If You're in the Mafia, Read This, Now!

"During opening remarks, (the defendant's attorney) was wearing a suit that was very, very expensive...and a watch that cost more than my 2011 car... Therefore, I deduced that he was not a public defender.

"The defendant had the access to cash necessary to employ" an expensive attorney... "Where did this money come from? I had my suspicions."

The woman also said that she deduced the alleged mobster on trial for murder was being held without bail because even though he wore a dress shirt and slacks each day in court, he also wore "a pair of pristine white sneakers."

"I couldn't imagine Mr. Nicodemo would come to court in sneakers unless he was being kept in jail. Why wouldn't he be out on bail? I knew he had access to money, so he either was a flight risk or a very dangerous person (or both)."



These are among some of the awesome revelations offered by a female juror to Philadelphia mob scribe George Anastasia on BigTrial Blog, where he noted that: "She listened to two days of testimony in the Anthony Nicodemo murder trial last month and said she wasn't buying the defense argument that Nicodemo was carjacked and became an unwitting getaway driver in the murder of Gino DiPietro.

"The story about the carjacking was absurd," the former Common Pleas Court panelist wrote in one of several e-mail exchanges with Bigtrial.net.

"She also said she surmised the shooting was a mob hit even though the judge had barred any mention of organized crime....

"The juror agreed to share her insights from the two days she heard testimony, but asked to remain anonymous. She was the first of three jurors dismissed during the case which ended in a mistrial on May 20."

If I were a mobster, I'd Xerox a copy of this and keep it handy for the next time I was facing trial.

It goes to show that the jurors aren't exactly dumb. Wear a suit and black shoes and maybe ask your high-powered counselman to tune down the fancy clothing. And get rid of the damn rolex!!!

Also, it's not a good idea to threaten the jurors, either. And don't act like an asshole, meaning wipe the smug smirk off your face. Your wiseguy friends aren't waiting to meet you afterward because, as even our juror knew, you not going anywhere but to a cell.

And maybe show a little disgust when witnesses are describing actions that you allegedly did, especially when the actions include shooting a guy in the back of his head.

"The panelist said Nicodemo had smiled at her during the jury selection process. But during the trial, which included testimony about the gangland-style slaying of DiPietro in the 2800 block of South Iseminger Street, she said she would look toward the defense table and Nicodemo "confronted me with a smug, steely gaze."

The juror said "he appeared unmoved by the heinous details of the crime and the disturbing testimony of several witnesses."

The juror was one of 14 chosen to hear the case; perhaps Judge Minehart should've gone with more than two alternates during the trial, which ended in a mistrial....

A new trial date is scheduled to be slated this Thursday. Nicodemo, 42, has been held without bail since his arrest on the day of the shooting, December 12, 2012, which at the time was called one of the dumbest hits in Mafia history.

Still waiting to hear exactly why a mistrial was declared, by the way.

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