NEW YORK - The federal government announced yesterday that it has decided not to seek a fifth racketeering trial against John “Junior’’ Gotti.
US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement: “In light of the circumstances, the government has decided not to proceed with the prosecution of John A. Gotti.’’ The prosecutor said the trial judge had approved the request.
On Dec. 1, the fourth trial for Gotti in five years ended with a deadlocked jury so evenly divided after 11 days of deliberations that authorities said privately that it was unlikely that prosecutors would proceed.
Gotti, the son of the notorious Gambino crime family boss, has been free on $2 million bail.
Gotti has insisted he left organized crime in the late 1990s.
Seth Ginsberg, one of his lawyers, called it the right decision and said, “I hope that they stick to it this time and let John and his family be at peace.’’
Three trials in 2005 and 2006 also had ended in hung juries, after the government accused Gotti of ordering a kidnapping and the attempted murder plot against Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
