Former Gambino underboss tells FBI former director likely understood mob slang in Instagram post
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In a May 2026 interview, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano said former FBI director James Comey “had to know” that the term “86” is mob slang for killing, a point the defense plans to use in Comey’s pending federal case.
The FBI interviewed Salvatore Gravano, a former underboss of the Gambino crime family, about former FBI director James Comey’s familiarity with the slang term “86.” In a May 2026 phone call, Gravano told a case agent that Comey “had to know” the meaning of the term as it relates to killing, according to an affidavit filed by Comey’s lawyer.
The statement comes as Comey faces two federal charges – threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce – for a May 2025 Instagram post that displayed seashells spelling “8647.” Prosecutors allege the “86” portion references the mob slang for killing and “47” refers to Donald Trump as the 47th president.
Gravano’s interview, recorded for 25 minutes, included his description that “86” generally means “to get rid of” and, in gangster parlance, “to kill.” He added that he believes the post was a call for violence against President Trump, though he did not say the post indicated Comey would personally carry out such violence.
Comey has maintained that he did not arrange the seashell display, did not intend any violent message, and removed the post after it was posted. He told MSNBC that he saw the arrangement as a “clever way to express a political view” and denied any association with violence.
The defense plans to cite Gravano’s testimony to argue that Comey’s prior prosecution of Gambino family members does not prove he understood the slang in a threatening sense. The affidavit also notes that a review of Gambino case files found no reference to “86.”