Let's talk about the Rampers: Part One | Sammy "The Bull" Gravano

hi hi guys I'm Sammy the bull this is a fireside chat um I was talking with Anna and you know that Anna is a psychologist now and she's actually going to become go for a master's degree and we have these conversations and uh she was talking to me about psychology and her class and her professor and we started talking and I said let's talk right in front of a camera so she's there and she's talking to me and you're going to hear it's going to be a little different so you're going to hear her in the conversation and uh I want to answer her like she's a psychologist talking to me and and I want to be able to answer directly so you this is going to be a little interesting and I hope you guys love it and enjoy it [Music] in school I was a [ __ ] I'm sorry I started real early 13 14 15. and a lot of people don't notice even people who knew about the ramp is don't notice when we originally got together when we were real young we would have black panthers we got this picture of a black panther and put it on our jacket and we didn't like it too much and uh eventually we knew about a gang that existed the rampers they would have ramped seniors and the rapper juniors now some of those guys were you know in the neighborhood everybody knew who they were there was all kinds of guys and they were real tough guys and they were much older than we were the Juniors were older seniors were even older than them and uh we wound up talking to them they talked to us and they wanted to take us here so we joined them when we became the ramp of midgets and uh they had a place on 64th Street or 66th Street and uh 14th Avenue there was an empty lot and they built the clubhouse had a plywood and no electric there was candles in there and stuff like that and they would take us in there and they wanted to toughen us up and uh what they would do by toughen us up it was beat us up punches kick us slap us spit our face and just all kinds of things to toughen us up and sometimes we caught a good beat and sometimes we reacted back and we got a real good beating so sometimes you got hit with his hands a guy's hand or sometimes with a bat or a stick or something and in a way it was toughening us up but we didn't like it we stood on 79th Street New York Avenue and there was a bunch of us uh Jerry Papa uh Joe Vitale Tommy snake uh Mikey mixio artigord there was a whole host of different guys that I explained to Anna that were hanging out there's more names yet spaghetti one guy's name was spaghetti um and it was us it was the ramp is us the ramp of midgets against the world the mafia was all over the neighborhood we knew about them we didn't care about them we want we didn't bother with them we try to stay away from them they were dangerous but we didn't care about those it was us against the world type of thing stupid [ __ ] but we were real real close we had young girls staying with us um Jimmy uh Puerto Rican guy would be around us there was a bunch of us and uh Joe Vitale I don't know if I said his name was very close and uh so we hung out we went to these places and we would have meetings on YouTube Avenue and uh 79th Street and one day we were talking and we said you know this has got to be [ __ ] I had said listen I hate when a [ __ ] guy slaps me in the [ __ ] face and then spits in my [ __ ] face and I gotta sit there and take it I don't like it bro I don't like it so we were talking nobody liked it so what do we do so we came to the conclusion why don't we just go see how tough they really are why don't we get a couple of cars drive over there and go to work on them let's see what happens and we did we got a couple of cars we loaded them up with guys we went to uh 14th Avenue at 66th Street where the clubhouse was we pulled up real fast jammed the brakes stopped everybody jumped out we had bats pipes and we just attacked them we attacked them all it was mostly the rampant Juniors maybe one or two guys from the rampa seniors and we went to work on them really really [ __ ] big I remember when we were walking away it was one guy here bleeding on on the floor and he looked up at me and said why'd you do that and I kicked him [ __ ] square in the face and I said this is to toughen you up just like you told us you were tougher I'm making you tough now we got back in the car and we left and that was the end of we knew them we always respected them we were actually friends with them but we were no more the ramp of midgets we were the ramp is period now if we ever needed them they weren't outside if they ever needed us they'd give us a holla but the respect was there now no more tough guy [ __ ] nobody beating each other up so that's how it started now we even had guns shotguns rifles there was a train out and in the columns that came down we had them taped inside the column hidden all over the place Jimmy Emma who was a [ __ ] mad dog and the Beast the guy was actually a little smaller to me his neck was bigger than my leg my thigh and he had this he was just [ __ ] enormous I found out later he was probably taking steroids we didn't even know what steroids were back then but he knew about it somehow he was he was he was a beast and he had a temper and Jerry Papa we made him he was the leader of the rapist um there's a few incidents that happened that he lost that position because it was you know us against the world against the mafia or against the cops against everybody and uh we'd hang out there was a schoolyard theatric School the schoolyard at night we broke holes in the fence so we were able to go in the schoolyard you couldn't stop us from doing that we'd have groups would sing and have 55 gallon barrels and make fires and hang out with a little girls who hung out with us and uh and it was great it was great growing up like that it was fun it was great it was loyalty it was a lot of things there was on the next block after 79th Street going in the other direction was a bar little Paulie's and we would go in and out of the bar even though we nowhere near the age of drinking age the owner and the bar 10 bartender actually lived in an apartment in my house my mother and father rented him an apartment this guy Pat he lived downstairs he was a bartender in there at night he knew who I was they wouldn't even try to stop us even the owner little poorly we I mean a couple of times you know he was a young one time we went and did it was a gang it was eight ten of us poorly commit come outside we want to talk to you he came outside and we said the next time you open your mouth about us being too young and being in the bar and he bought a shoe we think he bothered you we'll get rid of you we'll beat you up so [ __ ] bad you'll be in the hospital for [ __ ] months and then we don't have to worry about listening to your [ __ ] and he no no don't worry about it you could come in and this and that but sometimes I have an older crowd at night yeah yeah yeah yeah so what so what they're older women they like to [ __ ] young kids like us don't worry about it mind your [ __ ] business as long as we ain't going to bother them they know how to handle themselves these people they're all tough guys in the neighborhood especially in this bar you didn't come in here just uh some you know jerk off coming in this bar you came in here you saw it was a rough place so you either could handle yourself or you wouldn't even come into the place so all kinds of different stories and different things happened and I'd say something there and when we were talking uh say something um tell us more about how Jerry Papa got his nickname what was his nickname his nickname was Papa Bear and uh Papa Bear got a nickname because he he it wasn't much bigger than me not too much more muscular or anything like that but he was extremely strong he grabbed you in a bear hug pick you up and bang you into the ground so he got that nickname like he was a bear he like he gave you a bear hug and a papa bear Papa Bear he got that reputation and he was the leader for quite a while ballsy psychotic [ __ ] later Ronnie became a complete vicious vicious killer um you know we fought most of the times with our hands there was a park McKinley Park oh I went to school over there when I got thrown out of school there was a gang of guys over there Irish gang and one day you know we would have problems with them all the time one day that we said okay you know what let's have a [ __ ] fight you pick your five or six toughest guys we'll pick our five or six toughest guys each guy gets a partner and uh if you lose the fight in other words if I beat up the guy that I'm fighting and he gives up that I could go help one of my other guys so five of us will be fighting we did that and uh we've destroyed them I was actually the first guy to win they I think they underestimated me they gave me one of their guys he wasn't one of their toughest guys and I had him I ate him up he he quit in right away and of course the first guy I went to was Papa and uh Pat Bowl was wrestling with the guy on the floor I stomped on his face once or twice that's all happening that little bit of Hope and then Papa was destroying them and then I went to my friend Joe Vitale who was fighting and uh man it was super close but we were all super close and and I jumped in with him and so now that Joe Vitale's guy quit so me and Joe Vitale could go up the other two guys we destroyed them it was no match it was a ridiculous contest and uh but we became friends with them again we got along with them the Irish guys were tough they were good they even come to the bar every once in a while little paulies and we'd have a drink the only bad thing about the Irish [ __ ] two three drinks that'd be calling you grease ball [ __ ] or something you know I mean and there was a fight and then it stopped but we got along with them pretty good we got along with there was some Puerto Rican gangs there was black gangs there was gangs all over the [ __ ] place in different areas of course but uh and occasionally in the summer we would go to Coney Island and there was they called it the Bop house underneath the boardwalk there was like a bar and you could get hamburgers and [ __ ] like that and there was older guys with women and girls and stuff and we would go there too and uh we would hang out and there'd be fights over there and uh you know growing up was tough and it toughened you up it did you didn't win all the time and sometimes even when you kid you won you came out with lumps and bumps and bruises and [ __ ] like that we didn't kill each other we gave each other good beatings and occasionally there was a killing or stuff like that uh one day uh Jimmy Emma was outside with Jerry pepper and uh they were cleaning their car and doing something the lights were out and uh a team of guys pulled up hit guys Mafia guys they had guns shots were fired Jerry pepper ran One Way Jimmy Emma ran the other way Jimmy ran right into it no parking sign there was a skinny pole that came down he didn't see it he ran right into it bounced off all for him he fell backwards the guy was right on him hit him two three and Dad Jimmy Emma was gone Jerry pepper was more lucky he dodged in between cars and it was harder to get him some guy was driving with his window open and screamed to him Jerry he sought a car he ran and he dove into this car while it was driving go right into the window they chased the car a lot of shots were fired all kinds of [ __ ] went on but he got away um a day later we got called to the police station and we're all there the ramp is I got there a little later I was picked up and uh four five six ramp is at Aaron uh I said what's going on they were asking us questions about the murder and this and that and Jerry pepper went in and uh he signed a protection order I said he wouldn't do that he wouldn't do that he's not a rat he would never do that it's not a rat that he was writing he didn't know anything that was going on it's not a rat but signing a protective order we didn't do that it's us against the world [ __ ] the mafia [ __ ] the cops [ __ ] everybody else what happened to that rule so I said I don't believe he did it they said well there's a door in this room push that door open to the detective's office and right on the desk there's a papers there's papers right there Sammy they were in with Jerry pepper all the guys were there they moved forward to cover the door so I could slip in there I slipped in there and sure enough there's the paper it's a protection order and Jerry Pepper's signature on the bottom oh I came out and they said uh did you see it yeah I did I say I can't believe he signed this [ __ ] thing we'll protect them ourselves you know that's what we're here for them I don't I don't know maybe a half hour 45 minutes past and Jerry Papa came out of a different door a little bit away from us with a couple of detectives around them and they marched him out they were taking him on the protective custody we asked to detector where she going oh he's being protected and uh we all answered our questions nobody knew what was going on nobody said nothing so we were going to go back to docs we were staying in docks at that point and we were going to go back to Doc's Bar and discuss what happened little conversation about Jimmy and who did what we had no idea there were Mafia dudes that's for sure that's all we really knew what the reason was we weren't sure it was always in trouble always beating up somebody always in a fight in a [ __ ] ball or [ __ ] somebody's girl or wife who the [ __ ] knows what we did and it was always something so we had no idea what this particular thing was and um but they wanted to have a vote most of the rampers didn't want Jerry pepper because he signed that protective order to be the leader anymore so we voted it was unanimous everybody voted him out and then I forgot who it was but somebody brought up the idea let's vote in in the boss everybody agreed I was voted in as the new boss unanimously by everybody and um Papa Was Out and I was it and we weren't going to bother with him we weren't going to hurt him we weren't going to do anything but we weren't going to bother him anymore bother with him and um you know little arguments went back and forth and back and forth all the time and uh he came by the corner where we were hanging out on Beth Avenue we hung out over there too um and uh you came over to me knowing I was the new boss and he gave me a bunch of envelopes he was getting married to invite him us there's a wedding so I said I don't think we can make it he says come on Sammy yeah and I took when the guys asked me Lenny the Moore was there Louis Bach was there a bunch of them and uh they said what's that I said uh he's inviting us to his wedding what are you gonna do Sammy we're not going to go [ __ ] him [ __ ] the wedding [ __ ] me I told him I don't think we're gonna go he insisted on it I took the envelopes but we're not going his wedding came none of us went a big empty table obviously it probably drove him crazy one day passing by Bath Avenue he was with this guy Butchy uh Hollywood in a Cadillac the car stopped he jumped out he came running across the street at me as soon as he came there we collided both of us strong blows all the rampers wanted to jump in right away I said whoa whoa who letting them all grab him put him in the car open the door we're gonna put him in the car and kill while we were dragging him finally to the car right across the street there was a Precinct cop saw it from the window that came running out with guns and everything oh take it easy bro we want it's an argument it's a fight I gotta give him credit even Papa said the same thing he said it's a fight that's all it was but he left he got away but he knew what we were going to do but he didn't want to stand there and beat him up on the corner we will forget him in the car he knew he would never come out of that car by this time you know a long time had passed and I'm older I was already in the military I came out and uh this few just kept going with me and him and uh he was with this guy dutchie who's with the Genovese family and I was now with the Colombo people shortage bill I wouldn't put it on record about the fight he told me kill him good I got a green light to kill dutchie knew about the situation and he tried to go down to come in person go to talk to him to try and squash it when he went there they told him comments in the back so he says tell them I'm here it is his kid's got this kid Sammy around him I want to I want to talk I want to straighten this thing out they went in the back they said duchy's here this is what he wants to talk about tell him I'm out here we already told him that you're in the back tell him I went out the back door and I'm not here so he fluffed him off and he pushed it off he told me that this guy was there to straighten it out he says I can only push it off so long go kill him because once we talk and I stranded it out with them then you can't do nothing no more I got it and that's what happened he wasn't around no more I was hunting him the Rampage haunted him couldn't get him it wasn't around and uh finally duchy got in touch with Carmine parsico and they sat down and it was a peace treaty we can't hurt each other we can't do nothing later on in time Peppa became a maid guy in the Genovese family I became a main guy in The Gambino family a lot of things happened in between I'm like rushing the story of telling you the story because of most of this [ __ ] I've never talked about when I was talking to Anna what she was telling me about kids growing up and I started talking about things and stories about to me I'm in all these things I'm mixing it up a little bit but uh I figured you just maybe want to hear a little background and and part of the stories so Papa became a heavyweight drug dealer in a notorious killer almost on the level of Roy de Mayo gives a difference with them next week on fireside chat Inside the Mind of a killer and told them if I'm going to go in the bar and meet them if I'm not out in 15 minutes come in and kill everybody he had what I feel as like this drum in his head this music this beat he was no longer with us he was fantasizing about killing old people that's a serial killer so Frankie said be careful for this guy's [ __ ] out of his mind brain's on the wall and he said that's Jerry Powell

Channel: Salvatore "Sammy The Bull" Gravano

Views: 93,198

Keywords: sammy the bull, salvatore gravano, godfather, mafia, mob boss, underboss, mafioso, john gotti, carlo gambino, lucky luciano, paul castellano, al capone, gambino, bonanno, colombo, crime, true crime, mob, goodfellas, the irishman, roy demeo, masculinity, gangster, don, hitman, mobstory, cosanostra, gotti, five families, michael franzese, johnny keyes, johnny keys, strategy, jordan peterson, made men

Id: yG9Dae5_RBk

Length: 24min 36sec (1476 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 10 2023