Suited up and sporting a pompadour, “the German” can be seen lurking menacingly outside John Gotti’s social club, the Ravenite, in FBI surveillance footage and news clips from the 1980s. A feared gangland gunslinger, Joe Watts played a pivotal role in organized crime as a strong-arm enforcer who wasn’t afraid to put in the “work.” While relatively unknown outside of criminal circles, Watts participated in the infamous 1985 mob assassination of Paul “Big Paul” Castellano in front of Sparks Steak House in Manhattan that was paramount in propelling Gotti to power.
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