John “Junior” Gotti left Manhattan federal court a free man yesterday after a jury handed him his fourth mistrial in five years.
The jury deadlocked over the racketeering, murder and drug trafficking charges he faced. Gotti said he was looking forward to Christmas with family.
“You hear the name Gotti; what’s the picture in your mind?” he said of the jurors’ deadlock. “Can you distance yourself from that picture? It’s hard.”
Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa — who accuses Gotti of his attempted murder — wants prosecutors to try again. “I’m hoping he’ll follow in father’s footsteps, triple life without parole,” Sliwa said, referring to the late-Gambino crime family boss John J. Gotti.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said it was evaluating its next move.
“We’re no organized crime family,” Gotti’s sister Victoria said. “We’re a family. That’s all.”
Jurors said they were divided over Gotti’s claim that he retired from organized crime years ago.
“He should ride off to the sunset,” said juror Paul Peragine. “They can’t get a unanimous verdict.”
