Editing Sammy Gravano (section)

==Made man==
In the early 1970s, Colombo soldier Ralph Spero, brother of Shorty, became envious of Gravano's success, fearing that he would become a [[made man]] before his son, Tommy.<ref name="robinson"/> This rivalry culminated with the death of Ralph Ronga, another Colombo family soldier in Ralph Spero's crew. After Ronga's death, a rumor had spread that Gravano had attempted to pick up Ronga's widow Sybil Davies at a bar, though Gravano maintained that Davies was the one hitting on him. Ralph Spero used this rumor in an attempt to gain support to have Gravano killed, or as an excuse to kill Gravano himself. While Shorty Spero believed Gravano rather than Ralph,<ref name="Underboss">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/underbosssammyb000maas|url-access=registration|author=Peter Maas|author-link=Peter Maas|title=Underboss|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|location=New York City|date=1997|isbn=0-06-018256-3}}</ref> he and the Colombo hierarchy decided that to avoid conflict, it was best for Gravano to be transferred to the [[Gambino crime family]].<ref name="trutv"/>

Now with the Gambinos, Gravano became an associate of capo Salvatore "Toddo" Aurello. Aurello quickly took a liking to Gravano and became his mob mentor.<ref name="trutv"/> Around this time, Gravano took a construction job (he later claimed to have considered leaving the criminal life).<ref name="Underboss"/> A former associate, however, falsely claimed to the [[New York County District Attorney|New York District Attorney's Office]] that Gravano and another associate were responsible for a double murder of the Dunn Brothers from 1969.<ref name="trutv"/> After Gravano was indicted, he desperately needed money to pay his legal bills. He quit his construction job and went on a self-described "robbing rampage" for a year and a half alongside his associate Alexander "Allie Boy" Cuomo.<ref name="Underboss"/>{{failed verification|date=March 2025}} A couple weeks into the trial, Gravano's lawyers moved to dismiss the charges due to the witness being declared legally insane. Gravano later said of this legal problem:

<blockquote>That pinch [arrest] changed my whole life. I never, ever stopped a second from there on in. I was like a madman. Never stopped stealing. Never stopped robbing. I was obsessed.<ref name="Underboss"/></blockquote>

Gravano's robbery spree impressed Aurello, who proposed him for membership in the Gambino family soon after the membership books were reopened. In 1976, Gravano was formally [[Initiation ritual (mafia)|initiated]] into the Gambino family as a [[made man]], along with Toddo's son, Charlie Boy Aurello. Sammy and Charlie Boy had been friends since they were kids.<ref name="drug ring"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/21/archives/five-mafia-families-open-rosters-to-new-members-five-mafia-families.html|title=Five Mafia Families Open Rosters to New Members|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 21, 1976|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=April 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406205556/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/03/21/archives/five-mafia-families-open-rosters-to-new-members-five-mafia-families.html|url-status=live}}</ref>