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Gotti's Lawyers Want Witnesses' Identities To Be Revealed

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 18, 2008

TAMPA - John "Junior" Gotti wants a judge to force prosecutors to name names.

Prosecutors in Gotti's federal racketeering case have asked a judge to allow them to withhold information from the defense about some "co-conspirators or victims of the underlying criminal acts of the Gambino Crime Family Enterprise."

But Gotti's lawyers filed a response arguing that letting the prosecution do that would deny Gotti the ability to fully defend himself.

"If the government is permitted to mask the identities of crucial cooperating witnesses and others upon whom it has relied to fabricate its case, Gotti will not be able to prepare for trial adequately," the response states. "He should be afforded sufficient opportunity to pursue all relevant information in support of his defense. To allow the government to deny him that opportunity until a jury is sworn will impede his ability to prepare for trial, compromise the search for truth."

Gotti is facing federal prosecution in Tampa on racketeering charges alleging he participated in a vast organized crime conspiracy involving murder, drug trafficking and witness tampering that extended from New York to the Tampa area. His attorneys have asked that the case be transferred to New York, and a judge is scheduled to consider that motion on Thursday.

Gotti's lawyers argue that the vast majority of the offenses in the indictment are centered in New York and that Gotti would be better able to defend himself if the trial were held in his home state.

The prosecution maintains that the case belongs in Tampa, partly, it says, because Gotti headed efforts by the Gambino crime family to gain a foothold in the area.

The prosecution filed a motion asking for an exception to the normal rules of discovery, the process by which parties share evidence before a trial.

The prosecution wants to wait until the trial to share:

"(a) The existence and substance of any payments, promises of immunity, leniency, preferential treatment, or other inducements made to prospective government witnesses;

"(b) Any written application to a court for immunity of a prospective government witness and any order issued in response to that application;

"(c) Any documentation or other tangible evidence which would serve to identify any cooperating co-conspirators or victims of the underlying criminal acts of the Gambino Crime Family Enterprise, as charged in the Indictment, who have not previously testified or been otherwise identified in earlier filings and/or proceedings."

Prosecutors also don't want to share certain audio or video recordings obtained during the ongoing investigation that did not include Gotti's voice.

Giving the information to Gotti, the prosecution maintains, would compromise the identities of government witnesses and "needlessly endanger their lives and property, obstruct the administration of justice and likely create a substantial danger to other members of the community, including the family members of prospective government witnesses."

But Gotti's lawyers respond that the government, not Gotti, threatens witnesses.

"During the course of three trials, Gotti did not harm or threaten to harm a single witness," the response filing states. "Indeed … it was the government in those cases that threatened and attempted to intimidate Gotti's witnesses with (a) false claims that it planned to bring perjury charges against one, and (b) grand jury subpoenas that it served on others."

Gotti's lawyers urge the court not to let prosecutors get away with withholding this information: "The government should not be permitted to hide behind a veil of secrecy in its efforts to convict him here. The stakes are too high and Gotti should not be required to defend himself in darkness."

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