John Gotti's Little Italy hangout is now Club Fed. The Ravenite Social Club, where the don of the Gambino family held court while government bugs recorded every word, was seized this week by federal marshals. The well-orchestrated hit on the Mulberry Street club closes a colorful chapter in Mafia history. The five-story brick building, with its ground-floor club, had been an organized crime hot spot since its 1926 founding. U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser signed an order two weeks ago ordering the building forfeited because Gotti had used it as headquarters for his band of made men. Eight marshals arrived Wednesday to announce there was a new landlord replacing the old owner, reputed Gambino family member Joseph "Joe the Cat" LaForte. The Ravenite and its upstairs apartments will be put up for sale. The Ravenite dates to the Mafia's earliest days in the United States. Mafiosi founded it as the Alto Knights Social Club, where mobsters like Lucky Luciano came to sip espresso and talk business. Carlo Gambino, the mob boss whose crime family still bears his name, renamed the club in 1957, paying homage to his favorite poem, Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. Gambino's underboss, Aniello "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce, took control of the newly named Ravenite. Dellacroce, who died in 1985, introduced an up-and-coming mobster to the club: his protege, John Gotti. After Gotti ordered the 1985 killing of Gambino boss "Big Paul" Castellano, FBI surveillance of the Ravenite confirmed the "Dapper Don's" ascension. After the hit, Gambino family members lined up at the club to show their respect for the new boss _ Gotti. After being acquitted of assault in 1990, Gotti celebrated at the Ravenite, where he was greeted with cheers and kisses. When he was convicted of murder and racketeering two years later, the Ravenite's front windows held a pair of yellow ribbons in his honor. Gotti's memories of the Ravenite are at best bittersweet. It was there that government bugs recorded his conversations with consigliere Frank "Frankie Locs" Locascio and Sammy "The Bull" Gravano _ tapes that doomed him to life behind bars. On the recordings, Gotti showed his violent streak: "You tell this punk, I, me, John Gotti, will sever your head off!" He offered his critique of lawyers: "They're overpriced, overpaid and ... underperformed." And he demonstrated that even a mob boss can have simple tastes: "All I want is a good sandwich. . . . This tuna sandwich? That's all I want _ a good sandwich."