Thomas Bilotti, 45, was shot dead on December 16, 1985, on East 46th Street outside Sparks Steak House in Midtown Manhattan. Riding as the driver and close bodyguard for Gambino boss Paul Castellano, Bilotti was killed in a public, rapid ambush that also killed Castellano; the attack has been described as a planned mob hit tied to an internal power struggle.

Contemporaneous accounts describe a small team of gunmen who approached as the limousine stopped; witnesses reported the assailants in trench coats and fur hats, moving quickly down the sidewalk and opening fire. Later law-enforcement narratives linked the plot to John Gotti and associates including Salvatore Gravano and Frank DeCicco. Some men widely suspected of being on the sidewalk that night — for example John Carneglia and Salvatore Scala — were identified in later reporting, though not all were charged specifically for the Sparks murders.

A federal racketeering case brought against Gotti in December 1990 included the murders of Castellano and Bilotti as predicate acts; court records show convictions in April 1992 that assigned responsibility for those killings to the conspiracy. Are there details about that day or the people present that readers can add or clarify?