NEW YORK, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- John A. Gotti will avoid the death penalty if convicted in the slayings of two men during alleged cocaine-trafficking turf wars, New York prosecutors said.
An indictment against Gotti was altered after consultation with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, prosecutors said Monday in a letter to Manhattan U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Castel.
No details were given as to why the indictment was changed, The New York Post reported Tuesday.
Gotti is charged with murder in the slayings of alleged drug traffickers George Grosso in 1988 and Bruce Gotterup in 1991, The New York Daily News reported Tuesday.
If convicted, Gotti now faces a maximum life sentence with a mandatory minimum of 20 years for each killing. Gotti was to be arraigned on the new indictment Tuesday. His trial is set to begin Sept. 14.
Gotti is the son of John Joseph Gotti Jr., the late boss of the Gambino crime family. Gotti died in prison in 2002 while serving time for racketeering, 13 murders, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling, extortion, tax evasion and loansharking.
