FBI asked 'Sammy the Bull' if ex-Gambino mob prosecutor Comey knew meaning of '86': court filing
A recent FBI interview with a high-profile former mobster has shed new light on the federal case against former FBI Director James Comey. The conversation centers on whether Comey understood the slang term "86" to mean killing, a key point of contention in the threats charges he currently faces.
The Department of Justice indicted Comey in April on charges of threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. The prosecution hinges on an Instagram post Comey shared in May 2025, which displayed seashells arranged on a beach to spell out "8647." Federal prosecutors argue the numbers reference mob slang for killing and Trump as the 47th president.
To explore Comey's alleged familiarity with this slang, an FBI agent spoke with Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano by phone on May 8, 2026. Gravano, the former underboss of the Gambino crime family, had previously cooperated with the government during a 1990s trial that Comey led as a prosecutor. Details of the interview were revealed in a sworn affidavit from attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, which supports Comey's motions to dismiss the case.
During the call, Gravano stated his belief that Comey "had to know" what the term "86" meant in relation to killing. He explained that while the phrase generally means to "get rid of," to him, as a "gangster," it means "to kill." However, Gravano noted that he did not recall ever discussing the term directly with Comey, and a search of the Gambino case materials yielded no references to "86." Regarding the seashell post itself, Gravano interpreted it as a call for violence against the president, recalling the phrase "let's kill Trump," but he clarified that he did not believe the post threatened Comey personally carrying out the act.
Comey's defense is leveraging the FBI's interview with Gravano to challenge the notion that his prior prosecution of the Gambino family automatically equated to an understanding of mob slang. Meanwhile, the former director has maintained that he found the shells, did not arrange them, and removed the post quickly once he realized how it might be perceived.
In previous comments to MSNBC, Comey expressed his confusion over the interpretation, stating, "I don't see it the way some people are still saying it is, but again, I don't want any part of any violence. I've never been associated with violence, and so that's why I took it down." He also emphasized the artistic effort behind the display, saying, "I actually didn't think of it as political speech by me, but I thought, ‘What a clever way to express a political view.' The shells were the same color for each of the letters… It took a lot of work. Somebody with artistic flair did that, and I have a hard time believing it was anybody with a dark intention, and it certainly was no dark intention on my part or my spouse's part."
