according to the federal government, john gotti, sr., and later, his son, john, jr., ran the gambino crime family, the largest, most influential mafia family in the country. gotti, sr., who died in prison nine years ago, was a ruthless gangster who craved celebrity; the son, if you are to believe his story, wanted out. and john gotti, jr., wants people to believe his story. after the federal government put him on trial four times in five years without getting a conviction, he agreed to sit down with us and talk about his family saga in his first extended television interview. he wanted to be the only person we talked to on camera for this story, and to have his lawyer by his side to make sure he didn't say anything that could be used to indict him again, because no one is likely to be watching this story more closely than the f.b.i. >> john gotti, jr.: my father was my cause. if my father wasn't in that life, i probably wouldn't have been in the street life, either. whatever he was is what i wanted to be. and if he decided the next day, "you know what? i don't like this anymore. i'm g