Who was in this mob was it styled as a La Cosa Nostra family or was it like a mob crew whose only operations were drug trafficking with Gravano as Capo and the 'Devil dogs' as soldiers?

They relocate a lot of rats to Arizona. Ever see "My Blue Heaven," with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis?

Maybe they formed their own Family out there. The WITSEC Family.

funniest thing about the "gravano family" is that he got brought down by rats just like he did to gotti i dont understand how he ever thought his guys would be loyal to him he was a fucking rat

Speaking of Sammy G i seen someone selling the Diane Sawyer interview on Ebay Vhs Tape would love to see that

He was the whole family, well the boss anyway, his kids and his wife were both involved and he had that stepchild biker club running the E for him. They are a feeder group for the red and white...

All ran out of his pool company and restaurant...everyone knew who he was and that he was there, people would bring his book into the restaurant and he would sign it...lol...

The guy is lucky to be alive peter gotti had two guys on the way to kill him but Sammy got arrested days before the hit they were planning on shooting him with a sniper rifle peter gotti got life for that

Same goes for Little Al D'Arco. They know exactly where he is in Central Florida, and I know for a fact that he's had a few visitors over the years from some retired old-timers who don't have a beef or hold a grudge because he didn't hurt them.

Snitches go there. Mob bosses with kids with respiratory illnesses/ailments go there (isn't that really why the Bonannos went to go "live on the surface of the sun", as I refer to the CA-Arizona deserts and Las Vegas). Biker gangs that love meth (don't they all? Well, except for black bike gangs) roll through there. White trash-Walter-Mitty (an English term relatively akin to stolen valor) types run around the desert there with their "militias", "patrolling" for Mexicans.

Real gonzo world over there.

Copy pasted from my personal notepad. I was studying joe bonanno at the time and was wondering what was going on in AZ during the peak mob era. Definitely the Bonnanos, who had two crews in Arizona around the time of the banana war, and Pete Licavoli who retired there. There's a pretty detailed summary of the Chicago Outfit's interests in AZ. I think Chuck Inglish was the representative, plus a lot of associates. Toodoped would know.

"Bonfanno’s leader in Arizona was Charles Joseph Battaglia Jr. Battaglia was made in to the LA family in 1953 by Frank DeSimone and participated in the murder of the two Tonys. He had froze up during the hit and only fired a shot. His brother remained the biggest bookie in the LA family while he switched his loyalties to the Bonannos and moved to Phoenix. There was considerable confusion as to Bonanno’s status in LCN during the war. His inaccessibility to the rank and file when in Tucson confused them. Bataglia was considering changing families. LCN members in Arizona were Russ Andalaro, Salvatore Bruno, Anthony Cacioppo, Mike Cosenza, Joseph Genovese, Vito Mule, Peter Sciortino, Anthony Sciuto, and Salvatore J. Spinelli.

Another Arizona member was Michael Cosena who was very close with Pete Licavoli. Cosenza came to Tuscon for health reasons in the 40’s. Cosenza exerted influence over the longshoremen’s union in New York. Cosenza wanted to start up rackets but Joe Bonanno nixed it. Subsequently he became close to Pete Licavoli who actually helped him. Cosenza believed Bonanno to be more powerful on the national stage. People feared him but they liked Licavoli. "

Other than that its possible KC or a midwest family had some holdings there. Definitely open territory without an official family but that doesn't mean there wasn't mob activity in Phoenix or Tuscon.

it was only 117 over this past weekend, could be worse

Yeah, "Living on the surface of the sun."

See Gotti was alive around that time, I bet the order came from him it's like Bill Cutolo everyone thought it was the son Persicio was the one who gave the order when it was Carmine

June 30, 2001

Former Mafia hit man and turncoat Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, who had pledged to federal authorities to go straight and live a quiet life in the Witness Protection Program, pleaded guilty Friday to state drug and racketeering charges in Phoenix for his role as mastermind of Arizona's largest ecstasy drug ring.

Gravano, 56, the former underboss of New York's Gambino crime family, pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts, including drug dealing, money laundering, participating in a criminal syndicate and weapon violations. He was sentenced to 20 years without parole.

Dressed in black-and-white striped prison-issue clothes, the5-foot-6 Gravano simply answered "guilty" when Judge Steven Sheldon asked him to enter a plea. His somber demeanor in court was in stark contrast to the loquacious Gravano, whose sizzling testimony brought down mob boss John Gotti.

Prosecutors dismissed lesser charges in the plea bargain and agreed that he could serve his state prison sentence concurrent with his federal sentence. Gravano pleaded guilty a month ago to federal drug charges stemming from the Arizona case, which could bring up to 15 years in prison.

His lucrative Arizona criminal enterprise was a family affair: His wife and two adult children were also involved and made plea agreements in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Gravano's son Gerard, 25, pleaded guilty on two drug-related counts and faces nine years in prison, along with a federal sentence. Gravano and his son are to be sentenced Sept. 28. Gravano's wife, Debra, 48, and daughter, Karen, 29, each pleaded guilty to one felony count, which could bring them probation or possible jail time. Their sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 31.

The Gravanos are the last of 46 defendants who were indicted in March in a massive multi-agency drug bust. Extensive wiretaps were used during the investigation, and authorities intercepted about 16,000 calls, which indicated that Gravano's syndicate was putting as many as 30,000 pills a week onto the street.

Arizona Atty. Gen. Janet Napolitano said 37 of the defendants involved in the drug ring have pleaded guilty. "It's one of the largest and most successful drug prosecutions in our history," Napolitano said.

She said that officials have not yet determined where Gravano will serve his time.

Gravano admitted to committing 19 murders while working for the Gambino crime family. It was his sensational testimony in a 1992 trial that allowed federal officials to finally convict mobster Gotti, who in three previous trials had gained acquittals and had gained the nickname "The Teflon Don."

Gravano cut a dashing if somewhat brutal figure and managed to charm many in law enforcement. In return for his testimony, Gravano made a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to serve just five years in prison for racketeering. During his sentencing, the federal judge noted positive comments from federal officials regarding Gravano's cooperation and concluded that the former hit man had "irrevocably broken with his past."

Gravano was relocated to the Phoenix suburb of Tempe as part of his involvement in the FBI's Witness Protection Program. He was given the name Jimmy Moran, a new face via plastic surgery and a new profession, construction contractor. But he voluntarily left the program in the late 1990s.

Gravano also had an Italian restaurant, Uncle Sal's, in Scottsdale, which was run by his wife. Daughter Karen and son Gerard worked at the family's pool-building business, Creative Pools.

According to authorities, it was Gerard Gravano who introduced his father to Michael Papa, a former New Yorker who was already running an ecstasy ring. Gravano eventually took over the operation, enlarging it and making it more profitable. The drug ring brought in as much as $500,000 a week, fueled by Phoenix's burgeoning rave scene.

Gravano told about his days as a hit man in "Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia," chronicling his real-life rise in the Mafia, murders he said he had no remorse over and the reason he ultimately turned against Gotti.