Former Gambino underboss Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano told an FBI agent that James Comey “had to know” the term “86” could refer to killing, but said he could not recall ever discussing that meaning with Comey, according to a court filing in the former FBI director’s federal threat case.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
FBI investigators turned to former Gambino crime family underboss Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano while examining whether former FBI Director James Comey understood “86” as mob terminology for killing when he posted an image of seashells spelling “8647,” according to court documents.
Gravano told an FBI case agent in May that Comey “had to know” what the term meant in that context, Fox News reported, citing a sworn affidavit filed by Comey attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in support of motions seeking dismissal of the case.
Comey is facing federal charges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Eastern Division, stemming from the May 2025 Instagram post.
Federal prosecutors allege the image, which showed seashells arranged to form “8647,” constituted a threat against President Donald Trump. Their theory is that “86” can be slang for killing or eliminating someone and “47” referred to Trump as the 47th president.
The Justice Department charged Comey in April with threatening the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
Comey has denied intending a violent message.
The FBI’s decision to speak with Gravano was connected to Comey’s past work as a federal prosecutor. Comey served as the lead prosecutor in United States v. John Gambino et al. during the 1990s, and Gravano was among the cooperating witnesses associated with the Gambino prosecution.
“On May 8, 2026, the case agent had a telephone conversation with Salvatore ‘Sammy the Bull’ Gravano, the former Gambino crime family underboss who was one of the cooperating witnesses at the United States v. John Gambino trial,” the affidavit, filed last month, reads.
According to the filing, Gravano offered his assessment even before the formal interview took place.
“During the telephone conversation to discuss the logistics of his forthcoming interview, Mr. Gravano stated his belief that Mr. Comey had to know what the term ’86’ meant ‘as it related to killing someone,’” the court documents say.
Comey’s defense, however, cited other portions of the Gravano interview to challenge prosecutors’ apparent contention that Comey’s experience prosecuting organized crime established that he understood “86” as a reference to murder.
Gravano acknowledged that he did not remember ever discussing the term with Comey.
The filing further states that FBI searches through materials from the Gambino prosecution did not uncover references to “86.”
During a subsequent recorded interview lasting approximately 25 minutes, Gravano explained that his own interpretation of the expression depended on context.
“During the recorded interview, which lasted 25 minutes, Gravano said that ’86’ generally means to ‘get rid of’ and to him, as a ‘gangster,’ it means ‘to kill,’” the affidavit said.
Gravano also told investigators he interpreted the seashell image as encouraging violence against Trump, according to the filing.
But he did not characterize the post as Comey personally threatening to carry out an attack.
“While Gravano claimed that the post was a call for violence against President Trump (‘let’s kill Trump’), Gravano did not claim Mr. Comey’s seashell post to be a statement threatening that Mr. Comey would personally kill President Trump,” the affidavit read.
That distinction could become important as Comey’s attorneys challenge whether the post satisfies the elements required for the federal threat charges.
Comey has maintained that he did not arrange the shells himself and came across the display rather than creating it.
He has also said he did not understand the numbers as conveying a violent message when he photographed and posted them.
Comey removed the image shortly after its publication when controversy erupted over interpretations of “8647.”
“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,” Comey told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace in May 2025.
Comey said at the time that he viewed the display as a creative political message rather than something threatening.
“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,” he said.
The newly disclosed Gravano interview presents evidence that cuts in both directions for the pending case.
Gravano told the FBI that, based on Comey’s background, he believed the former prosecutor should have understood the potentially lethal meaning of “86.” At the same time, Gravano could not recall discussing that terminology with Comey, and investigators reportedly found no use of the term in the Gambino prosecution records they reviewed.
Comey’s attorneys are relying on those details as they seek dismissal of the charges and challenge the government’s attempt to establish that Comey knowingly transmitted a threat against Trump.
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