Federal judge dismisses John Gotti cohort's efforts to undo conviction
An aging mob big shot who went to trial with notorious boss John Gotti cried foul because he never knew the judge’s son was a federal prosecutor.
But a Manhattan federal appeals court had no sympathy Friday and dismissed 85-year-old Frank "Frankie Loc" Locasio’s latest effort to undo his conviction at the epic trial.
The Gambino crime family cratered on the 1992 convictions of the no-longer Teflon Don and Locasio, the crime family’s acting underboss.
Brooklyn Federal Judge Leo Glasser presided over the proceedings — but 25 years later, Locasio said Glasser should have recused himself from the start.
Locasio argued Glasser should have revealed his son was an assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut at the time of the courtroom showdown.
This was no harmless omission, according to the wiseguy doing a life sentence. That’s because one of the racketeering charges partially had to do with Connecticut gambling operations.
Locasio ended up getting convicted on that racketeering charge, plus charges like murder, murder conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
The Manhattan 2nd Circuit decision said arguments for Glasser’s recusal “would in no way establish (Locasio’s) innocence.”
Three days before the dismissal, Locasio’s lawyer pressed the appellate panel to vacate the conviction and sentence.
Harlan Protass told the panel when Glasser saw the indictment’s reference to gambling in Connecticut, “that should have been flashing neon lights in his face.”
“Impugning the integrity of one of the most thoughtful and fair judges of this or any other generation should not be a means to reopen a case that this court has long closed,” James Gatta, the top prosecutor in the Brooklyn office’s criminal division, told the judges.
Locasio’s court papers acknowledged he didn’t have “specific evidence” that Glasser’s son knew about government probes into the crime family, or that he shared information with his father even if he did know what was happening.
James Glasser started with the Connecticut U.S. attorney’s office in 1988 and was there for 19 years before moving to private practice.
He couldn’t be reached for comment. His father — a federal judge for 36 years and a Brooklyn Law School dean and professor before that — declined to comment.
In 1990, Locasio and Gotti were arrested on a federal indictment. Another defendant, Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano, famously became a turncoat in the case. Locasio’s filing noted Glasser disqualified four defense lawyers from the Gotti case for conflicts of interest.
Gravano, 72, was released from prison last month after finishing a prison sentence for Ecstasy dealing. Gotti was 61 when he died of cancer in 2002.
“We are disappointed with the result and are evaluating our appeals options because we believe the court was wrong on the law,” Protass told the Daily News on Friday.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/gotti-mobster-fails-conviction-tossed-smearing-judge-article-1.3582405
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