"Junior" <--A Guido
Posted on 09/26/2005 2:27:01 PM PDT by Calpernia
The jailed son of late mob boss John Gotti neared freedom on Monday after a judge agreed to release him on $7 million bond, less than a week after declaring a mistrial on the bulk of his racketeering case.
Under bail conditions approved by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin, John A. ``Junior'' Gotti would be released from a federal lockup in lower Manhattan, but remain under house arrest in his home on Long Island until a possible retrial early next year.
Gotti, 41, was still in custody Monday as paperwork was finalized. His lawyers said he could be home with his wife and children as early as Tuesday.
``He's nervous,'' said defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman. ``He hasn't been out of prison in a long time.''
The judge set a Feb. 13 trial date and granted bail despite warnings by prosecutors that Gotti might try to tamper with witnesses if set free. But the judge predicted the scion of the Gambino organized crime family, who has been jailed since 1999, wouldn't run the risk.
``It strikes me that nobody is that stupid,'' she said at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan.
The judge declared a mistrial last week after a jury failed to reach a verdict on charges accusing Gotti of orchestrating a botched 1992 plot to kidnap Curtis Sliwa, a radio show host and founder of the Guardian Angels crime-fighting group, in retaliation for his on-air rants against the senior Gotti. He had faced a sentence of up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Sliwa _ who testified at trial about being shot by a masked gunman in a stolen taxi _ told reporters that granting Gotti bail sends the message that, ``the boss is back. ... It means I have to watch my back.''
In exchange for his release, Gotti will put up a $7 million bond secured in part by the $4.5 million Long Island mansion owned by his sister, Victoria, along with his mother's $715,000 home in Howard Beach, Queens. He also will be subject to electronic monitoring, random searches and other restrictions.
The defendant was indicted last year only two months before he was to finish a prison term for an earlier racketeering conviction. The judge had denied him bail last year, and prosecutors argued on Friday that he should remain behind bars because of evidence of enduring mob ties.
Gotti has claimed he quit the Gambinos after his 1999 conviction, and wants to lead a quiet life with his family.
``This is not the same John Gotti that he was in '92, or even in '99,'' Lichtman said.
Wonder how his family came up with all that money. The old man was, afterall, merely the owner of a small janitorial supplies company.
Gambinos, Luccheses, DiCavalcantes, Colombos, Bonnanos = Total Scumbags who will not be missed.
What does John Gotti, Jr., claim to do for a living?
I have to wonder about this case... even a dumb mobster isn't going to risk jail time over the rantings of a small time talkshow host.
Curtis Sliwa had better leave the leftist state of New York and buy a gun.
Oh lovely, now the 'Uncle' can make guest appearances on Growing Up Gotti. Hmmm... maybe it is off the air now. We can only hope. What scum.
How's Sammy doin' these days?
This is one reason why I moved from New York.
I wdon't miss it...
Judge Shira apparently doesn't know the criminal mind very well.
Guiliani is the only one who put a significant number of mobsters away.
I think of NY politics as intimately connected with the Mob.
An article in Esquire, a long time ago, said this guy Mario Cuomo was the public face of the Mob in NYC. I wonder what ever happened to him?
It's a fine, fine, day for a reunion.
he won't miss Silva this time. Sad.
Am I the only one that sees another f'n stoooooopid Gotti goombah reality show on the horizon?
I grew up one canal away from Carlo Gambino (interesting tidbit - Jerry Seinfeld lived four blocks away from him to the other side). A lot of guys I knew had heavy fathers. We didn't know that the rest of the country knew diddly about these guys until we got out in the world and realized that for the most part all folks knew was what Hollywood told them. We had to laugh at all the suddenly connected guys who came-out after the Godfather fantasy films.
Lowlife imbeciles the Victoria Gotti & sons are.
John Gotti, Sr. couldn't stand any one of them.
That being said, what matters is not how these lowlifes acted in terms of personality, but that they extorted legitimate businesses, flooded the outer boroughs with heroin after WWII, monopolized key food and construction supply routes thereby driving up the cost of living in the NY area, and let's not forget murder and arson, among other things.
Despite the fact that I named myself after a character in the Godfather, I have NO love for these morons. If there is a hell, may they all rot there.
My senior year of HS two guys had their fathers 'disappeared'. The family got cash payments and one of the guys got a job for life with the county.
"Junior" <--A Guido
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