Gotti's 'Ma' in court outburst
Former mob boss's widow unleashes tirade of profanity at son's trial
Victoria Gotti pictured outside Manhattan Federal court two years ago when her son was granted bail. Photo: Getty Images
Friday November 06 2009
THE trial of John 'Junior' Gotti was reminded that even Mafia bosses have loving 'moms' when the defendant's mother unleashed a profanity-riddled tirade in court.
As her embarrassed son tried to quieten her, Victoria Gotti interrupted his racketeering trial in New York this week while the judge was dismissing two warring jurors who might have produced a hung jury.
Mrs Gotti leapt to her feet behind the defence bench and pointed at District Judge Kevin Castel and prosecutors. She screamed: "This is a railroad job! Enough now! Enough!"
The widow of one of America's most notorious Mafiosi continued: "F****** animals! They're railroading you! They're doing to you what they did to your father!"
The 45-year-old defendant tried to interrupt her. "OK, mother! Ma, please," he said. "I can deal with it."
However, Mrs Gotti -- whose late husband John 'Dapper Don' Gotti Senior died in prison in 2002 -- kept going. "They're the gangsters, right there!" she shouted, pointing at the judge and prosecutors.
"The f****** gangsters! You son of b******! Put your own sons in there. You b*******!"
Mrs Gotti, who has had two strokes, has a history of courtroom outbursts. She was ushered out of court by her two daughters, Victoria and Angel, after the family were surrounded by security officers.
She was hustled into a lift outside the 26th floor courtroom. The word "liars" could still be heard as the doors closed. It was not the first time the Gotti family provided unsanctioned opinions in the trial. Mrs Gotti shouted at the judge that prosecutors were trying to "hang" her son during a pretrial hearing in May.
During a lunch break last month, Mr Gotti Jnr denounced a prosecution witness as a "dog" and a "punk". Prosecutors claimed that the defendant also mouthed the words "I'll kill you" at the other man.
The latest incident occurred near the end of a trial during which jurors complained about each other's behaviour.
The judge tried to sooth jury tensions, even giving them a jar of sweets, but dismissed two members after they failed to resolve their differences. Before the trial began, seven jurors asked to be relieved of duty.
The trial, in which Mr Gotti Jnr denies charges of racketeering and two murders, is his fourth in five years. The first three ended in hung juries and mistrials.
Mr Gotti, the heir to the Gambino family, once New York's most powerful Mafia clan, was jailed before over his involvement in organised crime. He claims he left the Mafia in 1991.
The trial continues. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Tom Leonard in New York
Irish Independent
