Results tagged “hungjury”

Federal prosecutors aiming to convict mob scion John Gotti Jr. came up short for the fourth time in five years when a deadlocked jury failed to reach a verdict. After more than a year behind bars, Gotti Jr. was released on $2 million bail yesterday and visited his mother in Howard Beach, Queens, before returning to his home in Oyster Bay, Long Island, the Post reports. "This is unbelievable, I can't put it into words. It's been a long fight," he said. When his mother joked that they should celebrate by going to Disney World, Gotti said he couldn't because he legally isn't allowed to leave the New York area: "I can't, it's out of my district."

A judge has declared a mistrial in the case against former Gambino boss John Gotti Jr — again. In its 11th day of deliberations, the deadlocked jury issued a note stating that they couldn't come to a consensus on any of the murder and racketeering charges against the mob scion, who claims he retired from organized crime in 1999.

One day after Judge Kevin Castel tried to broker peace between fighting jurors on the John Gotti, Jr. racketeering trial, the judge tried to sugarcoat the fragile peace... with Twizzlers. Yesterday Castel presented the jury with a big tub of the artificially-flavored twists, offering three reasons for the gift. One, "If you have a Twizzler in your mouth, you can't really have a serious conversation." (Yeah, that's the last thing you want on a jury.) Two, "If you're frustrated, you've got something to take your frustration out on." (Licorice whip!) And three, "They put you in a good mood." Looks like somebody's going to have to recuse himself from any Twizzler-related lawsuits from now on!

Juror 11 in the John Gotti, Jr. racketeering trial cannot stand Juror 7, and the enmity between the two has gotten so intense that legal experts think it could result in a hung jury—which would be the fourth time federal prosecutors have been derailed by the jury. Yesterday Judge Kevin Castel intervened to try and make peace, but Juror 11, who works as a city procurement-contract analyst, seems to be at the end of her rope.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the latest John Gotti Jr. racketeering trial was experiencing internal problems because of Juror No. 7, a woman who allegedly enjoys "being escorted for cigarette breaks" and is happy to not be at work. Today, the Post is saying that the federal prosecutors' case is now in jeopardy of its fourth hung jury because of Juror No. 7's antics.

After a judge declared a mistrial in the the animal cruelty case of a 205-pound man who killed a 7-pound cat, some of the jurors explained what happened during deliberations. The Post reported that "exhausted-looking" Shamsul Islam, Juror No. 11, said, "It was 11 to 1."

After five days of deliberations, the jurors in the animal cruelty trial of a man who killed his girlfriend's cat could not reach a verdict, so the judge ended the trial by declaring a hung jury. Joseph Petcka, 205 pounds, claimed that 7-pound, declawed cat Norman attacked him so he defended himself, but the prosecution contended that Petcka was jealous of the cat. The feline was fatally beaten and had multiple broken bones, broken teeth, a lacerated tongue and a chest full of blood (Petcka admitted he overreacted). The former minor league baseball player-turned-actor was facing up to 2 years in prison if found guilty (the jury had to determine whether there was justifiable reason for him to act this way).