Gotti Trial Judge Gives Final Instructions to Jury

NEW YORK — John Gotti, sometimes smiling and sometimes bored, heard a federal judge give final instructions Tuesday to the jury that must decide if the “Dapper Don” is a murderous racketeer.

U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser stepped down from the bench and stood at a lectern in front of the jury as he explained the legal issues. He later told the jury to return to begin its deliberations at 9:30 a.m. EST today.

Gotti, 51, the reputed boss of the Gambino crime family, spoke with his attorneys on a couple of occasions.

Earlier in the day, Glasser dismissed one juror and chose an alternate to deliberate instead.

Glasser would not discuss the reasons for the juror’s dismissal, but said it was not because of misconduct by either the defense or prosecution.

The judge said he had questioned all the jurors Tuesday morning, but refused to discuss the topic and ordered the record of their conversations sealed.

On Monday, defense attorneys had demanded a mistrial after heatedly objecting to a remark by U.S. Atty. Andrew Maloney, who suggested the evidence might cause jurors to fear for their safety.

“If you accept the proof that this is the boss of a murderous, treacherous crime family, and his underboss, then you’d be less than human if you didn’t feel some concern,” Maloney said.

“There’s no place in this case for that statement . . . . It’s for one purpose, it’s to pollute this case,” complained John Mitchell, a member of the defense team. Maloney, he said, had purposefully thrown a “hand grenade” into the proceedings.

Since jury selection began 10 weeks ago, the anonymous jurors have been sequestered in hotels to prevent any possible bribe attempts or threats.

Gotti and his co-defendant, Frank Locascio, 59, were on trial in Brooklyn federal court accused of murders, loan sharking, gambling, tax fraud and other charges.

If convicted of the most serious charges, they would face life in prison.