John "Junior" Gotti moved closer to another victory over federal prosecutors Tuesday when the jury in his fourth racketeering trial said for a second time that it could not reach a unanimous verdict on racketeering and murder-related charges.
Gotti blew a kiss to his family as he entered U.S. District Court in Manhattan to hear U.S. District Judge Kevin P. Castel announce that the jury was deadlocked.
Gotti lawyer Charles Carnesi asked for an immediate mistrial, but Castel chose instead to read the jury a so-called Allen charge meant to prod the jurors toward a verdict.
"This trial has been conducted at considerable expense and human effort to both the government and the defendant," the judge told them. "If your deliberations do not end in a verdict, in all likelihood it would have to be tried again before another jury."
Prosecutors say Gotti, son of the late infamous mob boss, ordered or participated in several brutal attacks since the 1980s, including several murders.
Attorneys for Gotti say he quit the Mafia in 1999 and never participated in murders.
Gotti's three previous trials ended in hung juries.