Former mob target alleges Gotti 'vendetta'

NEW YORK, June 18 (UPI) -- Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa says alleged New York mob boss John "Junior" Gotti has a "vendetta" against him.

Slima, 55, who survived an attempted mob hit in 1992, claims Gotti, the suspected head of the Gambino crime family, threatened him during a courtroom confrontation Wednesday, the New York Post reported Thursday.

The anti-crime activist alleges after Gotti's routine pretrial conference, the reputed mobster told him in a hushed voice, "You're going down."

Slima admitted he responded to the perceived threat by launching his own verbal attack.

"When I flipped him the bird and said 'eff you,' he had that big demonic smile on his face," Sliwa told the Post. "He was eye-fornicating me."

Gotti is suspected of ordering the failed attempt on Sliwa, who had voiced opposition to Gotti's father, the late John "Dapper Don" Gotti, on his talk radio show.

"Obviously, for him this is a blood feud -- a vendetta," Sliwa said.