One juror in the John “Junior” Gotti racketeering trial put it succinctly on Tuesday after the jury was hopelessly deadlocked and the judge declared a mistrial.
“The evidence was just not there to prosecute the guy,” said one of the jurors, who remained anonymous, according to the New York Times.
A group of jurors also said the government should not try to prosecute Gotti again.
The government said Tuesday that it had not yet decided whether to go for a fifth trial. This was Gotti’s fourth. The other three, just like this one, ended in mistrials after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision.
Four jurors met with reporters Tuesday after the mistrial was declared and talked about the flaws in the government’s case.
The four jurors said they seemed to buy Gotti’s defense that he had withdrawn from the mob long ago, according to the New York Times.
“The jurors said that of the 12 people on the panel, 6 did not believe that Mr. Gotti quit the mob, 5 did believe him and one remained undecided,” the Times reported.
The group also said they did believe John Alite, the government’s key witness, who is a “confessed hit man and a former member of Mr. Gotti’s crew,” the Times reported.
The jurors said the government should quit trying to put Gotti behind bars.
“They should stop this now — it’s ridiculous,” said one of the jurors, a middle-aged man, according to the Times. Another juror, a woman, said of the prosecution: “It’s abusive. It’s almost become a mockery.”
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