"I never put my arms around John Gotti, Al Capone or Lucky Luciano"
About this Quote
The phrasing matters. “Put my arms around” is intimate, physical, photographic - the language of gala snapshots, backroom handshakes, and those one-frame “see, they knew each other” scandals. Stack doesn’t deny meeting shady people; he denies the image. He’s defending against the camera’s power to imply endorsement. In the entertainment ecosystem, a posed embrace can read as loyalty, or at least comfort with corruption.
Contextually, Stack’s persona makes the line sharper. As the authoritative host of Unsolved Mysteries - a face associated with public safety, civic virtue, and the performance of credibility - he had more to lose from even joking adjacency to mob folklore. The quote functions as brand management, but it’s also a small protest against how American culture packages criminals: we love the stories, the suits, the swagger, then act surprised when the glamour spills onto everyone nearby. Stack draws a boundary between narrating the legend and being absorbed by it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Stack, Robert. (2026, January 15). I never put my arms around John Gotti, Al Capone or Lucky Luciano. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-never-put-my-arms-around-john-gotti-al-capone-159369/
Chicago Style
Stack, Robert. "I never put my arms around John Gotti, Al Capone or Lucky Luciano." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-never-put-my-arms-around-john-gotti-al-capone-159369/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I never put my arms around John Gotti, Al Capone or Lucky Luciano." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-never-put-my-arms-around-john-gotti-al-capone-159369/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.





