#251 - John Gleeson on THE GOTTI WARS

John Gleeson was lead counsel in the successful racketeering-murder trials of John Gotti and Vic Orena, which he talks about with Trey Elling, as detailed in the new book, THE GOTTI WARS: TAKING DOWN AMERICA'S MOST NOTORIOUS MOBSTER. Topics include: The allure of working for the Eastern District of New York in the mid-1980s (1:28) How he became involved in the first Gotti case (3:15) Why his office didn't get along with the FBI's Gambino squad (6:42) Gotti's 'allure' in person (10:15) The special treatment Gotti received, despite being a defendant (13:17) Losing that first trial (15:24) The massive evidence obtained by bugging an apartment about the Ravenite club in Little Italy (18:57) How Gleeson took the lead on the second case (22:08) Nearly losing the case to the Southern District of NY (23:40) What they charged Gotti with (24:51) Using the bugged recordings to keep the defendants in detention (26:00) Getting two attorneys removed from Gotti's legal team (27:38) His initial response when learning Sammy "The Bull" Gravano wanted to flip on Gotti (30:10) Meeting with Sammy The Bull about flipping for the first time (31:44) Having to keep this a secret from his bosses (33:24) Learning from Sammy why they lost that first Gotti case (34:49) What worried Gleeson, leading into the second Gotti trial (35:45) Whether Gotti putting a contract out on his head during the trial worried Gleeson (37:44) Earning 'guilty' verdicts the second time around (39:06) His emotional response when finding out Gotti had died in the early 2000s (40:50)