The last of the flashy and flamboyant Mafia dons was John Gotti. In 1985, he became the boss of the Gam-bino crime family. He was the first hoodlum since Al Capone to become a media darling. Like Capone, he contributed undeserved positive publicity and bogus charm to a nasty and brutish lifestyle. Although his reign lasted only seven years, he was on the cover of Time, a favorite target of the New York City media, and a celebrity in his own right. This notoriety ultimately led to his downfall, and the fall of a number of his capos.