Blowing Up Gotti
Commentary by Eleanor Meilinger
August 24, 2004
For anyone who was disappointed by the broadcast of a repeat episode of "Growing Up Gotti" this week, I offer an alternative to fill your need for Gotti gossip. Court TV's website "The Smoking Gun" offers it's own take on the A&E show with "Blowing Up Gotti". Here you will find a scathing condemnation of the very existence of the show. It definitely calls to account many of the claims made in the press that Victoria is raising "normal" teenage boys and that she is not a "Mafia Princess". I am not sure how many normal teenagers have visited their Grandfather, uncle and father in prison all in one lifetime, or how many have had their grandfather suggest that their mother inform a bully's parents that they will "cut his tongue out" if he ever makes negative remarks about a member of the Gotti family again. The only misrepresentation I can see here is that they refer to John Gotti as a "serial killer".
Killer maybe, but by definition none of the crimes he allegedly committed were serial in nature. Regardless, viewing this site and hearing first-hand the nature of these visits, it is a rude awakening for those of us who have been quick to buy into the media hype surrounding the A&E series.
Love them or hate them, this mocking website is a revelation. I am not sure how pleased A&E was to discover that "The Smoking Gun" had borrowed their logo for the derogatory send-up of the show. The site includes recaps of two closed circuit videotapes from a 1998 visit Victoria paid to her father in an Illinois penitentiary. You can also view these tapes. Any illusions you may have harbored that Victoria and the boys really remained sheltered from the "Family Business" will be shattered when you hear John Gotti speaking to his daughter and grandson in much the same manner you would expect him to address one of his henchmen. A segment of these tapes was shown on Entertainment Tonight last week but it gave little hint to the degree of nastiness that was present on the full version.
This website promises to present new "episodes" every Monday morning for the remainder of the summer. Apparently there are further revelations awaiting fans of the A&E reality show as new segments of these tapes are shown. So, if you cannot wait until Monday evening for further adventures of the "Hotti Gottis", you can tune in Monday mornings for an unvarnished (and unedited) view of the man started it all and how he influenced the way this family grew up.
You can visit the Smoking Gun website by Clicking Here.
Eleanor is a NYC girl managing her own "Mob" in the Pocono Mountains. She maintains her sanity by watching "Reality TV" and convincing herself that it is all "REAL".
She can be reached at ifyouaskme@msn.com
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