NEW YORK -- After years of dodging the law, John Gotti was convicted Thursday of being the boss of the nation's richest and most powerful organized crime family -- a verdict that will put him behind bars for life.
Gotti, 51, dubbed the 'Teflon Don' for his past success in sidestepping conviction, was found guilty of five murders, including the gangland rubout of his predecessor as head of the Gambino organized crime family, Paul Castellano, whose slaying lay at the heart of the prosecution's case.
Prosecutors won convictions on all 13 counts contained in the racketeering indictment, including the five murders, murder conspiracy, gambling, loan-sharking and obstruction of justice.
Gotti's co-defendant, Frank Locascio, was found guilty of one of the murders and most of the other charges.
'Justice has been served and it feels great,' said U.S. Attorney Andrew Maloney, who personally delivered the government's opening and closing remarks during the trial.
'The Teflon don is gone and the don is covered in Velcro and every charge in the indictment stuck,' said James Fox, assistant FBI director in New York.
'We can call him the boss of the Gambino crime family -- not the 'alleged' boss of the Gambino crime family,' he said.
Fox called the trial 'the most important crossroads we have faced in the fight against organized crime in New York City.'
'If John Gotti was acquitted, I thought it would give a shot in the arm to organized crime in the United States and John Gotti would achieve a status that not even Al Capone or others in the past had achieved,' he said.
His conviction signals 'the death knell of organized crime,' Fox said, adding, 'The mob is on the way out.'
The five women and seven men on the jury in federal court in Brooklyn deliberated only a day and a half before reaching a verdict.
As it was read, Gotti leaned over and whispered to one of the three lawyers who formed the defense team.
Afterward, the attorney, John Mitchell, said, 'Mr. Gotti took the opportunity to console me. He said, 'Don't worry. The fight's not over. ''
'Mr. Gotti is one of the most extraordinary persons I've ever met,' said the mob boss's lawyer, Albert Krieger. 'He was and is a pillar of support to three lawyers here. He's an inspiration.'
Krieger said he would appeal the conviction. 'I think if he got a fair trial, he would have been acquited,' he said.
Gotti and Locascio went on trial Feb. 12.
Prosecutors were confident that the case was strong enough to finally nail Gotti, who won acquittals in three previous case, including a 1987 federal racketeering case in the same Brooklyn courthouse.
He and Locascio now face life in prison when they are sentenced, scheduled for June 23.
Security was tight in the courtroom, and jurors had been sequestered in an undisclosed hotel and identified only by number since being chosen from an original pool of more than 500.
As the forewoman repeated the word 'guilty,' Gotti put his finger to his lips to silence friends and cohorts sitting in the courtroom's spectator benches.
'Real strong, proud Americans, those jurors,' said FBI agent Bill Doran.
The government's star witness in the case was Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano, Gotti's right-hand-man turned informant, who spent days on the stand describing mob murders and betrayals.
The jury also heard hours of FBI tapes made from bugs of Gotti's Little Italy headquarters in which his voice was heard discussing Mafia rubouts and mob business.
In his first day on the stand, Gravano identified Gotti as the head of the Gambino crime family, himself as its underboss, and Locascio as the family's 'consigiliere,' or counselor.
The mob turncoat also testified how he and Gotti were parked down the block from the Manhattan steakhouse on Dec. 16, 1985, where Castellano and his driver were gunned down by four mobsters Gravano said were dressed in white trenchcoats and black Russian hats.
Gravano said he and Gotti then drove by the scene, peering through their car windows at the bullet-riddled bodies before driving off. Within days, Gotti took over as family boss.
The barrel-chested, gravel-voiced Gravano confessed to 19 murders in exchange for a sentence of 20 years in prison and his testimony against his former colleagues. This was the first of several trials in which Gravano was expected to appear as a witness.
Through days of tenacious defense cross-examination, in which defense lawyers ridiculed Gravano's version of the Castellano slaying and his plea agreement with the government, Gravano stuck to his story, blaming his life as a cold-blooded killer on a bad environment in his childhood.
In their brief deliberations, the jurors only listened to four tapes played during the trial.
One tape from 1989 revealed why Gambino members decided Castellano had to be killed.
Said Gotti of Castellano: 'He felt he had to hit me first.'
The government maintained, and the jury believed, that Gotti moved first.
Gotti was found guilty of 11 racketeering acts, including the gangland rubout of Castellano, four other murders, murder conspiracy, gambling, loan-sharking and obstruction of justice.
His co-defendant, Frank Locascio, was found guilty on one of the murders and most of the same acts.
The five women and five men deliberated only 1 days before bringing in their verdict during the lunch hour, causing a mad scramble of lawyers and reporters back to the courtroom.
When he heard the verdict, Gotti stood and smiled, shot his cuffs, spread his hands and smiled, as if to say, 'That's it.'NEWLN: more
Gotti and Locascio went on trial Feb. 12 in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn in a case prosecutors said was good enough to put the 'Teflon Don' behind bars for life.
In three previous trials, Gotti was acquitted, including another federal racketeering case in 1987 in the same Brooklyn courthouse, earning him the nickname 'Teflon Don.' He and Locascio now face life in prison when they are sentenced, scheduled for June 23.
Security was tight in the courtroom, and jurors had been sequestered in an undisclosed hotel and identified only by number since being chosen from an original pool of more than 500.
After U.S. District Court Judge I. Leo Glasser announced the jury had a decision, the forewoman stood and answered questions put to her by the deputy, who read the verdict sheet.
'Proved, proved, proved, proved,' she repeated as the deputy read through the 13-count indictment. For the racketeering counts, she said, 'Guilty, guilty, guilty.'
Albert Krieger, Gotti's attorney, sat with his head down, eyes fixed on the verdict sheet. Gotti turned and made a remark to John Mitchell, an attorney for Locascio, who sat back in his chair with his hands folded.
There was no reaction from the team of three defense lawyers when the verdict was read. Said Anthony Cardinale, Locascio's co-counsel, 'What can you do?'
'Real strong, proud Americans, those jurors,' said FBI agent Bill Doran, who added that he felt 'wonderful' finally winning a conviction against Gotti.
The government's star witness in the case was Salvatore 'Sammy the Bull' Gravano, Gotti's right-hand-man turned informant, who spent days on the stand describing mob murders and betrayals.NEWLN: The jury also heard hours of FBI tapes made from bugs of Mafia headquarters in which Gotti's voice could be heard discussing Mafia rubouts and mob business. more
xxx mob business.
In his first day on the stand, Gravano identified Gotti as the head of the nation's most powerful organized crime family, himself as his underboss, and Locascio as the family's 'consigiliere,' or counselor.
The mob turncoat also testified how he and Gotti were parked down the block from the Manhattan steakhouse on Dec. 16, 1985, where Castellano and his driver were gunned down by four mobsters Gravano said were dressed in white trenchcoats and black Russian hats.
Gravano said he and Gotti then drove by the scene, peering through their car windows at the bullet-riddled bodies before driving off. Within days, Gotti took over as boss of the crime family, the nation's richest and most powerful.
The barrel-chested, gravel-voiced Gravano confessed to 19 murders in exchange for a sentence of 20 years in prison and his testimony against his former colleagues. This was the first of several trials in which Gravano was expected to appear as a witness.
Through days of tenacious defense cross-examination, Gravano stuck to his story, blaming his life as a cold-blooded killer on a bad environment during his childhood.
In their brief deliberations, the jurors only listened to four tapes played during the trial.
One tape from 1989 revealed why Gambino members decided Castellano had to be killed.
Said Gotti of Castellano: 'He felt he had to hit me first.'
The government maintained that Gotti moved first.
