Gotti Jury Deadlocked
They’re deadlocked – again.
Jurors deciding the fate of reputed mob boss John "Junior" Gotti told a judge today that they are "unable to reach a unanimous verdict," but agreed to give it another try.
After the note came in from the jury around 3 p.m., Gotti’s lawyers immediately asked Judge Kevin Castel to declare a mistrial.
As the defense and prosecution teams reassembled in the courtroom, Gotti blew a kiss to his supporters. Tense and weary jurors came in with their heads down.
The deadlock marked the second time the jury has reached an impasse.
"This trial has been conducted at considerable expense and human effort to both the government and the defendant," the judge told them. "If your deliberations do not end in a verdict, in all likelihood it would have to be tried again before another jury."
Jurors apparently took the charge to heart, agreeing to deliberate for a half-day tomorrow and then again on Tuesday, after one of the panel members returns from a holiday vacation.
Before Castel sent them home for the day, jurors sent out two more notes, one requesting the half-day session and another asking for transcripts of testimony from seven witnesses.
Last week, jury members told Castel that they were deadlocked, raising the prospect of a fourth Gotti mistrial, but the judge urged them to continue deliberations until they reached a unanimous verdict.
Prosecutors have accused Gotti, 45, of directing a kidnapping and attempted murder plot against Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, as well as several gangland murders dating to the 1980s.
Gotti, the son of larger-than-life mob boss John Gotti, maintains he retired from organized crime in 1999, and that turncoat mobsters are telling lies on him in exchange for lighter sentences.
Four jurors were dismissed before the jury went to deliberations. Gotti’s three previous trials ended in hung juries.
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