Why Can't We Know Why? Nicodemo Trial Ends in Mystery Mistrial
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| Johnny Casasanto |
The question "why?" will be hotly debated, as only a tantalizing hint of the cause of the mistrial was revealed via the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, which issues a statement pinning the mistrial on "issues involving a juror." The prosecution had rested its case and the defense was to commence this morning. The timing is interesting.
Why can't they say why?
We've noted that this whole trial could be a ruse to gain leverage on Nicodemo, which would mean the end of the line for one mob boss. Recall that Nicodemo has been identified as a suspect in the 2003 murder of John "Johnny Gongs" Casasanto....Law enforcement sources have said that Nicodemo could work a deal using his supposed information regarding the Casasanto murder and other acts of violence that authorities believe are linked to Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and his top associates.
The Casasanto shooting is one of three major unsolved murders that occurred during Ligambi’s reign. The other two are the hits on Ronnie Turchi in 1999 and Raymond “Long John” Martorano in 2002.
Authorities reportedly have the names of people connected to these shootings, as well as scraps of information that could be used "to build cases," as George Anastasia wrote.
The timing is interesting, as we noted up top, because the prosecution rested yesterday, which means the defense knows precisely where it stood, what it was up against. It had eyes on the jury to see their reaction to each tickle in the prosecution's presentation, which included hard evidence, the gun used to kill the victim was found here, this burn phone was used to call another burn found just around the time of the murder, and was found here.
With all that evidence it seems to difficult to believe the jury would reach a verdict of not-guilty, though the fact that prosecutors could offer no motive also means this could be the perfect setup for a mistrial.
Without putting too fine a point to this, if Nicodemo were to flip, odds are he'd get a better deal now than if he loses the trial. That's just plain common sense, isn't it?
A status hearing to determine the date of a new trial is scheduled for July, the DA's office said, noting that the gag order implemented earlier remains in effect.
Nicodemo was on trial for the murder of Gino DiPietro, 50, back in 2012 in South Philadelphia while the second trial of Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi was under way; that trial ended in a mistrial. The reputed boss of the Philadelphia Mafia was released.
According to reports, two jurors were dismissed for undisclosed reasons.
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart, who barred mention of the mob during the trial because there was no evidence that DiPietro's murder was mob-related, spent the morning in chambers with prosecution and defense lawyers, as well as several detectives, before bringing the remaining jurors into court at 11:40 a.m.
"We cannot proceed," the judge said. The 11 jurors were dismissed; Minehart ordered everyone else to remain in the courtroom until further notice.
Philly.com reported that Court rules allow a criminal jury to continue with 11 jurors but only with the agreement of both sides. Assistant District Attorney Brian Zarallo and defense attorney Brian J. McMonagle both did not comment.
One person familiar with the inquiry told Philly.com that at least one juror would be questioned by police detectives.
The defense was to begin this morning when "it quickly became obvious a serious problem had developed."
In addition: "Security was heavy: nine deputies flanked both side walls of the courtroom. After the jurors left, everyone remained in place for 30 minutes.
"Nicodemo, 42, remained at the defense table with McMonagle and co-counsel Frank C. DePasquale Jr. while Zarallo sat by himself at the prosecution table and about 75 spectators sat in the gallery."
Nicodemo was arrested when 357 magnum revolver wrapped in clothing was found behind the driver's seat of his SUV. Ballistics tests tied the revolver to the bullets fired into DiPietro,
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart, who barred mention of the mob during the trial because there was no evidence that DiPietro's murder was mob-related, spent the morning in chambers with prosecution and defense lawyers, as well as several detectives, before bringing the remaining jurors into court at 11:40 a.m.
"We cannot proceed," the judge said. The 11 jurors were dismissed; Minehart ordered everyone else to remain in the courtroom until further notice.
Philly.com reported that Court rules allow a criminal jury to continue with 11 jurors but only with the agreement of both sides. Assistant District Attorney Brian Zarallo and defense attorney Brian J. McMonagle both did not comment.
One person familiar with the inquiry told Philly.com that at least one juror would be questioned by police detectives.
The defense was to begin this morning when "it quickly became obvious a serious problem had developed."
In addition: "Security was heavy: nine deputies flanked both side walls of the courtroom. After the jurors left, everyone remained in place for 30 minutes.
"Nicodemo, 42, remained at the defense table with McMonagle and co-counsel Frank C. DePasquale Jr. while Zarallo sat by himself at the prosecution table and about 75 spectators sat in the gallery."
Nicodemo was arrested when 357 magnum revolver wrapped in clothing was found behind the driver's seat of his SUV. Ballistics tests tied the revolver to the bullets fired into DiPietro,
At the time of the shooting, several sources said DiPietro was suspected of cooperating with authorities in an ongoing narcotics investigation; this could be related to the motive, either the suspicion or the fact he was cooperating.