Sparks Steak House is a steakhouse restaurant in New York City, located at 210 East 46th Street (between Second and Third avenues) in Midtown Manhattan.

After some childhood illnesses at the age of three, he and his mother traveled by ship to the United States through Ellis Island, joining his father in Brooklyn, New York.

The family owned a neighborhood "Mom and Pop Supermarket," where Michael quickly learned about food preparation and the butchering of meats.

Sparks Steak House has consistently been recognized for excellence, including receiving Wine Spectator Magazine's prestigious Grand Award for 23 consecutive years.

“It was daring in the sense that it was done in Manhattan, in the Christmas season, early in the evening,” noted Howard Blum, author of *Gangland: How the FBI Broke the Mob*.

Known for his imposing presence and strict leadership, Castellano had recently issued an edict prohibiting family members from trading drugs, fearing increased federal scrutiny.

However, Gotti, a rising member of the Gambino family, defied this order and continued his heroin operations, eventually drawing Castellano’s ire.

Key to the conviction was testimony from Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, a former Gambino member who revealed details of the assassination, including the use of walkie-talkies to coordinate the hit and his presence alongside Gotti in the car during the murder.

The assassination of Castellano and Bilotti outside Sparks Steak House remains one of the most infamous mob hits in American history, cementing the restaurant’s place in Mafia lore.