'SAMMY THE BULL' GUILTY IN DRUG CASE

PHOENIX, ARIZONA Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, the mob turncoat
who put John Gotti away, has pleaded guilty to state charges that he
masterminded an Ecstasy ring.

Gravano, 56, already faces up to 15 1/2 years in prison for pleading
guilty to federal charges in the drug case. His plea in the state
case could bring 15 to 20 years, though prosecutors have agreed to
let the sentences run concurrently, his lawyer, Greg Parzych, said
Friday.

Prosecutors said he was boss of the drug ring that operated in New
York and Arizona and distributed up to 30,000 pills of the
hallucinogen a week.

As a hit man and once-feared underboss of the Gambino crime family,
Gravano admitted killing 19 people but received leniency for
testifying against Gotti, the former Gambino boss, and other mobsters.

Gravano served 5 years in prison before moving to Phoenix in 1995
under the witness protection program. Prosecutors said he dropped out
of the program in 1997 to get into the drug business.