Gotti's Life By The Numbers

Below are key dates in the life of mob boss John Gotti:

Oct. 27, 1940: John Gotti is born, one of 13 children of Italian immigrant parents.

March 6, 1962: Gotti marries Victoria DiGiorgio.

Dec. 1, 1967: Gotti arrested on hijacking charge, winds up sentenced to four years.

May 22, 1973: Gotti and two associates kill James McBratney in a Staten Island bar, reportedly as payback for a kidnapping.

June 3, 1974: Gotti arrested for McBratney hit.

Aug. 8, 1975: Pleads guilty to attempted manslaughter in McBratney case; plea bargain gets him four years (he would serve two).

March 18, 1980: Gotti's 12-year-old son, Frank, is killed when a neighbor's car hits him as he rides on a minibike.

July 28: The car's driver disappears after leaving work, never to be heard from again.

Sept. 11, 1984: Gotti arrested on assault and robbery charges in Queens after an argument over a parking space.

March 28, 1985: Authorities announce indictment of 10 people reputed to be members of the Gambino crime family, including reputed underboss Aniello Dellacroce and Gotti. Gotti is listed as captain of his own crew.

Dec. 16: On orders from Gotti, Gambino boss Paul Castellano and bodyguard Thomas Billotti are assassinated on the sidewalk outside a Manhattan steak house.

Dec. 24: At the Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy, Gotti receives the royal treatment from underlings after his ascension to Gambino family boss.

March 25, 1986: Charges dropped against Gotti in parking space fight after witness refuses to identify him. "I FORGOTTI!" reads the front page of the New York Post.

March 13, 1987: Gotti and co-defendants acquitted of all charges in racketeering and murder case.

Feb. 9, 1990: Gotti earns nickname "The Teflon Don" as he is acquitted of charges he commissioned the Westies, a gang in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, to shoot a union official.

Dec. 11, 1990: Gotti arrested on racketeering and murder charges, including the Castellano hit, and held without bail.

Nov. 8, 1991: Gotti's right-hand man, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, fires his lawyer and signs on as a government witness against his ex-boss.

April 2, 1992: Gotti convicted of murder and racketeering.

June 23: Gotti sentenced to life in prison.

May 2, 1994: U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal of Gotti's conviction.

June 10, 2002: Gotti dies at prison hospital.