History ArtisticLicenseHistory / Gotti1996

* Robert [[AffectionateNickname D.B.]] [=DiBernardo's=] murder takes place in a different location (the ground-floor offices of Gravano's drywall company, as opposed to the basement) and is extended (Gravano and D.B. toast before he is killed in the film, whereas [=DiBernardo=] never received his coffee in reality). Additionally, he is shot from behind by Joseph Paruta with a .380, whereas in the actual version of events, Paruta outfitted the gun with a silencer before shooting [=DiBernardo=].

* The setup for the Castellano hit is greatly changed from its real-world incarnation. In the film, Gotti and Gravano [[DareToBeBadass make plans to kill Castellano]] long before Dellacroce passes, but only agree to wait until the latter had died of natural causes before making a move out of respect. In real-life, a number of factors, including Castellano refusing to say goodbye to Dellacroce (which ''is'' referenced in the film, but made to be the point of no return), Castellano making his bodyguard Thomas Bilotti (a dimwitted enforcer with no diplomatic skill) the new underboss, Castellano's heavy-handed approach in running the family (specifically, he demanded more from the blue-collar crews than what they could offer, wanted to steer the family towards towards white-collar rackets that gave better payouts than the blue-collar rackets, and most of his soldiers felt he was too isolated), and Gotti getting word that Castellano was threatening to break up his crew, all played a part. Additionally, Gotti didn't approach Gravano with the idea to assassinate Castellano, only coming to him with it (by proxy) through Angelo Ruggiero first (which is never shown in the film).

* The scene of Gotti visiting Ruggiero, who is in a withered state due to terminal lung cancer, in a hospice in 1989 and sharing cannoli with him was made up for the film. In reality, Gotti refused to visit Ruggiero, as he considered the latter to be a liability due to him being recorded by the FBI, despite being urged to do so by Gravano and Gene Gotti.
* The arrest of Locascio, Gravano and Gotti at the Ravenite is played up with a far more hostile atmosphere than it was in reality, as Gravano later admitted in his "Our Thing" podcast. Whereas the cops confronted the group of mobsters within the club and there was a standoffish atmosphere in the film, the actual incident was far more relaxed, with Gotti acting sheepish and joking with the officers, and the trio being allowed to share a final cup of coffee in the Ravenite before [[PerpWalk being led out]]. Unlike the film, Gravano and Gotti were ''not'' placed in the same car together -- they were each led to separate cars, while the arresting officers later joked to Gravano that they were doing it for show and took the handcuffs off of him after they got him into the car.
* The film portrays the FBI agents as being practically giddy over playing the incriminating Gotti recordings in court. In reality, the prosecution was ''forced'' to play the tapes, and subsequently reveal their existence to Gotti and Gravano early, after a judge refused to go along with the prosecution's case that Gravano was a public threat, reasoning that Gravano had acted as a model defendant in the past and showed up punctually to a prior tax evasion trial, thus forcing the prosecution to play the tapes early.
* Gravano is shown making the decision to flip on Gotti and turn state's witness after what appears to be a single night's (or weekend) lockup in a jail cell, where Gotti only reasons that it's because of [[ItsAllAboutMe his own vision]] that Gravano got as far as he did. In actuality, nearly a year passed between the first bail hearings (where the tapes were revealed) and Gravano's eventual decision to turn state's witness in late 1991.
** Gravano's decision, as revealed by him in an interview, was due to John's refusal to own up to his mistakes, his escalating mistreatment of both Gravano and Locascio, and Sammy realizing that Gotti was setting him up to take the fall for the charges, and attempted to deny him access to the audio transcripts (which, unlike the film, he never heard prior to him agreeing to turn on Gotti). The tipping point for Gravano was when he and Locascio vowed to have John taken out and for Sammy to become boss, only for Sammy to realize that he would also have to hit over a dozen other people in order to prevent any retaliation, which sickened him to the point where he decided his only other option was to cooperate.
** Gravano tells Russo, Mouw and other FBI agents that once word of his cooperation with the police goes public, his wife, Debra, will divorce him (and he comments that he'll have to functionally cut all ties to his previous life). This never occurred during the real-life trial -- Debra did divorce Gravano, but only in 1996 (the same year of the movie's release), and even then, she partnered with him on the drug trafficking activities until he was incarcerated in 2000.
* One of the final scenes in the film shows Joe Armone reacting in sadness in his coffee shop after watching the live verdict during Gotti's trial in mid-1992. In real life, Armone was long-imprisoned by the beginning of the same year (having been arrested in 1987, as noted above), and died of natural causes on Feb. 23, 1992, nearly two months before the verdict was read, making this both a case of SparedByTheAdaptation (Armone is not shown to be ailing in any way when he's last seen) and KarmaHoudini (as he's not under any legal scrutiny).
* At the end of the film, Gotti and Locascio are found guilty of all charges on Apr. 2, 1992, and summarily sentenced to life without parole, with Gotti seemingly being remanded immediately and sent to a federal prison directly after the trial. The real-life trial took far longer, with the verdict not being read until June 23, 1992, Gotti being served a $250,000 fine in addition to the life sentence, and Gotti officially surrendering himself to authorities nearly six months later, on Dec. 14, 1992.

* The scene where Neil Dellacroce, bothered by Don Carlo Gambino picking ''caporegime'' Paul Castellano over him, goes to Gotti at his bar and breaks the news to him (causing Gotti to [[HairTriggerTemper fly into a rage]] as neighboring FBI agents observe from across the street) was completely fabricated for the film. At the time of Gambino's death, Dellacroce was in prison on a tax evasion charge and was unable to intervene or contest the succession, though he would be released several weeks later and appear in person for Castellano's confirmation on Nov. 24, 1976 -- a meeting that ''was'' shown in the film. Conversely, the real-life Gotti was also in prison at the time Castellano was confirmed (for the Galione murder), and wouldn't be released until July 1977, nearly a year after Castellano had taken over the family.

* Neil Dellacroce is shown passing away in bed, [[AlasPoorVillain shortly after having a heart-to-heart conversation with Gotti]], and guarded by Gotti's crew in his home. In reality, Dellacroce died at the (since-shuttered) Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens, and had been indicted a week earlier (along with the heads of New York's Five Families) via the Mafia Commission Trial, a fact that is never referenced within the film itself.
* The setup for the Castellano hit is greatly changed from its real-world incarnation. In the film, Gotti and Gravano [[DareToBeBadass make plans to kill Castellano]] long before Dellacroce passes, and only agree to wait until the latter had died of natural causes before making a move, out of respect. In real-life, a number of factors, including Castellano refusing to say goodbye to Dellacroce (which ''is'' referenced in the film, but made to be the point of no return), Castellano making his bodyguard Thomas Bilotti (an enforcer with no diplomatic skill) the new Gambino underboss, and Gotti getting word that Castellano was threatening to break up his crew, all played a part. Additionally, Gotti didn't approach Gravano with the idea to assassinate Castellano, only coming to him with it (by proxy) through Angelo Ruggiero first (which is never shown in the film).

* In the film, the assassination attempt against Gotti (the rigged Buick) occurs seven months after he's elected as the new boss of the family, and kills both Frank [=DeCicco=] and another Gotti capo, with Gotti having reason to believe that D.B. has something to do with the hit (due to him being absent from a high-level meeting with the rest of the capos held immediately afterwards). In reality, though, the hit only happened four months after Gotti took the reins, [=DeCicco=] was the only casualty, and unlike the film, the Gambino family knew exactly who did it -- Vincent Gigante, the boss of the Genovese family, and a character who was AdaptedOut of the film. Due to the film being a CompressedAdaptation, D.B.'s murder is implied to happen almost directly after the assassination attempt, whereas in reality, it occured three months afterwards.

* Sammy Gravano is shown killing Nicholas Scibetta, an associate of the family, via ambushing him in a warehouse and using a weapon that repeatedly jams while Scibetta begs for his life. The real-life Gravano never killed Scibetta, based on the known reports, and was so angry about Castellano ordering the hit that he initially wanted to ''kill Castellano himself'' before being calmed down by Frank [=DeCicco=]. Scibetta was also Gravano's brother-in-law, a fact that is actually referenced towards the end of the film by Gotti during their conversation in the holding cell, but Gravano himself never displays any remorse about killing a relative.

* The scene of Gotti visiting Ruggiero, who is in a withered state due to terminal lung cancer, in a hospice in 1989 and sharing cannoli with him, was made up for the film. In reality, Gotti refused to visit Ruggiero, as he considered the latter to be a liability due to him being recorded by the FBI, despite being urged to do so by Gravano and Gene Gotti.

* The film portrays the FBI agents as being practically giddy over playing the incriminating Gotti recordings in court, whereas in reality, the prosecution was ''forced'' to play the tapes, and subsequently reveal their existence to Gotti and Gravano early, after a judge refused to go along with the prosecution's case that Gravano was a public threat, reasoning that Gravano had acted as a model defendant in the past and showed up punctually to a prior tax evasion trial, thus forcing the prosecution to play the tapes early.

** Gravano's decision, as revealed by him in an interview, was due to John's refusal to own up to his mistakes, his escalating mistreatment of both Gravano and Locascio, and Sammy realizing that Gotti was setting him up to take the fall for the charges, and attempted to deny him access to the audio transcripts (which, unlike the film, he never heard prior to him agreeing to turn on Gotti). The tipping point for Gravano was when he and Locascio vowed to have John taken out and for Sammy to become boss, only for Sammy to realize that he would also have to hit nearly 15 other people in order to prevent any retaliation, which sickened him to the point where he decided his only other option was to cooperate.

* Gravano is shown making the decision to flip on Gotti and turn state's witness after what appears to be a single night's (or weekend) lockup in a jail cell, where Gotti only reasons that it's because of [[ItsAllAboutMe his own vision]] that Gravano got as far as he did. In actuality, nearly a year passed between the first bail hearings (where the tapes were revealed) and Gravano's eventual decision to turn state's witness in late 1991. Gravano's decision, as revealed by him in an interview, was due to John's refusal to own up to his mistakes, his escalating mistreatment of both Gravano and Locascio, and Sammy realizing that Gotti was setting him up to take the fall for the charges, and attempted to deny him access to the audio transcripts (which, unlike the film, he never heard prior to him agreeing to turn on Gotti). The tipping point for Gravano was when he and Locascio vowed to have John taken out and for Sammy to become boss, only for Sammy to realize that he and Locascio would have to take out around 15 people in order to prevent any retaliation, which sickened him to the point where he decided his only other option was to cooperate.

* Gravano is shown making the decision to flip on Gotti and turn state's witness after what appears to be a single night's (or weekend) lockup in a jail cell, where Gotti only reasons that it's because of [[ItsAllAboutMe his own vision]] that Gravano got as far as he did. In actuality, nearly a year passed between the first bail hearings (where the tapes were revealed) and Gravano's eventual decision to turn state's witness in late 1991. Gravano's decision, as revealed by him in an interview, was due to John's refusal to own up to his mistakes and his escalating mistreatment of both Gravano and Locascio, with the tipping point being when Sammy realized that Gotti was setting him up to take the fall for the charges, and attempted to deny him access to the audio transcripts (which, unlike the film, he never heard prior to him agreeing to turn on Gotti).

* Within the Castellano hit itself, Bilotti (who was Castellano's driver that night) was shot but survived, whereas his film counterpart was summarily gunned down by the backup team. Likewise, Castellano was sitting in the back of the vehicle when he was shot, not in the front passenger seat as shown in the film.

* Gravano is shown making the decision to flip on Gotti and turn state's witness after what appears to be a single night's (or weekend) lockup in a jail cell, where Gotti only reasons that it's because of [[ItsAllAboutMe his own vision]] that Gravano got as far as he did. In actuality, nearly a year passed between the first bail hearings (where the tapes were revealed) and Gravano's eventual decision to turn state's witness in late 1991. Gravano's decision, as revealed by him in an interview, was due to him realizing that Gotti was setting him up to take the fall for the charges, and attempted to deny him access to the audio transcripts (which, unlike the film, he never heard prior to him agreeing to turn on Gotti).

* Robert [[AffectionateNickname D.B.]] [=DiBernardo's=] murder takes place in a different location (the ground-floor offices of Gravano's drywall company, as opposed to the basement) and is extended (Gravano and D.B. toast before he is killed in the film, whereas [=DiBernardo=] never received his coffee in reality). Additionally, he is shot from behind by Joseph Paruta with a .380 from behind, whereas in the actual version of events, Paruta outfitted the gun with a silencer before shooting [=DiBernardo=].