Prosecutors: John A. (Junior) Gotti a massive cocaine trafficker
John A. (Junior) Gotti is a career crook who reveled in the vicious acts needed to protect his drug empire, prosecutors said Monday as the mobster's fourth trial wound down.
Prosecutor Jay Trezevant told jurors Gotti "built and ran a massive cocaine trafficking operation" and did "whatever was necessary" to keep it flourishing.
Despite his claims to have gone straight, Gotti "never never quit that life," Trezevant said.
He compared Gotti's main defense - that he left the mob in 1999 - to a balloon where "the smallest hole, one pin prick and it's gone." He said Gotti's claim to have left the mob was "complete nonsense...made up to escape prosecution."
Gotti's tempestuous mother was not in the courtroom for the government's summation, and sister Angel and brother Peter walked out as the prosecution began.
Sister Victoria Gotti stayed and listened, often with her head bowed.
Prosecutors hope it's the fourth time lucky after three previous attempts to put Gotti away ended in hung juries.
His father, Gambino boss John Gotti, who evaded conviction so many times he was dubbed "the Teflon Don," eventually died in prison in 2002.
Trezevant described Gotti as a wealthy kid who had plenty of other options besides a life of crime, but who chose to be a professional criminal. He embraced the violence needed to become an effective street thug, he said.
Trezevant reminded jurors of testimony that Gotti mocked the gutted Danny Silva as he lay dying on the bar in the Silver Fox restaurant with a Porky Pig imitation: "Th-th-th-that's all folks!"
Quietly and calmly, Trezevant led jurors through the career the government has pinned on Gotti as he morphed from street thug to Gambino soldier to Gambino captain to street boss.
Along the way were nine murders and five conspiracies to kill; six robberies and assaults on drug dealers; three kidnappings; extortion; bribery; money laundering and jury tampering.
In the afternoon, Gotti's defense took its turn. Gotti's wife, Kim Albanese, and his sisters Angel and Victoria, were on hand to watch.
Defense lawyer Charles Carnesi placed his podium in front of the jury and told the panel that "90% of this case" rests on the credibility of a single witness.
"Everything spins off John Alite," he said of Gotti's former best pal, star witness for the prosecution and an admitted liar and crook.
Carnesi reminded jurors that Alite pleaded guilty to so many crimes, including murders, that he couldn't keep track of them all and is now facing life in prison.
"How does he get out?" Carnesi asked the jurors. "All he has to do is add the tag line 'John told me.'... Those few words wash away a multitude of sins: 'oh, John told me.'"
Carnesi said jurors should remember that "truth is consistent and...not something for sale."
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