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Judge won't delay mobster's murder trial

NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The New York murder trial of former mob boss Vincent Basciano will begin on March 2 with no more delays, a judge has ruled.

"This case is over 5 years old," U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis said Thursday. "… No further requests to postpone the trial date will be entertained."

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Basciano, the Bonnano family boss and a former New York hair salon owner known as "Vinny Gorgeous," is in solitary confinement in a Brooklyn federal detention center awaiting trial in the 2004 killing of mob associate Randolph Pizzolo, the New York Post reported. He already is serving life for a previous racketeering and murder conviction.

Last week, Garaufis ordered Basciano to stop sending him letters from jail, attempting to circumvent his own lawyers and make legal points directly to the judge.

"My death penalty case is right around the corner," Basciano wrote. "I want to be consulted about the very important issues and decisions that will ultimately affect my life."

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