mad-dog killer who hounded him to obtain authorizations for hits until he finally threw up his hands and bowed to Sammy’s wishes,” according to the book. As a government witness, Gravano confessed to participating, in “one way or another,” in 18 or 19 murders, including many he’d not previously been suspected of. After Gravano’s testimony, a jury found Gotti guilty of all racketeering and murder counts against him. Gotti was sentenced to life and died in prison in 2002. In 1994, Gravano was sentenced to just five years for his role in the mafia operation, thanks in large part to his help prosecuting dozens of key mafia figures, bribed jurors, corrupt cops and trade union officials. Gravano entered witness protection upon his release, even going so far as to change his appearance with plastic surgery, which was arranged by the U.S. Marshals Service. Eight months later, he left witness protection to move to Arizona. In the Valley, he led a more public life. He also dealt ecstasy. In 2000, Gravano was busted, along with his son Gerard, for running a multimillion-dollar drug ring from his Phoenix-area home. He pleaded guilty in 2001 and wound up serving 17 years in prison. Gravano and Gerard, who is a manager at Debra’s Way, were recently the subject of a 2025 HBO Max documentary about the ecstasy ring. Talos Films produced the film, according to the Internet Movie Database. Gravano’s production company does not appear to have been involved. That production company, which was founded in 2018, has largely been Gravano’s focus since he got out of prison. Gravano has leveraged it to rebrand himself as something of a mafia influencer, podcaster and content creator. The company produces Gravano’s podcast, “Our Thing” — a reference to Cosa Nostra, the Italian term for the five families of New York’s Sicilian mafia. On the show, Gravano sits in a big leather chair in dim lighting and tells mob stories directly to the camera. The show’s 120-plus episodes often feature high-profile gangsters. The company also has a digital, members-only content platform called OurThing.TV, which offers more interviews — including a tease of an upcoming interview with infamous Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio — as well as short films and documentaries. Castaneda began working for Gravano in 2022. She told New Times she’d had a previous friendship with someone in Gravano’s orbit and also had a family member who’d been caught up in Gravano’s ecstasy ring. She’d also worked in TV production — she’d played a small part in the 2020 Spanish-language Netflix film “Mutiny of the Worker Bees” and is listed on IMDb as a second-unit director on another Spanish- language production — and had studied at the American Music and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles before switching tracks to study psychology at Arizona State University. Castaneda was still studying at ASU when Gerald Gravano called to ask her to come work for his father’s production company. Castaneda told New Times that Gerard told her that his father was “making all these mistakes in the business” and he “just really needs help.” Aside from helping produce Gravano’s podcast, most of Castaneda’s work with the company focused on trying to get a scripted TV drama about Gravano’s life off the ground. Taking the job, she now realizes, was “a big mistake.” ‘WALKING ON EGGSHELLS’ Gravano’s wished-for TV show is more than just a flight of fancy. Castaneda’s complaint says she secured meetings for Gravano with “major studios, executive producers, show creators, and writers,” and several notable names have been attached to the project over the years. In 2023, Kapital Entertainment signed on to create a scripted show about Gravano’s life. Nick Pileggi, who co-wrote “Goodfellas” and “Casino” along with Martin Scorsese, was attached to the production in 2024. Later that year, “Boardwalk Empire” creator Terence Winter joined as showrunner and “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua agreed to direct. FX was also going to co-produce the series. But while there was progress on producing the show, Gravano’s alleged treatment of Castaneda grew more and more brazen. She kept going, she said, for the promise of an executive producer credit and finishing the project. “You’re walking on eggshells, but you’re trying to get those big deals done,” she told New Times. “If you could just get a big deal over the line, you’re always told, like, ‘Everything’s going to be different, things are going to get better.’” Castaneda said her first truly alarming interaction with Gravano came in September 2023. According to her lawsuit, Castaneda and Gravano had returned to the office after a dinner meeting with an exec- utive producer when Gravano stood over her and “forcibly kissed her and thrust his tongue into her mouth without consent.” The lawsuit says she “recoiled and pushed Mr. Gravano away.” Six months later, Gravano allegedly did it again. After a birthday dinner for Gravano, Castaneda drove him home, where Gravano pulled her into his home office, saying he needed to discuss “business matters.” While she sat in a chair in his office, Gravano again forcibly kissed her, the lawsuit says. “It was so disgusting and violating,” Castaneda told New Times. “He waited until I was more vulnerable and alone and it was in the office. I pushed him away while I leaned back at the same time.” Between those two alleged assaults, Castaneda says, Gravano twice pressured her into sharing a hotel room with him during work trips to Los Angeles, insisting it would save money despite Castaneda offering to pay for her own room. On a December 2023 trip, she allegedly had to sleep in the same bed as Gravano, though her complaint says she slept above the covers. That night, apparently thinking she was asleep, Gravano allegedly began to rub Castaneda’s arm while lying in bed, which her lawsuit says made her “extremely uncomfortable.” She turned away and pretended to be asleep. On another trip two months later, Gravano insisted that they share a room, this time with separate beds. This time, the lawsuit says, Gravano sat on Castaneda’s bed and offered her a massage, which Castaneda declined. Despite her objections, Gravano began massaging her head, shoulders and neck. Castaneda was “extremely upset and uncomfortable during this interaction,” according to the lawsuit. After Gravano left the room, she told New Times, “I literally got up and vomited.” Castaneda’s lawsuit claims that Gravano acted similarly toward other women in the office. He allegedly showed nude photos of women to employees and at least once “fondl(ed) his penis over his clothing and exclaim(ed) to Ms. Castaneda and another female staff member, ‘Look how hard my dick is!’” “He always grabs himself,” Castaneda told New Times. “He always talks about how hard he is, how erect he is. He’s on testos- terone. He’s got these Viagra pills. This is pervasive. It’s daily and constant.” The lawsuit also claims that Gravano would explode in anger at women staffers who “rejected his sexual advances or objected to his sexually explicit comments.” In 2022, the suit claims, “numerous employees of Debra’s Way resigned due to the hostile work environment perpetuated by Salvatore Gravano.” Castaneda recalled one coworker quitting on the spot around that time. “He just exploded with rage at her and leaped from behind his desk at her. He was pounding his chest, like screaming at this 22-year-old girl,” Castaneda told New Times. “She just turned on the same heel and walked out that front door.” While Gravano dealt with bowel issues in April 2024, according to the lawsuit, he required Castaneda “to assist him with a stool test by scooping his feces and transfer- ring it into test tubes.” That same month, Castaneda sent Gravano an email “regarding his treatment of her,” including what she said was his misclassification of her as an independent contractor. Not long after, the lawsuit says, the production company cut her pay. ‘I KNEW HE HAD A GUN’ After she complained in an email to Gravano about her treatment, Castaneda claims, his behavior got more unpredictable and violent. While in the car with Gravano during a June 2024 trip to Los Angeles, the suit claims, Gravano “became enraged over a Hollywood director who was not returning Mr. Gravano’s emails about the scripted show project.” The suit says Gravano “began making racist slurs and violent remarks about this director, who happened to be African American.” The suit does not name the director, but Castaneda told New A police mug shot of Salvatore “Sammy The Bull” Gravano from his 2000 arrest for ecstacy trafficking. (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office) >> p 16
