Karen Gravano Tells All On Life In A Mafia Family

Karen Gravano was 10 years old when she first discovered her father might be a killer. She told "20/20" that she had stumbled into his bedroom to ask him permission to have a sleepover and saw him tuck a gun into his pants. Nonetheless, she describes feeling "very normal" throughout her childhood. "A lot of

Karen Gravano was 10 years old when she first discovered her father might be a killer. She told "20/20" that she had stumbled into his bedroom to ask him permission to have a sleepover and saw him tuck a gun into his pants. Nonetheless, she describes feeling "very normal" throughout her childhood. "A lot of my friends' fathers, grandfathers, uncles, were involved in that lifestyle," she tells Nicki Swift. "So even though we were different, it was like my community was, we were all the same."

Back then, gangsters were well-respected in her Staten Island neighborhood, and it wasn't uncommon for someone to pick up her family's check when they went out to eat. They often got the best tables at restaurants, and it was especially normal for someone like John Gotti to attend her birthday parties, something that made her popular among her classmates. "I grew up on Staten Island, and a lot of people are connected to that lifestyle in one way or another and know someone," Karen explains. "So it wasn't so far-fetched, but definitely in the heyday, gangsters were looked at as movie stars. So there was a level of respect."

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