Another Mistrial Declared for Gotti Junior!
His dad was "Teflon" but Junior’s more like the "Deadlock Don."
A weary but jubilant John "Junior" Gotti walked free yesterday after a deeply divided jury failed to reach a verdict at his fourth racketeering trial in five years.
Gotti, 45, gazed at the ceiling and blinked back tears of relief as Manhattan federal Judge Kevin Castel declared a mistrial on the 11th grueling day of deliberations.
Shortly afterward, the judge sprung Gotti on $2 million bail and allowed him to return to the Oyster Bay home he shares with his wife Kim and six kids.
Prosecutors have the option of trying him a fifth time, but said they have not decided on how to proceed. Law enforcement sources said another prosecution is unlikely.
John "Junior" Gotti, center, smiles as he leaves Federal Court in New York after the jury in his fourth trial deadlocked after 11 days of deliberation.
"There’s a very good chance, thank God, I’m going to have a happy and healthy Christmas," Gotti said, adding that he would invite the jury to join his family holiday. "They’re the most courageous people I’ve ever seen."
Gotti’s father, the late Gambino boss John "Teflon Don" Gotti, beat three cases before he was finally convicted in 1992 and sentenced to die behind bars.
Three jurors hugged Gotti’s family members outside the courthouse and several agreed this trial should be his last.
"They should just stop this. It’s abusive," said Paul Peragine, a lawyer identified as Juror No. 9. "He’s not an angel, but they can’t prove it. They can’t get a jury to agree on it."
Lead prosecutor Elie Honig shook Gotti’s hand and wished him "Good luck with your family," after signing his bond.
Yesterday’s long-expected mistrial came after the weary jury sent out its third deadlock note, saying: "We cannot reach a unanimous decision on any count."
"I’m overwhelmed. There’s no winners here, there’s only losers," said Gotti’s sister Victoria, who sobbed in the hallway after the verdict. "We’re ravaged. We’re beaten down, but we’re not broken."
The panel reported a 6-5 split in favor of conviction on racketeering conspiracy, with one juror undecided, a 7-5 vote in favor of conviction on one murder charge and a 6-5 tally in favor of acquittal on a second slaying, with one juror undecided.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, "We are evaluating how to proceed and, in the near future, will inform the court and the defense of our decision." The judge set the next court date for Jan. 22.
The family matriarch, who like her daughter is named Victoria, was not in court and got the news via email.
"I was ecstatic. It was winning the lottery. A miracle," said Victoria Gotti, who made a scene at the start of jury deliberations when she launched into a profanity-riddled tirade. "I hope they will just leave him alone and I want him to get out of New York."
At the first three trials, prosecutors accused Gotti of orchestrating the kidnapping and attempted murder of Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa and a slew of extortion charges.
Sliwa said yesterday, "Clearly this retirement defense has again confused a jury into thinking that he can be exonerated for all his past sins that he supposedly retired as an enemy of society —I know different."
For this latest case, the feds brought a new indictment charging Gotti with running a multimillion-dollar drug business and gleefully carrying out a string of killings in the 1980s and 1990s as he climbed the ranks to inherit his father’s throne.
During all four trials, Junior’s lawyers admitted he ran the crime family for his dad, but claimed he quit the Gambino crime family in1999 to focus on being a good parent for his own children.
Jurors said six members of the panel didn’t buy the defense, while five did and one remained undecided.
One thing all 12 jurors could agree on - they didn’t believe the feds’ star witness, John Alite, who claimed he ran a massive cocaine racket for Junior and killed on his command.
"The whole jury agreed that he wasn’t credible," said Juror No. 5, a software exec who identified himself only as Mark.
During the trial, Gotti exploded in anger at his former pal and called the mob turncoat a "punk" and a "dog" during a stunning courtroom confrontation out of the earshot of the jury.
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