Judge Declares Mistrial in John Gotti, Jr. Case

John "Junior" Gotti leaves Manhattan federal court in New York after his third trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 27, 20...

View Full Caption

AP Photo/Louis Lanzano

By Nicole Bode

DNAinfo Associate Editor

CIVIC CENTER — Like father, like son.

John Gotti Jr., the son of the legendary mob boss known as the “Teflon Don,” beat the rap for the fourth time after a federal judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the face of a deadlocked jury.

The latest mistrial puts Gotti Jr. ahead of his father in the number of times he bested the prosecution. John Gotti Sr. was convicted of murder and racketeering charges during his fourth trial in 1992. He died in prison.

"Just let it go. We're no organized crime family. We're a family. That's all we are," Gotti's sister Victoria Gotti told reporters outside the courtroom.

"We're ravaged. We're beaten down, but we're not broken," she added.

Gotti Jr's jury spent 11 days in unsuccessful deliberations — breaking for the Thanksgiving holiday — before Federal Judge Kevin Castel agreed to let them off the racketeering case.

Gotti sobbed and his family applauded as the decision was announced. He remained incarcerated, pending a bail hearing later Tuesday. It was unclear whether prosecutors would attempt to re-try the case in light of the latest stinging defeat, but experts declared it unlikely.

Gotti's previous three trials were also declared mistrials because of hung juries.

Gotti was charged with conspiracy, multiple counts of murder and drug trafficking dating back to the 1980s. He denied the charges, saying he quit the mob long before the alleged crimes took place.

That was the same defense that Gotti used to deflect conviction in his previous trials.

Throughout the 11-week trial, the alleged Gambino crime family boss engaged in a host of bizarre and unsanctioned behavior, including several days of refusing to enter in the courtroom and other days in which he tried to chat up the jurors.

Jurors warned the judge before Thanksgiving that they were unable to reach a verdict on any of the charges. They sent the Judge another note around 3 p.m. Tuesday that read:

"Judge Castel, we cannot reach a unanimous decision on any count. We are deadlocked. There is not one member of the jury who believes that we can reach a unanimous verdict on any count," 1010 Wins reported.