A former juror in a John Gotti racketeering case was found guilty yesterday of selling his vote to acquit the mob boss five years ago.
After less than three hours of deliberations, the jury convicted the juror, George Pape, of obstruction-of-justice charges in Federal District Court in Brooklyn. Mr. Pape was Juror No. 11 on the panel that acquitted Mr. Gotti and several others on March 13, 1987.
Mr. Pape displayed no emotion as the jury announced the verdict, and his lawyer said he would appeal.
The prosecutor, Geoffrey Mearns, said in his summation that Mr. Pape became a juror by withholding information that he was a close friend of someone connected to Mr. Gotti. "George Pape had no business being on John Gotti's jury and he knew it," the prosecutor said. He said Mr. Pape was impaneled and "then sold his vote."
On April 2 of this year, Mr. Gotti and a co-defendant, Frank Locascio, were convicted of racketeering-murder charges in another case, and both men were sentenced to life in prison. One charge was that Mr. Gotti became the boss of the Gambino crime family by killing his predecessor, Paul Castellano, in December 1985.
Andrew J. Maloney, the United States Attorney in Brooklyn, whose office conducted both Gotti racketeering trials, said the authorities believed at the time of the 1987 case that "one or more jurors had been tampered with -- and today's verdict is clear evidence of that."
On Wednesday, Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano, the Mafia leader who turned informer and was the main witness in Mr. Gotti's last trial, testified for the prosecution in Mr. Pape's trial.
Mr. Gravano said he gave $60,000 in cash to an intermediary for a juror in the 1987 case. He identified the intermediary as Bosko Radonjich, describing him as a leader of a gang called the Westies. Mr. Gravano said he never met the juror and left all contact with him to Mr. Radonjich, whom Mr. Mearns portrayed as "a thug and a political terrorist" who has since fled to his native Yugoslavia.
The prosecution also presented evidence that Mr. Radonjich was a close friend of Mr. Pape and that Mr. Pape concealed their relationship when he was questioned as a prospective juror.
Judge I. Leo Glasser set Feb. 11 for sentencing Mr. Pape, who could face up to five years in prison on each of two charges, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He remained free on $250,000 bail.
Mr. Pape, who is 54 years old and lives in East Norwich, L.I., did not testify in the trial. He worked for many years as an oil-terminal supervisor and had no prior criminal record.
It is impossible to know what the verdict would have been in 1987 if Mr. Pape had been an impartial juror, the prosecutor said. But he noted that the Government did not have to prove that "the outcome of that trial would have been different."
The defense lawyer, Barbara Hartung, said in her summation that Mr. Pape was just one of 12 jurors who voted for Mr. Gotti's 1987 acquittal because "the Government had not done its job."
To convict Mr. Pape, she said, the present jury would have to believe that Mr. Gravano told the truth in court and that Mr. Radonjich told the truth to Mr. Gravano. She added, "Both Bosko and the $60,000 have disappeared."
Mr. Gravano agreed to cooperate last fall and revealed the jury scheme. He also admitted participating in 19 murders and being the Gambino underboss. He remains in custody and has not yet been sentenced on the racketeering charge to which he pleaded guilty.
