After reading this report, Mr. Gotti would fit right in in DC Politics.

Like they stated, after 4 times and no conviction, it's time the Prosecution give it up and get a life.

Weighing the Case for a Fifth Gotti Jr. Trial

Posted: 12/2/09 Prosecutors have tried, and tried, and tried. And tried again. But on Tuesday, John Gotti Jr. got off for the fourth time.

Following 11 days of deliberation, a federal judge in Manhattan declared a mistrial in Gotti's latest racketeering trial after the jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked. The previous three trials had also ended in mistrials when their juries failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

Now the question is: Will the U.S. attorney's office take a fifth stab at putting away the second-generation mobster?

In a statement, prosecutor Preet Bharara seemed to leave that possibility open.

"The inability of the jury to reach a verdict does not diminish the work of the many agents, prosecutors and staff who showed unyielding dedication and resolve in the investigation and prosecution of this case," he said. "We are evaluating how to proceed and, in the near future, will inform the court and the defense of our decision."

But while legally there's nothing to prevent another Gotti courtroom sequel, experts say that other considerations will influence the decision.

During the trial, as he has in his previous defenses, Gotti claimed he had retired from the mob and therefore couldn't have been part of an ongoing crime conspiracy involving the Gambino crime family. And as in his previous cases, that question split the jury. According to The New York Times, five of the jurors in his latest trial bought his retirement defense, leading to another deadlock.

In the latest trial, the U.S. attorney's office added to its previous cases against Gotti with a new charge: allegations that Gotti was involved in drug killings in 1988 and 1991.

But jurors deemed a key witness, confessed hit man John Alite, to be not credible.

Pointing to the steep hill prospectors would have to climb in putting together a case that succeeds where its high-profile predecessors have failed, one anonymous juror told the Times, "They should stop this now; it's ridiculous." Another added: "It's abusive. It's almost become a mockery."

That's exactly what some legal experts, who spoke while the jury was still deliberating, say should concern the U.S. attorney's office.

"I think eventually you have to walk away," said Anthony S. Barkow, executive director of the Center on Administration of Criminal Law at New York University School of Law.

Repeated unsuccessful trials risk damaging the legal system's reputation, noted Lawrence Kobilinsky, chairman of the Department of Sciences at New York's John Jay College: "The public could say, 'What's going on here? They can't prove the case, so why are they dragging it on and on?'"

Wally Piszczatowski, a former federal prosecutor turned defense attorney whose clients have included musicians Eminem and Marilyn Manson, believes there comes a point when prosecutors hit diminishing returns. "If you're not going to get them after two times, what makes you think you're going to get them after five?" he asked.

But Kobilinsky believes it could make sense to go for another trial if the government gathers fresh evidence or believes jurors have simply missed the point.

And indeed, there have been times when persistence has paid off for the feds. After three previous failures, federal prosecutors on the fourth try convicted Gotti's father, the boss of the Gambino crime family, on 14 counts that included murder, loan sharking and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to life in prison and died behind bars in 2002 at age 61.

"It's all based on the circumstances," said Kenneth Wainstein, a former U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. Repeated hung juries "might indicate you've got a real problem with the evidence. Or you could have [just] had a bad run of juries."