Ask Carolyn Gotti, sister-in-law to John Gotti, aka "The Teflon Don" Anything

What do real Mafia guys think of the way the Mafia is portrayed in movies and television shows? Did anyone ever talk about The Godfather, Goodfellas, Sopranos, etc?

"Well it's kind of like it's talked about, but behind doors. They like it, they don't think anything bad, but if the cops are in it, of course they don't like it that much. But if they're killing somebody, and they're getting away with it? They love it!"

Do you feel there is any lingering risk to your life from the mafia?

"No... I don't. I got four sons and they all have the name Gotti."

How did your farts compare as a size 2 vs. a 500 pounder?

"It was explosive!"

do you call it gabagool, capocollo, coppa or capicola?

"I call it gabagool. I'm from Brooklyn, no really, some people can't understand the way I talk!"

do you call it gabagool, capocollo, coppa or capicola?

Wait, those are all the same thing? I buy delicious capicola all the time, going to start calling it gabagool.

"Tell them I love them"

Do you have a story you want to tell, but no one has ever given you a prompt to tell it?

"When I got out of the mental institution I was loaded on Thorazine, when I came out my boyfriend was still sticking around wanting me to meet him at the park that night. So I went to meet him at the park and a cop stopped me. He said "What are you doing at the park this late?"
"I'm here to meet somebody."
"No you're not, you're going home."
The cop took me home, and I never got to meet my boyfriend.
For some stupid reason the next day he told me that he wanted me to meet him at the park was because he knew I was loaded on Thorazine and he wanted his friends to f*ck me"

Do you know how involved in politics gangs, specifically the Gambino clan, are?

"Tell 'em, oh no I'm not answering that one. I don't know nothin'! You're not gonna get me shot!"

When were you diagnosed and how did you handle it? Were you scared? Surprised?

"In the beginning everyone called me Crazy Carolyn, and it really started with me being kicked out of kindergarten. I was very young and they kept getting me kicked out of school. They kept sending me to people to try and help me and it didn't work. As I got older and things got worse, that's when a psychiatrist said I was homicidal with suicidal tenancies. I laughed because I thought it was funny!"

I laughed because I thought it was funny!"

Funny how? Funny like it amused you?

"Yeah! (in answer to it being amusing) I thought it was very funny, yeah I did."

How do you feel about John Travolta's GOTTI?

"Well, how I feel? I don't think anyone else could have done a better job than John."

What have you found most difficult about being related to the Gotti family?

"Nothin'. I loved them very much, especially my husbands sister Marie, I loved her tremendously."

Cooked for people for 25 years?! That's impressive. Could you please tell me a favourite (perhaps Italian?) meal to cook/eat?

Cheers

"Baked Ziti! But I'd have to cook it for you!"

I'd like to hear what John was like from your point of view. How did he treat you? what was your relationship with him like? what was he like in family settings? what kind of guy was he? What do you remember about him? etc

edit: also did you meet Sammy Gravano? What was he like?

"He was wonderful to me. The neighborhood loved him. He would close down the street for the 4th of July because he knew we needed that in the neighborhood, we needed that excitement and hope. He would get all kinds of fireworks for the neighborhood so people loved him."

What would you say was the worst day of your life?

"The day I could remember what happened to me when I was a kid. That was the worst day of my life."

This is in relation to the abuse from her father. She didn't want to speak any more on it.

What did you gamble on? How did you get involved in that? And what helped you break the habit?

"What did I gamble on? Everything, somebody's birthday, the time they were born, the weight of somebody's baby. The thing I was really addicted to was horse races. Everybody bets in Brooklyn."
After asking her about what helped her break the habit, she replied "That's an incredibly detailed answer, let's tell that another time."

​

"I gave it up by not going, one day at a time. It was very very hard for me. You can be a good person, but sometime's there's a bad person right next to you. It all depends on who you make friends with, and who you don't have as a friend. Stick by the people that will be there for you always. "

let's tell that another time."

The time is now.

I'll be meeting with her in person tomorrow and hopefully get more out of her!

For this AMA or for something else? Because these usually only have visibility for a few hours

I'm working on this with her all day today, there will be more stuff coming up in the future, reddit gets the first bit. Honestly I'll probably get more on this soon, I'm trying to work with her as best as I can. In the end it's up to her, y'know?

When did you realize you were growing up in a different type of family?

"I didn't. That was the problem!" She then laughed.

Something I've heard quite a bit is people saying that the mafia as it used to exist is a thing of the past. What is your opinion on this? Is organized crime still a thing today?

"I don't really know, but I think the ducks are taking over."

I'm curious about John Gotti's life in terms of what he: ate/overate, drank and his drug use if any?

Also in terms of his spiritual/religious life? Did he have one?

Thank you very much.

"Tell them go look at his garbage can!" Then she laughed a bunch.
"Yeah, it was called the gun."

Would you please tell us more about getting expelled from kindergarten and why you didn't continue your education afterwards? Thank you in advance for sharing.

"I was in kindergarten and I "acted up" according to the teacher. In those days, they had big closets in the back where everyone would put their books and jackets and stuff like that. So to discipline me what she did, is she locked me up in the closet. I went ballistic, I was in the dark, I was locked up, and I couldn't take it. So I started screaming and banging, and I went hysterical. Then she came to the back and opened the doors. So I was already kicking and screaming when she opened the doors and I just blacked out and started beating up the teacher, so they expelled me from kindergarten.

Through the years they tried to get different psychiatrists to help me, so I'd go back to school for a few days here a few days there, but that name "Crazy Carolyn" stuck, and basically no one wanted to deal with me."

So I have to know if this story is true. My dad is an old FDNY emt worker and one year while watching either fourth of july or memorial day fireworks from your brother in law two guys who worked for him gave my dad and his partner hot dogs and sodas.

Obviously you dont know if that specific incident is true but do you know if he ever did acts of kindness like that? Giving to emts or just people of the street? My dad tends to embellish his stories.

She is resting right now, but I had just had a conversation with her about an earlier question where she did say he threw 4th of July parties and gave a lot out to the neighborhood. My guess is it's true! Hopefully I can ask her about this tomorrow for you.

What's your favorite non-alcoholic drink, and what meal do you pair it with?

"Diet Pespi with pizza."

Who was your favorite celebrity to cook for? And what was their favorite dish?

"Well the president of the Disney company, I don't really remember his name at this point. He loved the manicotti. I really didn't care much for the celebrities, I was there to cook. My husband would point out celebrities and ask me if I knew who they were and I couldn't care less. Bill was the one who knew who they were."

What was the motivation that kept you moving forward?

"I had my eyes on heaven."

How would you describe your experience in a mental ward?

"Everybody was crazy, I was crazy, everybody I was with was crazy and I was trying to get some extra money to buy things at the commissary. So what I did is I rolled up the tea from the tea bags and told everybody it was weed and everybody bought it and smoked it and they didn't even know the difference. I made good money! "

Cooking for Hollywood, what was the best dish you ever made?

"When I cooked for Hollywood? On Bastille day, the French would come in for my French onion soup. In general everyone loved what I cooked, but I enjoyed cooking the lasagna and ravioli from scratch."

Were you ever put into any dangerous situations because of the relationship to John?

"Are you kiddin' me! I was safe as a bug in a rug, dangerous? No!"

Would you rather fight one John sized duck, or 100 duck sized Johns?

"I love ducks. I would rather fight someone that asked the question! I'm only jokin', I don't want them to think I'm comin' after 'em."

What did you think about that whole Growing Up Gotti thing?

"I never watched it. It made me homesick."

How did you lose 250 pounds?

"I trusted God. I had to change my whole lifestyle and I found the answers in recovery."

Pancakes or French toast?

"No! One french toast and one pancake!"

As someone from Brooklyn, what are some changes that have noticed from the time you were growing up in Brooklyn to now? I'm from Bensonhurst so I'm curious to see what you feel has changed the most

"Sorry, I haven't been there in 20 years so I don't know. They were fixing the houses last time I was there."

How did you manage to cope with anxiety in a more positive way through your life? So much must have been out of your control.

"I beat up a lot of people when I didn't know any better. Later on I turned to God and friends. I had good friends and I really depended on them and they were there for me."

Who are your top 3 favorite rappers, dead or alive?

"Really? I don't like rap, but I'll tell you who they are. Is Snoop Dogg a rapper? Okay, I like him. Eminem, definitely Eminem. I wish I heard some of his records. I guess they're not gonna ask me who my favorite opera singers are."

She then laughed.

I’ll ask. Who are your favorite opera singers?

"Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza!"

​

She then started singing Pagliacci by Caruso

If you had the power to change one thing in this world, what would you change and why?

"I would get rid of all the pain and suffering and diseases that little children have to go through."

With a life like that I'm sure there are many regrets, but what is the one "out there" thing you did that you don't regret at all?

"We stole all the newspapers on a Saturday night because they were gonna be loaded on Sunday. We did that, me and my girlfriend, and my other friend. We sold those papers for only a dollar. Those cheap f*cks didn't even wanna give us a dollar. It was on the news next day, I didn't think it was a lot of paper, but it was a LOT of paper. We went on the L train to give them out for free, and no one wanted to take 'em. We stole the papers, and we ended up on the papers."

Hi, you’ve lived quite a life and faced some extreme adversities. You say you’ve never lost hope, what’s something that keeps your hope strong?

"My religion."

What are you planning to do going forward?

"Helping a lot of people!"

Have you considered just sending her to an interview on Valuetainment?

She's been contacted for interviews before, we're going with making an AMA because she loves answering questions about anything. I'm sure she'll end up doing interviews soon enough. It's up to her!