Who is Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano? Born March 12, 1945, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano was Giorlando 'Gerry' and Caterina 'Kay' Gravano's son, youngest of their three children. His parents were from Sicily -- his mother came to the USA as a child while his father was the crew of a freighter who entered the US illegally. Giorlando ran a dress factory and the family lived well. A gangster and the underboss of the Gambino crime family, Gravano is known to have helped prosecute John Gotti, the boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gravano testified as a government witness against Gotti, in a deal in which he confessed to involvement in 19 murders. He was a part of the group that planned to murder Gambino boss Paul Castellano in 1985. Along with Gotti, Angelo Ruggiero, Frank DeCicco, and Joseph Armone, he played a vital role in carrying out the crime.