Sammy “The Bull” Gravano – The Mob Hit that Ended the Philadelphia War

Sammy “The Bull” Gravano’s tattoos were born from persona, confinement, and aggravation. The New York mobster-turned-ecstasy kingpin-turned prisoner-turned media maestro had a few tattoos in his youth: a diamond, Jesus, an eagle, and a girl’s name, “Pie.” After testifying against mob boss John Gotti in 1991, the former underboss served a five-year prison sentence. Upon release, he was persuaded to enter witness protection, and the ink markings were removed.

Discontent with the program, in 1995, Gravano left his witness protection persona, Jimmy Moran, and moved to Arizona, where his family resided. Years later, he was indicted on and sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking, a story recently recounted in the Max Original documentary “Sons of Ecstasy.”

“I was 55 years old going back into prison with a label as a rat, a cooperator,” Gravano shared with Inked. Fresh skinned and frustrated, he told himself, “Get tattoos, put your gangster hat on, and kill. That’s exactly my mentality in prison when I went in.”

Using a cup filled with black ink and a guitar string, the jailhouse tattoo artists used a motor or manually stuck the inky wire into his skin. “Not one of these tattoos came from the street,” Gravano said. “They’re all down my whole back, my chest, my arms — I got the sleeves all the way up and down.”

Gravano started rebuilding his life when he was released from prison in 2017. In 2020, he launched the podcast and YouTube channel, “Our Thing,” amassing 628,000 subscribers as of press time.

In 2024, the confessed professional hitman “was engaged in a deeper, more personal battle: a struggle for redemption and peace,” and announced on Instagram that he was a born-again Christian. Soon afterward, he met face to face with his incarcerator, retired Sheriff Joe Arpaio, on NBC.

“I was angry with him,” Gravano admitted. NBC reporter Troy Hayden posted on Instagram that “Tension filled the room.” Yet, to many’s surprise, they eventually shook hands, cracked jokes, and took pictures together. “I hate walking around with hate or negativity in me,” Gravano shared. “Do I have a little bit of a temper? You’ll see it right away if I blow, but I don’t carry that. And I don’t carry hard feelings, and that’s another reason why I became a born-again Christian. I buried my sins. I don’t care who forgives me on the outside, but I care about God and Jesus forgiving me.”

Fast forward to January 21, 2025, Gravano sat down to share his story with Inked. From the birth of “The Bull” namesake to the Paul Castellano hit, his time in prison, carrying his murdered friend, mob captain Frank DeCicco, from a blown-up vehicle, and his media projects, the now 80-year-old was candid and went graphically in-depth.

“I know I don’t sound human with 19 murders and this and that,” he admitted. “I didn’t commit 19 murders, by the way. I was involved in 19 murders.” A movie about one of those murders is currently in the works: an FX television series similar to “Sopranos,” with legendary writers Terence Winter, Nick Pileggi, JJ Sachs, and Director Antoine Fuqua. Executive Producers Aaron Kaplan and Gravano lead the team, and Gravano offered a sampler of what to expect.

The Ploy that Eliminated Keys

Following mob boss Angelo Bruno’s assassination in 1980, a power struggle brewed in Philadelphia. John “Johnny Keys” Simone, a powerful Bruno family captain, had a target on his back from New York’s five crime families, who were unsuccessful in their previous attempts to off him. “They called it a ‘mission impossible,’” Gravano said. “Nobody could get it done.”

As the story goes, two “old timers,” Nicky Russo and Joseph “Pal Joey” Farinella, bumped into Keys. Previously acquainted, the three stopped at a restaurant to talk. An observer witnessed the meeting, grew suspicious, and brought it to the Commission, claiming that Gambino boss Castellano was secretly conspiring.

One day at a club, while Gravano played cards, his boss, mob captain Salvatore “Toddo” Aurello, instructed him to drive to Castellano’s house. At the crime boss’s house, “I shook his hand, but I back up. I go in the corner. I’m nobody. Even though I’m made, and I’m an acting captain, I’m a young guy,” said Gravano, who was in his early 30s at the time, adding, “[Castellano was] ripping mad.”

The Commission accused him of backing the wrong side — the Keys side — which was forbidden. Of course, he denied it because he had done nothing wrong. Castellano’s response to the Commission was swift and direct. “I’m not doing this on the sneak,” he said. The Commission responded, “If your guys could meet him, then you got the hit. Do it. Get it done.”

Castellano scolded the team at the next meeting, still frustrated to be stuck with the hit. Mid-rant, he looked over Aurello’s shoulder at Gravano and said, “Sammy, could you get this done?” Surprised yet unwavering, he agreed. Turning his attention to Russo and Farinella, Castellano said, “Sammy’s got the hit; he’s in charge. Do whatever he tells you to do.”

“My crew tells me, ‘Sammy, tell them we’re working on it, and we just can’t get it done, just like everybody else,’” Gravano explained. He dismissed their proposal, saying, “I took an oath to the life, bro. I got to do this. I’m not gonna bullshit. I can do it. If I can’t do it, I can’t do it, we’ll fall on our face. I gotta try.”

Gravano wanted to know who he was dealing with, so he asked Russo and Farinella to set an appointment. They warned him that Keys was in a war and always had 20 to 30 guys with him. He was smart, cunning, and a professional with 50 hits under his belt.

Gravano told his crew, “Make an appointment with him and tell him this exactly: ‘I got this young guy, Sammy. Paul wants to send him to meet you. He’s a made guy. He’s a jerkoff, a punk, and a bitch, but Paul uses him because he brings messages back and forth precisely – very good at that.’ Make sure you use that language.”

The initial meeting was a dud – no useful information. Gravano organized another meeting with Keys and his crew to discuss plan B. He told them, “He sits in the back of the restaurant. Let me go in. This time, you guys stay on the sidewalk, talk to his guys, and you could see me from the street. If they’re pulling me out of that booth, get in the car and go.”

Russo and Farinella warned him about what Keys would do to him: torture him for the truth and kill him. “You can’t come in,” Gravano told them. “There’s nothing you could do. But there will be other guys after me and you could be a big help to them. That’s what I’m telling you to do. I’m ordering you to do it. Period. I don’t want to discuss it. Do that.”

At the second meeting, Gravano told Keys that Castellano wanted to meet him and back him up, offering money, guns, and shooters to help Keys win the war. Keys would choose a safe place to meet, free of guns and with trusted associates.

Keys is convinced and named an upscale golf course with a country club and armed security. “He smiles. I smile. He got what he wants. I got what I want,” Gravano said. “I’m gonna kill him on the golf course.”

Gravano, Russo, and Farinella obtained a pass to the country club. They surveilled the property, observing two armed guards. Gravano explained the plan to his guys: The crew would be in the van, armed with an Uzi, shotguns, and pistols. If the guards drew their weapons to shoot, they would be killed.

On the day of the hit, Gravano and Keys were walking behind Russo and Farinella, discussing the meeting Keys agreed to with Castellano at the clubhouse. As they walked, Keys pointed out a van with its engine running. Gravano grabbed him, the van doors opened, and Keys was forced into the van. “Boom, I got him.”

They sped off, skidding, going sideways on the grass, smashing through the access barrier arm and into the guardhouse. The guards pulled their guns, but they ducked and didn’t shoot. Russo stayed with the car at the clubhouse, and as the van headed toward the highway, free from followers, Farinella abruptly announced, “Oh, my God. I got the keys to the car.”

It was a messy situation. Russo was stranded at the clubhouse without keys to the car, Gravano had a gun under the seat, and the crew’s fingerprints were everywhere. They pulled the van over, and Farinella was ordered to get out and return to the country club to find out what happened to Russo and the car, and the van was back on the road.

In the back of the van, Keys’ legs and arms were tied. He looked to Gravano and said, “A punk. A bitch. Five families in New York and half of fucking Philadelphia couldn’t have me sitting in this van. You’re everything but that.” He said, “[But] you’re making a mistake. The window’s open and not covered. A truck will see us. They got the CBs, and they’ll call it in. You’ll get busted.”

Keys was right. Gravano ordered his guys to cover the windows. Soon, Keys complained of chest pains and asked Gravano to grab a nitroglycerin pill from his pocket and place one under his tongue. Gravano did as he said but asked himself, “Wouldn’t he rather die of a heart attack?

Keys didn’t resist being restrained as they approached the toll, and the van passed through without incident. “Sammy, I’m a very, very rich man. I can make you very, very rich. Beyond your imagination,” he told Gravano.

Gravano said, “Please don’t go there, bro. This is Cosa Nostra. There’s no money in the world.”

“Well said,” Keys responded. “I wish you were on my team. I would have won this war.” As they headed toward Staten Island, he said, “Sammy, do two favors for me. Make sure if it’s not you who pulls the trigger, it’s a made guy, a friend of ours. And don’t let me be found with my shoes on.”

Gravano understood the first favor, but was puzzled why Keys would want his shoes off. “My wife isn’t stupid. She reads the paper. She knows about what’s going on, and I tell her, ‘Relax, I’ll die at home with my shoes off. Don’t worry about it,’” Keys explained. “If I’m found without my shoes on, she’ll know I was thinking about her in the last couple of minutes or seconds before I died.”

Keys wanted to send his wife a covert message. To Gravano, it felt like a twisted love story — unbelievable and almost poetic. They spent 13 hours together in the van, reminiscing and creating a brotherly bond. Gravano thought, “It’s breaking my heart. I don’t even want to kill this guy.” Yet, the mission impossible was about to be realized.

Gravano laid it out to Keys. They would exit the van and walk through the weeds. “When the time comes, I want you to bend at the waist. You’re gonna get hit with a 357 Magnum. You know the power; you did a ton of hits. You’re not gonna feel nothing. You’ll be dead instantly. Your shoes are off. And that’s the best I can do.”

Gravano introduced Keys to Liborio “Louie” Milito, a made guy. “This is Johnny Keys, a very powerful captain in the Philadelphia mob. (Johnny), this is Louie Milito. He’s a friend of ours. He’ll be the shooter.”

Keys bent at the waist, looked up at Gravano, and said, “Sammy, I love you.” “It killed me. ‘Til today, it killed me,” Gravano shared. Keys was shot in the head, twice more after he fell to the ground.

The following day, the “Daily News” headline read “Bruno mob figure slain; dumped in Staten Island.” Aurello instructed Gravano to report to Castellano. “I go to Paul’s house,” Gravano said. “The maid opens the door. I go in and Paul sees me. He comes running, grabs me, hugs me, kisses me.”

As he hugged and kissed Gravano, he exclaimed. “You did it!” But Gravano’s body language didn’t mirror the boss’s. “What’s the matter?”

“I was with him for 13 hours. I feel dirty. I took out somebody who was the epitome of our life. Someone I’m supposed to look up to, and I killed him,” Gravano explained.

Castellano reassured Gravano that it was known he was following orders. “Every boss, underboss, and consigliere is gonna know that you did this. The mission impossible hit. Nicky Scarfo, who’s gonna win the war; you won the war for him.”

“No disrespect, I don’t give a fuck what they think,” Gravano said. “Paul, I fell in love with him last night. I loved him.”

“What did you say?” Castellano asked.

“I said I fell in love with him.”

“Don’t change who you are,” Castellano said, grabbing him, hugging and kissing him again. “Want coffee?”

“No, I’m gonna go. My guys are waiting for me.”

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