanni Mangano 
the forerunner of the Gambino family. Castellano dropped out of school in the 8th grade to learn butchering and collecting numbers game receipts, both from his father. In July 1934, Castellano was arrested for the 1st time in Hartford, Connecticut for robbing a haberdasher. The 19-year-old Castellano refused to flip on his 2 fellow hoods to the cops and served a 3 month prison sentence. By refusing to talk with the cops, Castellano rose in his reputation for family loyalty. Another thing that pissed most of his under links off was, he did not make his bones like the others. Paul was gifted alot of privledge and advancement cause of his family relations to Carlo. Castellano’s sister Catherine had married one of their cousins, future Mafia boss Carlo Gambino, in 1926. 1937, Castellano married his childhood sweetheart Nina Manno; the couple had 3 sons Paul, Philip, and Joseph Castellano and a daughter, Constance Castellano. His 1st big money move was taking 300 Kosher chicken butchers and formed a union, great idea that made him a top earner and not even getting his hands dirty. He was compared to Frank Prudue chicken icon. In the 1940s, Castellano became a member of the Mangano family. He became a capo under boss Vince Mangano’s successor, Albert Anastasia. In 1957, after the whacking of Anastasia and Carlo Gambino’s elevation to boss, Castellano attended the abortive Apalachin meeting in Apalachin, New York. When New York State Police raided the meeting, Castellano was one of 61 high-ranking mobsters arrested. Refusing to flip once again this time to the grand jury questions about the meeting, Castellano spent 1 year in prison on contempt charges. On January 13, 1960, Castellano was sentenced to 5 years in prison for conspiracy to withhold information. However, in November 1960, Castellano’s conviction was reversed by an Appeals Court. 
John Joseph Gotti Jr. January 1983, Castellano allegedly ordered Roy DeMeo’s murder, who was found shot to death in the trunk of his Cadillac. March 1983, the FBI obtained a warrant to install secret listening devices in Castellano’s house. Waiting until Castellano went on vacation to Florida, agents drugged his watch dogs, disabled his security system, and planted devices in the dining and living rooms. These devices provided law enforcement with a wealth of incriminating information on Castellano.
March 30, 1984, Castellano was indicted on federal racketeering charges in the Gambino case, including the Eppolitto and DeMeo murders. Other charges were extortion, narcotics trafficking, theft, and prostitution. Castellano was released on $2 million bail.
February 25, 1985, Castellano was one of many Mafia bosses arrested on charges of racketeering, which was to result in the Mafia Commission Trial; he was released on $3 million bail.
July 1, 1985, Castellano was indicted on loansharking charges and with tax evasion for not reporting the profits from his illegal racket, and pleaded not guilty.
November 4, 1985, in a testimony from car thief Vito Arena, Castellano was named the head of the stolen-car ring that employed him, as well as having been connected to 5 murders. So you can see this shit is about to hit the fan. (SHOTS FIRED) 
Monday, December 16, 1985, Bilotti drove Castellano to the prearranged early evening meeting at Sparks Steak House in Midtown Manhattan, on East 46th Street near 3rd Ave. A hit team waited near the restaurant entrance; positioned down the street were backup shooters Dominick Pizzonia, 
Angelo Ruggiero (pictured), and Anthony Rampino. John Gotti and Sammy the Bull watched from a car across the street.
As Castellano was exiting the car at the front of the restaurant at around 5:26 pm, the hit squad ran up and shot him several times. John Carneglia was the gunman who shot Castellano in the head. Thomas Bilotti was shot as he exited from the driver’s door; before leaving the murder scene, Gotti drove by the murder to view the bodies. 
(THE NEW BOSS) 
2 weeks after Castellano’s murder, a meeting of capos in a Manhattan basement elected Gotti, as the new Boss of the Gambino Family. The Castellano murder pissed off Vincent Gigante, boss of the Genovese family, because Gotti never asked for an ok, for the hit from the Commission. Gigante approached the Lucchese family boss Anthony Corallo to whack Gotti. April 13, 1986, a car bomb meant for Gotti exploded outside a Bensonhurst social club, but the only casualty was Frank DeCicco. A very close friend to Gotti, and he was mad as fuck. After a whack here and a hit here, Gotti & Gigante called it even and made peace. That’s just a peek into the world of the Mafia. We will be covering more stories like this on upcoming shows on the podcast. until next time, we’ll be “HANGIN OUT IN SPACE AND TIME” THE 3RD FLOOR PODCAST IS AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE YOU GET YOUR PODCAST,, iTunes listeners please leave a 5 star review and a comment,, we are on @Anchor and @Spotify we are on TWITTER @victorv8201963 email : vavthe3rdfloorpodcast@gmail.com