'Uncle Joe' Denied Bail Pending Retrial

Uncle Joe not getting bail prior

to his retrial.

Mob guys, for the most part, are among the most dependable defendants to be put on trial. They are not about to run -- except maybe for members of the Colombo family -- because their "turf" is everything to them.

Even uber-mob boss John Gotti was the doyenne of punctuality for his many sojourns through courthouses.

What is really annoying, no doubt, for most trial watchers is the fact that Ligambi and Co. probably should never have been put on trial in the first place...the charges are simply small-time stuff, not a single homicide or charge related to bodily harm.

From Big Trial: "Uncle Joe" Ligambi will remain a "guest" of the federal government while awaiting a retrial on racketeering conspiracy, gambling and obstruction of justice charges.

U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo Robreno, in a ruling that drew sarcastic comments from several friends and family members who packed the courtroom for today's bail hearing, turned down Ligambi's request for bail, accepting the government's argument that the mob boss was a "danger to the community."

"I'm shocked," one member of the Ligambi entourage said at the end of the 90-minute court session.