A Mafia `Songbird' Hopes Judge Will Go Easy On Him

NEW YORK - Nineteen murders as a mobster, 14 convictions as a star witness. Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano has proved almost as deadly working for the Justice Department as he was working for the Mafia.

In less than 2 1/2 years, Gravano has gone from the Gambino family's No. 2 man to the federal government's No. 1 informer. The unflappable Gravano has handled hundreds of questions on the witness stand, but two big ones remain unanswered as his midsummer sentencing approaches:

Will his work pay off in a sharply reduced jail sentence?

And if so, what kind of message will that send?

The prosecutors and FBI agents who worked with Gravano say that the stocky, tough-talking killer has earned a break and that a reduced sentence would lead other mobsters to cooperate.

Defense lawyers say Gravano's agreement for a 20-year maximum term sends a disturbing message.

"The government, to use the vernacular, makes offers that people can't refuse," said Gerald Lefcourt, a prominent defense lawyer. "People will say anything to avoid a mandatory life term."

Which is what Gravano, 48, was facing - life without parole. His deal with prosecutors guarantees the most he will serve is 20 years, or about 54 weeks for each person he admits he killed or arranged to kill.

The list of those victims is long, from Gambino family boss "Big Paul" Castellano to turncoat soldier "Tommy Sparrow" Spinelli.

But the list of convicted organized-crime figures jailed with Gravano's assistance is almost as long and even more impressive: Gambino family boss John Gotti. Gambino consigliere Frank Locascio. Colombo family boss Victor "Little Vic" Orena. Gambino family capos Thomas Gambino, James "Jimmy Brown" Failla and Robert "Bobby Cabert" Bisaccia.

Gravano was an unlikely candidate for the Witness Protection Program. He was fiercely loyal to Gotti and was seated beside the Dapper Don in 1985 when Castellano was gunned down a half-block away.

When Gotti became the nation's most notorious mob boss, Gravano became his underboss. Gotti was the Gambino family's bark; Gravano was its brutal bite.

The Bull was persuaded to switch sides by government surveillance tapes that captured Gotti bad-mouthing his underboss.

Gravano moved quickly from unlikely to devastating witness. Federal officials say they were overwhelmed by the eighth-grade dropout's honesty, memory and testimony.

His glossy track record: 14 convictions, including five plea bargains last month. One acquittal. One hung jury.

"Gravano is a prosecutor's dream," said James Fox, former head of the FBI's New York office. "He has a photographic memory."

Plenty of details

In the Castellano hit, Gravano was able to provide incredible detail, right down to the outfits worn by the triggermen: "white trench coats and black Russian hats."

Gravano has proved unshakeable on cross-examination, outlasting some of the nation's top defense lawyers and their tactics: Albert Krieger and his sarcasm, Bruce Cutler and his bombast. This Krieger question, from the Gotti trial, is typical:

"You don't care what happens?" Krieger asked Gravano in mock disbelief. "Let the jury come in guilty, let the jury come in not guilty. Means nothing to you. That's what you are telling the court and the jury, correct?"

"In a way," Gravano responded coolly. "They're the jury. And I'm not a juror."

Gravano doesn't even need to testify to land some guys in jail. Two of the Gambino family's top captains took seven-year jail terms in an April 5 plea bargain rather than hear Gravano sing.

"People make him out to be a dumb thug, a killer," Fox said. "My experience is he has some pretty good damn common sense."

The Gravano story, laid out during nine days on the witness stand at Gotti's racketeering trial, is fairly simple. He grew up in Brooklyn, dropped out of grammar school, served two years in the Army and started a life of crime that never stopped.

Gravano started small - "armed robberies, burglaries, shylocking," he testified. He graduated to "murder, shylocking, construction." He became friendly with an up-and-coming Gambino-family thug known as "Johnny Boy" - John Gotti.

When Gotti ascended, Gravano received his reward: An annual illegal income of a quarter-million dollars to augment his reported construction-business earnings of more than $500,000 a year.

Now he awaits another kind of payment from the government. Gravano has one last criminal case to handle: the trial of Vincent "The Chin" Giganter, reputedly the Genovese family boss.

Sentence could be shorter

U.S. District Judge Leo Glasser will then decide whether to give Gravano the full 20 years or something less. As a parallel, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Ward suggests the case of a Philadelphia mobster, "Crazy Phil" Leonetti.

Leonetti, the nephew of "Little Nicky" Scarfo, turned only after a racketeering conviction and 45-year jail term. After testifying, he received a sentence of time served - six years.

"There's a lot riding on what Sammy gets," Ward said. "It will send a message out to anyone thinking of turning. You have to view the overall picture, not one man in one courtroom."