Gotti Jr turns to law to protect family image

In the days when John Gotti presided over New York's notorious Gambino crime family, those who crossed him knew what to expect: an unscheduled visit from his well-muscled associates, an unfortunate domestic accident or perhaps a close encounter with the barrel of a gun.

But now that the Dapper Don is dead, his son John "Junior" Gotti has announced a startling shift in Mafia tactics. A week after his father died of throat cancer while serving a life sentence for murder and racketeering, the also incarcerated Gotti Jr has promised to silence those who slander his family by using a more traditional all-American method, the lawsuit.

Anyone who tries to make a fast buck from unlicensed Gotti merchandise, such as the John Gotti T-shirts or bricks from his social club in Little Italy, may find themselves facing an unexpected knock at the door followed, according to new Mafia protocol, by the polite delivery of a summons.

"The privacy interests of this family will be protected," Mr Gotti's lawyer, Richard Rehbock, told the New York Post.

"Let the public be aware that permission must be granted to use the Gotti image and likeness for commercial purposes. The era of turning a blind eye is over."

Gotti Jr is serving a six-year sentence for racketeering at a prison in upstate New York: the conclusion to a brief career in decidedly disorganised crime which won him the media nickname "Dumbfella".

According to a recent article in the National Enquirer, his decision to plead guilty earned him the contempt of his father, who accused him of "violating Mob tradition by testifying against his Mafia colleagues and copping a guilty plea".

That article is about to become the first target of the newly litigious Gottis, Mr Rehbock said, because there was no such rift and Gotti Jr did not testify against anyone.

"I've been instructed by my client to do the necessary research to file a defamation lawsuit," he added.