By Philip Newman
Free at last. Free at last. John Gotti Jr. is once again free at last.
Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has announced that his office was through prosecuting Gotti after his fourth hung jury since 2004. Bharara said that on his watch there would be no fifth trial for Gotti.
“In light of the circumstances, the government has decided not to proceed with the prosecution against John A. Gotti,” Bharara said. “Today we submitted a proposed order of ‘nolle prosequi’ [Latin for ‘will not pursue’] to the court. The order has been approved by the presiding United States district judge and thus the prosecution of the case has ended.”
After the third trial, the U.S. attorney announced the same thing — no more trials for Gotti. But that was a different U.S. attorney and a different administration in Washington, D.C.
Since Gotti has never been acquitted of racketeering and other crimes with which he was charged, trying him again and again does not amount to double jeopardy, which is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.
So Gotti has no guarantee that he will never again spend time in court.
When notified at his home at Oyster Bay Cove, L.I., he was “thrilled,” according to his attorney, Charles Carnesi, who represented him in three of the trials. The family home of the late John Gotti Sr. is in Howard Beach.
Carnesi said any further trials would be a waste of time and the taxpayers’ money. After the last trial ended in a deadlock, several jurors told reporters Gotti should not be tried again on the same charges.
The 45-year-old Gotti each time was tried on charges of racketeering, which includes loan sharking, extortion, fraud, money laundering, bribery, obstructing justice and murder-for-hire. In his most recent trial, which ended Dec. 1, federal prosecutors had added three charges of murder of drug dealers.
Gotti’s defense had centered on the premise that he had been chief of the Gambino crime family after his father, John Gotti Sr. — who died after he was convicted and imprisoned for life — but that he turned away from a life of crime in 1999.
Court analysts suggested that at least some jurors may have doubted the veracity of a parade of prosecution witnesses brought to court from prison.
The latest jury deliberated 11 days with no more than half inclining toward convicting Gotti.
During the trial, Carnesi said his client was hit hard by the death of his father, who died “far from his family” and at that point decided to leave behind the life he led.
Gotti and his wife, Kim, who have six children, have spoken of perhaps moving away from the New York City area.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 136.
