Things are getting uglier among the 16 jurors in the racketeering and murder trial of John “Junior” Gotti — and experts say the feds could wind up with a fourth hung jury against the son of the Teflon Don.
Fellow jurors yesterday appeared to ostracize a young woman accused of creating a “hostile and uncomfortable environment” with her foul mouth and pro-defense attitude.
A man seated beside her swiveled his chair around and turned his back on Juror No. 7 during a lengthy delay in the afternoon’s proceedings. The rest of the jury chatted with each other, while No. 7, her normally broad smile replaced by a scowl, stared straight ahead and fiddled with a note pad.
These developments follow a letter sent to the judge by an anonymous juror complaining that No. 7 had called Gotti defense attorney Charles Carnesi “her man” and revealed that she wants to keep the trial going right through Christmas.
Judge Kevin Castel repeatedly tried to keep the mood cheerful — even telling the jurors twice that “life is good.” He also let them leave the Manhattan federal courthouse on their lunch break; they had mostly been confined to their 26th-floor jury room, a source said.
Before dismissing the jurors until Monday, the judge urged that they “relax,” “put the case and your jury service out of your mind,” and return “refreshed” next week.
But legal experts said a fourth hung jury was looking likelier and likelier.
“I think what you’re dealing with are personality conflicts,” said a former federal prosecutor. “Everyone’s got to keep an eye on this to avoid the possibility of another hung jury.”
And jury consultant Jo-Ellan Dimitrius said, “One of my biggest concerns would be that this juror, if she has indeed verbally voiced her admiration for the defense attorney, is not listening to the evidence presented.”