Peter Gotti, the brother of late New York mob boss John Gotti, was convicted today on racketeering charges by a jury in a Brooklyn federal court.
The guilty verdict on charges of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and money laundering, came after a two-month trial that included testimony from Hollywood action star Steven Seagal.
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Six co-defendants, including another Gotti brother, Richard Gotti, a nephew, Richard Gotti and various other members of the Gambino crime family, were also found guilty on related charges.
No immediate date was set for sentencing.
Peter Gotti (64), and his co-defendants had been arrested in June on a 68-count indictment related to corruption on the New York waterfront, where the Gambino family wielded enormous influence within the unions, placing their hand-picked nominees in positions of power.
Following the guilty verdict, Gotti said he had been unfairly targetted because of his family name.
"What are you going to do? These things happen," Gotti told reporters. "My name is Gotti. If my name wasn't Gotti I wouldn't be here."
Steven Seagal was among the prosecution witnesses in the trial, telling the court how some of the defendants had tried to extort money from him following a split with his manager.
At the time of his arrest, Peter Gotti was believed by federal investigators to be the acting head of the Gambino family - a role he assumed in 1999 following the imprisonment of his nephew John "Junior" Gotti.
He is also the older brother of former mob boss John Gotti, who died of cancer in prison last October while serving a life sentence without parole for murder and racketeering.
AFP