'Sammy The Bull' Gravano Freed From Prison Early

"Sammy The Bull" Gravano, the one-time underboss of the Gambino Crime Family who went from being a top government witness against his former colleagues to being sentenced to 20 years for running an ecstasy ring, is out of prison. Gravano was released on Monday.

"He's out, and he's working on re-acclimating," Gravano's lawyer, Thomas Farinella, told Patch. "He's been in prison for 17 and a half years. There's a lot to get used to. Right now his plan is to just soak things up."

Gravano, now 72, had settled in Arizona after a short stint in the federal witness protection program, where he went after testifying against his former boss, John Gotti, and dozens of others. In all, the feds said that Gravano helped put 39 mobsters behind bars, testifying in nine separate trials.

There was a lot of outrage when he was allowed to plead guilty and received just five years after having admitted taking part in 19 murders. (For more local news, subscribe to the Phoenix Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts).

But, out of prison in Arizona — and with a new name, Jimmy Moran, and some plastic surgery — Gravano seemed to be living life on the up and up, running a construction company in Tempe while his wife opened an Italian restaurant in Scottsdale, Uncle Sal's.

Things, though, were not as they seemed and in 2000, Gravano, along with his wife, Debra, and two children - Karen and Gerard - was charged with running an ecstasy ring in Arizona, said to be the largest in state history, putting 30,000 pills on the street every week and bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Prosecutors said that Gravano had joined the ring as a banker, which was run by his son Gerard and another man, Michael Papa, when it ran into financial trouble.

Papa ended up testifying against Gravano during his trial, saying he had been "in awe" of the mobster.

While Gravano had argued that Papa was actually the ring's leader and he had merely lent his son money, he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Gravano's arrest led to problems for his old crime family.

Gotti's brother, Peter, who had taken over the family after his brother's conviction, ordered mobsters to Arizona to kill Gravano.

Not only did they not succeed, Peter Gotti was indicted and convicted for the murder plot.

Gravano's daughter, Karen, who had pleaded guilty to charges associated with the ring and went on to become a reality television star in the show "Mob Wives," may have known her dad's release was coming.

Last month, on her Instagram account, she posted a photo of a watch with the caption, "Only a matter of time."

Gravano's lawyer, Farinella, tells Patch that his client is trying to figure out what his next step is.

"I can't say where he is or where he's going," Farinella said. "He's just taking it all in."

Photo courtesy Maricopa County Sheriff's Office via Getty Images News