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Judge Grants Motion To Move Gotti Trial To New York

Associated Press file photo

John Gotti, right, walks out of the federal courthouse in White Plains, N.Y., with his attorney, Charles Carnesi.

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 2, 2008

Updated: 12/02/2008 01:58 pm

TAMPA - A federal judge has granted a motion by attorneys for John "Junior" Gotti to transfer his racketeering case to New York, saying allowing the case to proceed in Florida "stands athwart the manifest interests of justice."

Gotti's attorneys had argued that the case should not have been filed in Tampa because most of the criminal charges stem from events in Gotti's home state.

The prosecutors maintained the case should be tried here, partly because they allege Gotti led an effort to establish a foothold for the Gambino crime family in the Tampa area.

U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday issued a ruling this morning granting the defense's request and ordering the case transferred to the Southern District of New York.

Gotti was arrested in August. At the same time, five other men were indicted, all accused of a vast racketeering conspiracy dating to 1983 under the umbrella of the Gambino crime family, once headed by Gotti's father, the late John J. Gotti, also known as the "Dapper Don."

Among those indicted at the same time as John "Junior" Gotti was Tampa resident James V. Cadicamo.

It was unclear what effect, if any, Merryday's decision to move the Gotti case will have on the other five defendants, who are accused of illegal activities in Florida and New York. One defense attorney, James R. Froccaro, said he plans to file a motion asking that his client, David D'Arpino, be tried in New York, too.

"There's no allegation, no connection to Florida for my client, Froccaro said.

In a 19-page opinion, Merryday concludes that the charges brought against Gotti in Tampa mirror charges brought by federal prosecutors against Gotti in New York, which resulted in three hung juries. As the judge wrote, Gotti was "tried repeatedly in New York – with results frustrating to the United States."

"In this context, the charging decision of the United States, apparently unaccountable on neutral principles, creates the unmistakable and disquieting impression of 'forum shopping.'

"The singular notoriety of this defendant, his apparent acknowledged history of complicity in the malignancies of organized crime (before his claimed 'withdrawal') and perhaps the cumulative frustration of law enforcement contribute to the temptation to extend to Florida the 'quest' to convict Gotti. Nonetheless … Gotti is merely another defendant, presumed innocent."

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