A judge at the Manhattan Federal Court has rejected a plea for the early release of former Gambino boss Peter Gotti due to ill health. The ruling came yesterday from judge Colleen McMahon, who decreed that he’s not sick enough to warrant early release.
The judge also agreed with prosecutors that Gotti continued to pose a danger to the community. His lawyers dispute this, and claim that he is now a changed man who is incapable of violence.
Judge McMahon wrote:
“I have no doubt whatever that Gotti – who has the burden of showing that ‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ to reduce his sentence exist – has established that he suffers from a plethora of serious, debilitating, and progressive medical conditions, however, he has not shown that he has a terminal illness or a serious physical or medical condition that has substantially diminished his ability to provide self-care within the environment of a correctional facility.”
“Many of Gotti’s claimed conditions are heart or lung conditions, which, according to the BOP, are adequately treated and monitored.”
“Gotti headed one of the most vicious and violent organized crime organizations in New York for a period of years, I reject the notion that Gotti is no longer a threat to the community. The danger posed by a Gambino Family leader like Gotti is not that he will personally engage in acts of violence, but that he can command others to do so.” the judge’s ruling read.
Peter Gotti is now eighty years of age, and his lawyers have made several attempts to secure his release. They have cited his illnesses, such as early onset dementia, sciatica, arthritis, depression, an enlarged prostate, gastric reflux and partial blindness in appeals for his freedom, but to no avail. They have repeatedly insisted that he is on his deathbed. After this ruling, it is likely that Peter Gotti will die in prison.
On December 22, 2004, Peter was convicted of extortion in the construction industry and for plotting to murder government witness and ex- Gambino family underboss Sammy Gravano. On July 27, 2005, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. So far, he has served 17 years.
Peter Gotti is imprisoned at Elkton FCI in Elkton, Ohio.
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