John Favara

Who was John Favara?

John Favara was the backyard neighbor of Gambino crime family godfather John Gotti, in Howard Beach, New York.

On March 18, 1980, 12-year-old Frank Gotti, the youngest son of John Gotti, darted into the street on a motorized minibike from behind a dumpster where he was struck by Favara's car and killed. Favara, 51, who lived a block behind the Gotti family, worked as a service department manager for a furniture store, Castro Convertibles in New Hyde Park, New York. He had been on his way home from work. His adopted son, Scott, was a friend of the Gotti children and had been their guest for sleepovers. He was a close childhood friend of Gambino crime family caporegime Ettore Zappi, a distant cousin of crime family patriarch Carlo Gambino. While Ettore pursued a life in organized crime, Favara remained in the legitimate world, but the two remained close.

Police found Favara was not to blame for the boy's death, which was officially ruled "accidental," and no charges were ever filed against him. However, in the months after the accident, the word "Murderer" was spray-painted onto Favara's car.