Curtis Sliwa - Page 10 (2024)

The teenager, Jesus Alejandro Rivas Figueroa, is accused of firing at a security guard and instead hitting a woman from Brazil.

By Claire Fahy

Two days after the assault on a man whom the group’s founder, Curtis Sliwa, misidentified as a migrant, law enforcement officials said they were looking into the incident.

By Maria Cramer and Hurubie Meko

“We’ve got to take back 42nd Street,” Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the anti-crime group, said on “Hannity” as the Guardian Angels pushed a man to the ground.

By Ed Shanahan

New York Today

Solving the problem of the infestation around the mayor’s Brooklyn property is not necessarily simple, an expert in rodenticide says.

By James Barron

The ongoing saga of Mayor Eric Adams and his war against rats reached a new level of absurdity, with Curtis Sliwa and feral cats entering the mix.

By Dana Rubinstein

New York Today

Adams claimed an overwhelming victory and called for unity: “Today we take off the intramural jersey and we put on one jersey — team New York.”

By James Barron

Mr. Adams, a Democrat and former police captain, will be the second Black mayor in the city’s history.

By Katie Glueck

TimesVideo

N.Y.C. voters had a choice between two candidates with sharply different viewpoints: Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee and founder of the Guardian Angels, and Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee and current Brooklyn borough president.

By Reuters

The cat, Gizmo, was denied entrance to the polling site, and Mr. Sliwa fought with election officials over several matters, daring them to arrest him.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons

New York Today

The elections for mayor in New York City and Buffalo could signal the direction of the Democratic Party in the state.

By James Barron

The founder of the Guardian Angels has sought the spotlight for decades. With his long-shot bid to become the city’s next mayor, he has found it again.

By Michael Rothfeld and Emma G. Fitzsimmons

With the New York City election just days away, we cut through the personal attacks to show where the main candidates, Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa, stand on the issues.

By The New York Times

TimesVideo

Eric Adams chastised Curtis Sliwa, saying he was acting immaturely, and Mr. Sliwa accused Mr. Adams of actually living in New Jersey.

By The New York Times

TimesVideo

Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee, and his Republican challenger, Curtis Sliwa, both advocated increased policing in New York City to combat a rise in crime.

By The New York Times

TimesVideo

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for mayor, criticized Mayor Bill de Blasio’s social services commissioner, while his Democratic challenger, Eric Adams, called for building more housing and converting empty hotel rooms to address the crisis.

By The New York Times

TimesVideo

When asked near the end of their debate to say something nice about each other, Eric Adams admired Curtis Sliwa’s dedication to saving cats and Mr. Sliwa praised Mr. Adams for choosing not to eat animals.

By The New York Times

In the final contest before Election Day, Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa traded insults and sketched out starkly different visions for the city.

By Katie Glueck,Dana Rubinstein and Jeffery C. Mays

The televised confrontation between Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa a week before Election Day seemed unlikely to change the dynamics of the race.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons

In one of the strangest moments of the mayoral debate, Curtis Sliwa falsely said that Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, a Democrat from Washington Heights, was not an American citizen.

By Luis Ferré-Sadurní

Eric Adams has said he would like to “double down” on mandates, while Curtis Sliwa backs a voluntary approach.

By Sharon Otterman

Mr. Sliwa has made animal welfare a central part of his campaign for mayor.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons

With the Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, likely to be in attack mode against the Democratic nominee, Eric Adams, the moderators will have their hands full.

By Jeffery C. Mays

New York Today

Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa spar in the first mayoral debate.

By James Barron

TimesVideo

Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa, the Democratic and Republican candidates for New York City mayor, gave starkly differing views on how they would deal with the crisis in the city’s infamous detention center.

By The New York Times

TimesVideo

Both of the major-party candidates for New York City mayor, Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa, said they supported continuing the gifted and talented program in city schools, but with some changes.

By The New York Times

TimesVideo

The New York City mayoral candidates Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa offered opposing perspectives over whether city workers, including police officers and firefighters, should be required to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

By The New York Times

TimesVideo

Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa, the major-party candidates for New York City mayor, clashed over the use of the stop-and-frisk police tactic, which at its peak involved the stopping of hundreds of thousands of people, often young Black and Latino men.

By The New York Times

Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa traded attacks over past lies, a Brooklyn apartment and “buffoonery” on the debate stage.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Dana Rubinstein

Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee in the New York City mayor’s race, and Curtis Sliwa, his Republican opponent, clashed on vaccine mandates and congestion pricing.

By Katie Glueck

The New York Police Department is dealing with a crisis of public confidence, and pressure has mounted to scale back its reach.

By Ali Watkins and Troy Closson

The Democratic nominee for New York City mayor used the 30-second ad to tell his personal story, stressing his commitment to affordable housing.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons

With victory nearly assured, Mr. Adams has amassed a substantial war chest ahead of the general election for New York City mayor. His opponent lags far behind.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Dana Rubinstein

The mayor is facing growing calls to address chaotic and violent conditions inside New York City’s vast jail complex.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons,Jonah E. Bromwich and Jan Ransom

Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, wants New Yorkers to take him seriously as a mayoral candidate against Eric Adams.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons

A Yonkers man was charged with attempted murder after a seemingly random assault turned a mundane errand into a bloody struggle.

By Ashley Wong

Mr. Sliwa’s victory sets up a long-shot Republican challenge in November to the eventual Democratic nominee.

By Ed Shanahan

Eric Adams takes heat for a comment on schools, while Curtis Sliwa gets Rudy Giuliani’s endorsem*nt for the Republican nomination.

By Dana Rubinstein,Emma G. Fitzsimmons,Jeffery C. Mays and Anne Barnard

Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, and Fernando Mateo, a restaurateur, yelled at each other repeatedly during the free-wheeling virtual debate.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons

Two long-shots, Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, and Fernando Mateo, a restaurateur, are in a heated fight to be their party’s nominee.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons

We asked 10 candidates what they viewed as their central proposals. They named plans to offer cash relief to poor New Yorkers, child care grants and more.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons

The Democratic candidates vowed to stop Zooming and get out more, and a rap video earned mixed reviews.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons,Katie Glueck,Jeffery C. Mays and Dana Rubinstein

Several major candidates called for an investigation into Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, as two Republicans vied for key endorsem*nts.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons,Jeffery C. Mays and Katie Glueck

Mrs. Sliwa became the bookkeeper, administrator and publicist for the red-beret-wearing neighborhood patrol group her son, Curtis, formed in New York in 1979.

By Richard Sandomir

WABC-AM is introducing a new lineup on Thursday that emphasizes live and local programming, as its two most popular hosts, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, move to a rival station, WOR-AM.

By Ben Sisario

As the race for New York City mayor nears the final innings, the candidates were asked on Tuesday to prove they could handle any kind of curveball, even a literal one.

By Michael M. Grynbaum

At the Democratic state convention, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo tried to portray himself as an outsider.

By Danny Hakim and Nicholas Confessore

John A. Gotti’s fourth trial went to the jury on Tuesday night. His father, John J. Gotti, was convicted at a fourth trial.

By Alan Feuer

Sunday Routine

Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime-patrolling group, spends his Sundays riding the rails with his 5-year-old son, Anthony.

By Alan Feuer

Public Safety

Recruits for the citizen patrol organization are being sought, with the goal of running the drug dealers on Lawrence Street and Saratoga Avenue out of town.

By Elsa Brenner

The Guardian Angels has broadened its presence around the country, with more than 50 chapters established in places like Peoria, Ill.

By Michael Wilson

BIG DEAL

New York City real estate brokers eagerly await Wall Street bonus season, mainstay of market; ahead of bonuses, J Christopher Flowers buys $19 million co-op at 66 East 79th Street, Kenneth D Brody buys $6.25 million apartment at 25 Sutton Place and Jeffrey T Silverman acquires two-family house on East 94th Street for nearly $4.2 million; radio talk show host and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa buys apartment in new high-rise on Upper East Side for nearly $1.9 million; developer Mitchel Maidman divides unsold raw units in building at 556 Third Avenue to hasten sales; photos (Big Deal column) (M)

By Josh Barbanel

Federal prosecutors decide not to seek fourth trial of John A Gotti on racketeering charges; photo (M)

By Alan Feuer

Lawyers say federal government may be ready not to pursue racketeering charges against John A Gotti if third trial in New York City fails to bring conviction; photos (M)

By Anemona Hartocollis

For the third time in just over a year, a federal jury yesterday failed to reach a verdict in the racketeering prosecution of John A. Gotti, the former head of the Gambino crime family, allowing him to walk free even though jurors said they believed he was guilty of one of the main accusations against him. A federal official said that after three mistrials, the prosecution was unlikely to retry Mr. Gotti unless new evidence turned up, a decision that would all but end an expensive and highly publicized organized crime prosecution in a startling defeat for the government.

By Timothy Williams

Jurors said they believed John A. Gotti was behind the shooting and bungled kidnapping of a radio talk-show host, but they said prosecutors failed to prove the shooting was part of a pattern of crimes.

By Timothy Williams

Speculation rises about possible third mistrial for John A Gotti on racketeering charges as jury in New York City declares itself deadlocked on sixth day of deliberations and refuses to extend deliberations beyond 5 PM; jury says it has reached decision on rackeetering charge regarding 1992 kidnapping of Curtis Sliwa; Gotti is charged with racketeering related to his leadership of Gambino crime family; photo (M)

By Timothy Williams and Matthew Sweeney

Jury deliberations begin in New York City in racketeering conspiracy case against John A Gotti; charges also include ordering kidnapping and beating of Curtis Sliwa in 1992 (S)

By Timothy Williams (NYT)

Charles Carnesi, lawyer for John A Gotti, says in closing arguments in federal trial of Gotti in New York City on racketeering charges that Gotti was head of Gambino crime family until 1999; prosecution counters that recordings show Gotti's continued involvement; defense seeks to void racketeering charges on end of statute of limitations (M)

By Timothy Williams

A prosecutor said today that John A. Gotti’s defense of having quit the Mafia was an elaborate ruse.

By Timothy Williams

Federal District Court Judge Shira A Scheindlin drops two counts against John A Gotti related to prosecutors' claims that two of his businesses operated on proceeds from loan sharking and extortion; says prosecutors did not offer sufficient proof to support charges; Gotti still faces five counts related to witness tampering and racketeering; has faced similar charges twice before, with jury unable to reach verdict in either trial (M)

By Timothy Williams

Curtis Sliwa, Guardian Angels founder and radio talk show host, testifies for defense at John A Gotti's trial in Manhattan on federal racketeering charges, one of which is that Gotti ordered beating and kidnapping of Sliwa in 1992; testimony by Sliwa in previous trials raised credibility issues, and under defense questioning, he is forced to admit that he fabricated at least five accounts of attacks to gain publicity for Guardian Angels; photo (M)

By Timothy Williams

Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and radio talk show host who prosecutors say was kidnapped and beaten by John A. Gotti’s henchmen in 1992, testified yesterday at Mr. Gotti’s third trial on federal racketeering charges, as he has at the first two.

By Timothy Williams

Prosecutors in John A Gotti racketeering trial play prison recordings of Gotti conversations; seek to show that Gotti had prominent role in Gambino crime family after 1999 and void defense contention that statute of limitations on racketeering charges has expired (M)

By Timothy Williams

Federal prosecutors may not call Curtis Sliwa to testify at third racketeering trial of John A Gotti in New York City; Sliwa was shot several times by members of Gambino crime family, allegedly on orders of Gotti; Sliwa testified at previous Gotti trials (S)

By Timothy Williams (NYT)

Federal prosecutors may not call the Guardian Angels founder and radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa to testify at the racketeering trial of John A. Gotti, according to a list of witnesses the prosecutors provided to a judge yesterday. Prosecutors say that Mr. Sliwa was shot on the orders of Mr. Gotti in 1992 by members of the Gambino crime family after Mr. Sliwa made harsh comments on the radio about Mr. Gotti’s father, John J. Gotti, the former boss of the family. Mr. Sliwa, who was shot five times in a stolen taxi before leaping out of the cab’s window, had been one of the government’s star witnesses in the younger Mr. Gotti’s first two trials, which ended with the juries unable to reach a verdict. The lead prosecutor, Victor Hou, an assistant United States attorney, said yesterday that there were three witnesses remaining: an F.B.I. agent, a prison guard and a mob informant.

By Timothy Williams

Former Gambino crime family member Joseph D'Angelo testifies at third racketeering trial of John A Gotti that Gotti was intimately involved in planning of kidnapping and beating of Curtis Sliwa in 1992 in New York City; D'Angelo has pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy as driver of taxicab in which Sliwa was shot and is cooperating with federal investigators (M)

By Timothy Williams

A former member of the Gambino crime family testified yesterday that John A. Gotti was intimately involved in the planning of the kidnapping and beating of Curtis Sliwa, the radio talk show host. The witness said that a few days before the attack, Mr. Gotti pointed out Mr. Sliwa’s apartment and gave precise instructions on where to abandon a stolen taxi that would be used.

By Timothy Williams

Third trial of John A Gotti on charges that he ordered kidnapping and beating of Curtis Sliwa in 1992 in New York City opens with argument about whether Gotti helped run Gambino crime family in 1999; prosecutors have added racketeering charge; statute of limitations on current racketeering charge would apply if defense can prove Gotti was not involved with Gambino family; Gotti faces additional charges of loan-sharking, extortion and witness tampering (M)

By Timothy Williams

Third trial of John A Gotti on nearly identical charges as first two, alleging his involvement in abduction of radio host Curtis Sliwa in 1992, begins; two prior federal trials both ended in deadlock; jury selection is slow and fairly remarkable in number of panelists with little knowledge of defendant, including one who was dismissed by Judge Shira A Scheindlin after repeatedly referring to Gotti as 'Mr Gandhi'; photo (M)

By Alan Feuer

Federal Judge Shira A Scheindlin reverses decision to throw out money laundering and some racketeering charges against alleged Gambino family boss John A Gotti; trial is in connection with accusations that Gotti ordered 1992 abduction of radio host Curtis Sliwa; government sought charges to disprove Gotti's claim that he left Mafia in 1990s; (M)

By Alan Feuer

Federal Judge Shira A Scheindlin dismisses money laundering and racketeering counts against John A Gotti as he prepares for third trial on charges of having ordered assault on Curtis Sliwa in New York City in 1992; lets stand charge of conspiring to influence testimony in Brooklyn trial of Bonanno crime family boss Vincent Basciano, who was convicted of racketeering; two previous Gotti trials resulted in hung juries; photo (M)

By Alan Feuer

John A Gotti, son of late Gambino family don, pleads not guilty to latest racketeering charges to be lodged against him; indictment includes old charge that Gotti ordered abduction and shooting of Curtis Sliwa, radio talk show host and self-appointed vigilante, as well as several new charges, namely that Gotti engaged in money-laundering and that he conspired during summer of 2005 to influence testimony in trial of Brooklyn mobster (M)

By Alan Feuer

Manhattan jury fails to reach verdict in case of John A Gotti for second time in six months; Federal Judge Shira A Scheindlin rules that jury is deadlocked and declares mistrial after just day and half of deliberations; Gotti was charged with ordering botched kidnapping and shooting of Curtis Sliwa, but bigger issue for jury was whether Gotti continued to help run Gambino family for last eight years, when he was either under house arrest or in jail; photos (M)

By Anemona Hartocollis

Witnesses testify that John A Gotti, who is on trial for racketeering conspiracy, gave up life of Gambino crime family leader years ago; hold he has expressed regret for life of crime; Peter Gotti, defendent's brother, is among those who testify (M)

By Anemona Hartocollis

Courthouse Journal

Traditionally women behind men involved in organized crime are not seen or heard from, but remain in background of their men's lives; tradition appears to be changing as numerous women appear at John A Gotti's racketeering trial; each woman's relationship to Gotti discussed; photos (M)

By Anemona Hartocollis

Defense witnesses George DiBello and Toni Marie Ricci testify at trial of John A Gotti about unusual decor of Gotti's social club; meeting allegedly took place at club at which Joseph D'Angelo and Michael DiLeonardo were ordered to rough up Curtis Sliwa; testimony is defense bid to cast doubt on testimony of prosecution witnesses D'Angelo and DiLeonardo (M)

By Anemona Hartocollis

Joseph D'Angelo, self-described member of John A Gotti's crime organization, testifies for prosecution in Gotti's racketeering trial; describes being quizzed by Gotti about whether he was really ready to be 'made' member of family; testifies that he carried out two murders and that he was driver of stolen taxicab in which Curtis Sliwa, radio host and founder of Guardian Angels, was ambushed, shot and gravely wounded; says it was Gotti who convened meeting to plan attack on Sliwa (M)

By Anemona Hartocollis

Curtis Sliwa testifies at John A Gotti racketeering trial about getting shot by men he believes are connected to Gotti; says he was ambushed in taxicab that had been rigged so doors and windows would not open; defense lawyers grill Sliwa on his admitting to fabricating at least five events in past to get attention for his Guardian Angels group; photos (M)

By Anemona Hartocollis

Michael DiLeonardo, Gambino crime family enforcer, testifies at racketeering trial of John A Gotti that Gotti is powerful New York City organized crime boss who conspired to commit pattern of crimes, including kidnapping and shooting of radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa (M)

By Anemona Hartocollis

John A Gotti goes on trial for second time on charges stemming from kidnapping and shooting of Guardian Angel Curtis Sliwa in 1992; defense attorney Charles Carnesi says Gotti was dutiful son who was pressured by his father to be good mob soldier but who wanted out; prosecutor Joon Kim contends Gotti did not renounce life of his father but was defending its honor when he ordered kidnapping of Sliwa for comments he made against senior Gotti; photo (M)

By Anemona Hartocollis

Jury selection in trial of John A Gotti's second trial begins in Manhattan; Gotti is charged with ordering shooting attack on talk show host Curtis Sliwa; was acquitted of some charges last September; prosecutors decide to retry him on three deadlocked charges; photo (S)

By Julia Preston (NYT)

In a technical ruling, a federal judge yesterday acquitted the man accused of being the gunman in the June 1992 abduction and shooting of Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and radio talk show host. The man, Michael Yannotti, had stood trial with John A. Gotti, the scion of the Gambino crime family, for conspiring to kidnap Mr. Sliwa in a Manhattan taxicab.

John A. Gotti, the Gambino crime family scion who avoided conviction for racketeering in a trial that ended last week, came closer to leaving prison yesterday when a judge ruled that he could be released on $7 million bail. But she also ordered a new trial to begin Feb. 13 on the three charges against him that left the jury deadlocked. Mr. Gotti's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said he could be released as early as tomorrow.

By Julia Preston

A day after federal jurors in the trial of John A. Gotti, the prince of the Gambino crime family, returned a deadlocked verdict on the main racketeering counts against him, federal prosecutors declined to say whether they would try him again on the charges. ''We are evaluating further proceedings,'' Michael J. Garcia, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a brief statement. He praised the prosecution team, Assistant United States Attorneys Victor Hou, Joon Kim and Michael McGovern, for ''their devotion to the prosecution of this case.''

By Julia Preston

In a startling setback to federal prosecutors, John A. Gotti, the Gambino crime family prince who said he wanted to leave the mob life behind and spend his days driving his children in a minivan, avoided conviction yesterday in his racketeering trial, as the jury returned hung verdicts on three charges against him and voted not guilty on a fourth. After deliberating almost eight days in the six-week trial, the deeply divided jury reached no verdict on the most serious charge against Mr. Gotti, the accusation that he ordered the June 19, 1992, kidnapping of Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels street patrol and a radio talk show host. He was abducted in a taxi in the East Village and shot several times at point-blank range.

By Julia Preston

NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: CORONA/ELMHURST

In the past few months, when Assemblyman Jose Peralta of Queens started noticing what appeared to be a growing number of gang members on the streets of Corona and Elmhurst, he turned to a solution that was effective when gangs were a problem in his district a year earlier. He asked the Guardian Angels, the crime-patrol group perhaps best known for distinctive red berets and bomber jackets, to return to the neighborhood, and even helped them find a base, inside a driver training school on Roosevelt Avenue in Corona, just under the 103rd Street station on the No. 7 line. The Angels' arrival was first reported in The Queens Chronicle.

By Jeff Vandam

In closing arguments yesterday, the defense lawyer for John A. Gotti, the prince of the Gambino crime family, tore into the government's account of the 1992 shooting of Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, excoriating the prosecution's witnesses as self-serving liars who had fabricated their story of the attack. In his closing summation after a monthlong racketeering trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, highlighted inconsistencies between the versions of two former Gambino members who testified for the government that Mr. Gotti had ordered the June 19, 1992, attack on Mr. Sliwa to punish him for insulting the Gotti family on his WABC radio talk show.

By Julia Preston

John A. Gotti, the prince of the Gambino crime family, ordered the 1992 kidnapping of the Guardian Angels founder, Curtis Sliwa, because he regarded himself as ''the street boss of his own government,'' a federal prosecutor said yesterday in his closing argument in Mr. Gotti's racketeering trial. Summing up the government's case in the four-week trial, the prosecutor, Joon Kim, said Mr. Gotti would not have been satisfied to ''write a letter to the editor'' with his complaints about Mr. Sliwa's tirades against the Gotti family on his morning radio show on WABC-AM.

By Julia Preston

A former high-ranking Gambino crime family member who has become a government witness testified yesterday that John A. Gotti, the family scion, ordered two vicious attacks in 1992 on Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and radio talk show host, but was furious when one of his henchmen shot Mr. Sliwa in a taxi instead of beating him up. On his second day on the witness stand in Mr. Gotti's federal racketeering trial, the witness, Michael DiLeonardo gave testimony placing Mr. Gotti in charge of arranging the two assaults, completing his betrayal of the man he said he still loves like a brother.

By Julia Preston

They had long been blood brothers in organized crime, the government witness said, inducted into the Gambino crime family in the same secret ritual on Christmas Eve 16 years ago. But yesterday the witness, Michael DiLeonardo, broke his oath of silence and turned on John A. Gotti, the scion of the Gambino family, testifying against him in federal court. ''John and I had a special bond in this life,'' Mr. DiLeonardo said, his voice unsteady, as he faced the son of John J. Gotti, the late Gambino family don, across the courtroom where Mr. Gotti is on trial for racketeering.

By Julia Preston

Thirteen years after Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, was shot at point-blank range in the back of a New York taxicab, he finally got the chance yesterday to recount the tale from the witness stand of a federal courtroom, describing a desperate escape out the moving cab's window. Testifying in the federal racketeering trial of John A. Gotti, Mr. Sliwa said he thought he had ''hit the lottery'' when he climbed into the back of the cab he had hailed near his apartment in the East Village before dawn on June 19, 1992. The driver recognized him and seemed to know that he was going to the WABC radio studios near Madison Square Garden, where he was host of a morning show. Within moments, Mr. Sliwa said, a second man popped up from under the dashboard ''like a jack-in-the-box,'' pointing a silver-plated pistol at his belly.

By Julia Preston

John A. Gotti, son of the late don of the Gambino crime family, ordered three henchmen to lie in wait for Curtis Sliwa in a taxicab in Manhattan, then beat him and ''put him in the hospital'' because Mr. Sliwa was ''bad-mouthing'' the Gottis on his radio program, a Gambino member who participated in the 1992 assault testified yesterday. But the plan went awry, the witness said. Two partygoing couples who were trying to get a ride in the cab had to be shooed away, and when Mr. Sliwa finally jumped in, he caught his attackers off guard. The beating never happened, because after Mr. Sliwa fought back aggressively, one of the men shot him instead, the witness said.

By Julia Preston

Long Island

If you thought the Guardian Angels -- those young men in red berets and studded wristbands, subduing the urban jungle through kung fu -- went out with the 1980's, think again. Feathered hairdos, leg warmers and subway graffiti are gone, mostly, but the Angels never went away. Curtis Sliwa, the group's founder, has kept his organization busy opening chapters in cities and towns all over the country, where all kinds of people -- state representatives, mayors, city council members, even the governor of Hawaii -- have welcomed them with open arms, either forgetting or not caring about the Angels' reputation as vigilante goofballs. Years of bad press and skepticism have not dimmed the appeal of the Angels' anticrime patrols. How well they work is highly debatable, but there is no denying that they are highly visible, highly assertive and cheap. This has proved irresistible to officials who lack the means or patience to fight petty crimes the old-fashioned way: by hiring more police officers, say, or organizing community patrols themselves, or steering more jobs and opportunity into depressed neighborhoods.

For the Gambino crime family, one of New York's oldest and largest, yesterday began with a surprising victory and ended, just before 6 p.m., with a demoralizing defeat. The action unfolded in Federal District Court in Manhattan, and involved two generations of the Gotti family -- Peter Gotti and John A. Gotti -- the brother and the son of the late John J. Gotti, the Dapper Don who ruled as the family's godfather from 1985 until his death in June 2002, although Peter Gotti was widely recognized as the acting boss from at least 2001.

By Sabrina Tavernise

Federal Judge Shira A Scheindlin upholds bail denial for John A Gotti, accused of attempted murder of Curtis Sliwa; photos (M)

By Julia Preston

Federal Judge Frank Maas denies bail for John A Gotti, who is accused of attempted murder of New York talk radio host Curtis Silwa in 1992, refusing Gotti's offer to post $10 million bail (M)

By Julia Preston

Prosecutors say key evidence in case against Gambino crime family figure John A Gotti, charged with attempted murder of Curtis Sliwa and other crimes, consists of tape recordings of prison conversations over 15 months between Gotti and his lawyer, Richard Rehbock; recordings were made under court order after prosecutors convinced judge they had reason to believe Rehbock was carrying messages between Gotti and Gambino foot soldiers; Gotti pleads not guilty; his new attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, asks Judge Shira A Scheindlin for assurances his prison conversations with Gotti will not be recorded; experts say recordings, while rare, are not ncecessarily improper (M)

By Julia Preston

Curtis Sliwa, talk radio host and Guardian Angels founder, surfaces in Tokyo after leaving New York City when grand jury indicted John A Gotti, Gambino crime family leader charged with ordering Sliwa's murder in 1992; photo (S)

By James Barron (NYT)

Curtis Sliwa, talk radio host and founder of Guardian Angels crime-fighting group, says he is fleeing Manhattan for safe haven after government announces indictment of John A Gotti on charges of ordering Sliwa's murder in 1992; Sliwa says he is leaving because indictment does not name Nicholas Corozzo, who, Sliwa says, carried out attack; spokeswoman for US attorney's office declines to comment on why Corozza was not indicted along with Gotti and Joseph D'Angelo, Gambino family soldier; photo (M)

By James Barron

Federal prosecutors charge that in 1992, Cosa Nostra capo John J Gotti, now deceased, ordered his son John A Gotti to organize murder of Curtis Sliwa, self-appointed subway crime fighter and combative talk show host who had referred to elder Gotti as 'public enemy No 1' on radio; younger Gotti and two associates, Joseph D'Angelo and Michael Yannotti, are charged with conspiracy, kidnapping and attempted murder in shooting of Sliwa, who was hit in chest and legs; soon after shooting there was cynical speculation that Sliwa arranged to be shot in bid for publicity; Sliwa himself has long insisted that he was victim of gangland hit; acknowledges now that at time of shooting he was widely scorned by police officers and their superiors for his role in founding Guardian Angels, and for making up incidents to prove group's success in fighting crime; photos (M)

By Julia Preston and James Barron