http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/jury_1.htmlMANHATTAN, N.Y.-- The jury in the Bonanno mob trial asked the judge Wednesday for advice on how it can resolve disagreements in order to avoid a hung jury.
The panel, which was in its fifth day of deliberations in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, was having difficulty agreeing on the enterprise corruption charge, the top count against the four defendants.
Justice Mark Dwyer, however, implored them to keep deliberating while reminding them of their responsibilities as jurors.
"I'm bound by law to hold you for a reasonable time to reach a verdict," Dwyer said. "I know this is a complex count you're considering."
Dwyer also told the panel while it seems they've been deliberating for a long time, it hasn't been that lengthy considering the complicated nature of the case.
The deliberations resume Thursday.
Anthony (Skinny) Santoro, 52, of Great Kills, and his alleged Bonanno co-defendants -- Vito Badamo, 53, Nicholas Santora, 73, and Ernest Aiello, 36 -- are accused of enterprise corruption, including loansharking, gambling and drug dealing, after authorities reportedly busted the family's nine-man crew in July 2013.
The skinny on 'Skinny' -- Man at center of mob trial
The skinny on 'Skinny' -- Man at center of mob trial
Anthony (Skinny) Santoro, the alleged Staten Island Bonanno mobster, has been portrayed with these conflicting -- yet fascinating -- personalities.
On Wednesday, the panel asked to the judge to clarify preponderance of evidence versus reasonable doubt. They requested to hear a wiretap call involving Santora shutting down a card game. They also asked for recordings where Badamo is late to a meeting with Santora. They also heard a series of car-bug calls.
On Tuesday, the jurors asked for several pieces of evidence. They requested to see all the photos from the trial, the vouchers from all the executed search warrants, and asked to hear calls involving Badamo, Santoro, and Nicholas Bernhard, one of the other five co-defendants who pleaded guilty.
The panel also heard a car-bug call between Badamo and alleged Bonanno boss Santora. They also wanted to see the phone books and vouchers from Santora's home search.
The jurors had deliberated for two days before a week-long break and returned on Monday. On Monday, the panel asked to see evidence pertaining to the illegal gambling site, allaction247.com, that Santoro allegedly ran. They also asked to see the vouchers pertaining to the search warrant executed at Santoro's Tanglewood Drive residence in Great Kills.
During their brief discussions two weeks ago, they had questions about venue and the loansharking charge.
The panel was charged with the different elements constituting enterprise corruption, grand larceny in the second-degree and first-degree criminal usury.
The state claims Santora, who is allegedly nicknamed "Captain Crunch," is the crime family's ringleader. The prosecution says he was in charge of an Internet gambling site, sold prescription drugs, such as Cialis and Viagra, on the black market, and the other three defendants were his underlings.
