Gotti case abandoned in New York

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Prosecutors in New York have given up their case against John Gotti Junior, the son of the city's most powerful modern gangster.

In the course of five years, juries in four trials failed to reach a verdict against John Gotti on charges of murder and racketeering.

Justice officials said they would not seek a fifth trial.

John Gotti, who has been free on bail of $2m (£1.6m), insists he left organised crime in the late 1990s.

You always were a dog your whole life, you punk dog John Gotti Junior, berating a prosecution witness during his trial

US Attorney Preet Bharara issued a one-paragraph statement saying that prosecutors had decided not to seek another trial "in light of the circumstances", and Judge Kevin Castel approved the request.

The repeated failure of juries to agree on a verdict has earned Mr Gotti comparisons to his late father, who escaped conviction in a series of trials in the 1980s and early 1990s and gained the nickname the Teflon Don because charges would not stick to him.

Also known as the Dapper Don for his stylish suits, Gotti Senior was for several years the most notorious mobster in the US, the Associated Press news agency reports.

He finally came unstuck in 1992 when he was convicted of racketeering and sentenced to life in prison, where he died 10 years later.

Outbursts

John Gotti Junior has been living with his family on Long Island.

Seth Ginsberg, one of Mr Gotti's lawyers, called the move to drop the case the "right decision".

"I hope that they stick to it this time and let John and his family be at peace," he added.

Mr Gotti's trial was punctuated by outbursts.

On one occasion, the defendant railed at John Alite, the star prosecution witness.

"You're a punk!" he shouted. "You're a dog! You're a dog! You always were a dog your whole life, you punk dog."