Maybe they caught a juror red-handed. If that's the case, they'd have to declare a mistrial because the entire jury pool is vulnerable.

Either way, it doubt it will make a difference.

Next jury will be sequesterd for the length of the trial if one of the jurors was paid off or something. Or maybe one of teh jurors was on GA's site or on here

Action News has learned that a mistrial has been declared in the murder trial of reputed mob hit man Anthony Nicodemo.

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said the mistrial was declared due to "issues involving a juror."

No further details were released.

A status listing to determine a new trial date is scheduled for July, the DA's office said, and noted the gag order in this case remains in effect.

Nicodemo was on trial for the killing of Gino DiPietro, 50, back in 2012 in South Philadelphia.




Witnesses said DiPietro was gunned down by someone driving a black SUV.

That SUV was traced back to Nicodemo, police said.

DiPietro's family members told Action News at the time of the killing that DiPietro had no mob ties and never associated with Nicodemo or anyone else in the mob.

Defense attorney Brian McMonagle said his client had nothing to do with the killing. He said DiPietro was the victim of a botched carjacking.

Merlino,

Great avatar! Very patriotic and appropriate considering it's almost Memorial day.

Delaying the inevitable...

Can't blame Nicodemo or anyone he has the goods on for attempting to tamper, but this may be the nail in the coffin. Watch him decide to cooperate before another retrial.

When it comes to Philadelphia these trials are a joke,maybe that's why they were so brazen about how they went about committing the crime,knowing that something will get screwed up.If these jurors were not sequestered that right there was mistake no. 1.Who knows what happens now,what happens if the witness's change their mind,it only seems like this could hurt the prosecution more so than the defense.

I respectfully disagree, 22.

While I always make it a point to point out that I'm not from Philly and not familiar with the players, I think I do know a little something about the court system, even though they very from state to state.

The defense was clearly losing this one, and being that the mistrial was called BEFORE any lengthy deliberations, leads me to believe that they were able to get to a single juror. Next time they'll be sequestered, and that'll be all she wrote.

And you can also look for additional charges of jury tampering. Because if tampering turns out to be the reason for the mistrial, the bagman is obviously as inept as the rest of that crew. Because they ALREADY know about it.

Just my two cents.

Do we know for sure it was tampering? The jury wasn't sequestered? In a Philly mob murder trial?

I don't think so.

Philly is crazy

I'm not sure. But I thought the defense went out of their way to make sure the jurors were told it wasn't a mob trial.

Yeah the defense barred the prosecution from mentioning the defendents alleged(lol) ties to organize crime because the prosecution couldnt prove the murder had anything to do with the mob.

This is a real defeat for the Philly mob in general. No mention of mob ties in this trial, however, if it turns out to be tampering then this thing grows legs. Much like the upcoming Galati trial. They'll flip enough little guys to make both trials more interesting.

I meant a made guy on trial for murder. Came out wrong

It could be as mundane as a member of the Jury was caught reading external news services.

Jury Tampering is only ONE option.

Of course .

You guys make a lot of good points,i never quite looked at it from that angle Pizzaboy,but I see where your coming from.I'm with you cheech I'm surprised they were not sequestered but then again it wasn't supposed to be a so called ''mob'' trial.

TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014

Mistrial In Nicodemo Murder Case
By George Anastasia
For Bigtrial.net

Shortly after mobster Anthony Nicodemo's attorney offered a bizarre carjacking defense last week to explain how his client became an unwitting getaway driver in the December 2012 murder of Gino DiPietro, a person following the trial rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"There's no way a common sense jury buys that story," the observer said.

But common sense doesn't always apply in Common Pleas Court, a sometimes illogical Alice in Wonderland-like judicial world where the unexplainable happens. This morning, as the defense was preparing to call its first witness, it did.

Judge Jeffrey Minehart declared a mistrial late this morning after dismissing two more jurors in the case. That left the panel with just 11 members and apparently neither side wanted to proceed at that point. The case blew up amid reports that police have opened an investigation into possible jury tampering.

At least one family member of the defendant was questioned this afternoon, but one law enforcement source cautioned that it was too soon to determine whether a juror had been approached. An overheard conversation in the hallway outside the 11th floor courtroom contributed to the concern raised by law enforcement that a juror might have been compromised, but by late this afternoon there were no definitive answers.

One of the jurors who was dismissed this morning was a South Philadelphia resident, but it was unclear if he had been the target of jury tampering. Minehart placed a gag order on the lawyers in the case when the trial opened last week. Neither Assistant District Attorney Brian Zarallo nor defense attorney Brain McMonagle were permitted to comment.

Minehart said little about what had transpired, but dismissed the panel late this morning after meeting with attorneys for about an hour behind closed doors in his chambers. He has scheduled a status conference for June 12. It is expected that the District Attorney's Office will retry the case.

Law enforcement sources said late today that there are several options to further shield a jury the next time around. While there were only two alternates selected this time, as many as six could be added. One alternate was dismissed last week and another this morning for what were described as routine and benign reasons. It was the third juror who was let go that raised concerns.

A new panel could also be sequestered, an extreme measure, but one that is permitted. The most extreme option would be a request for a change of venue that would move the case out of Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. No decision has been made with regard to any of those issues, according to sources familiar with the process.

Nicodemo, who has been held without bail since his arrest minutes after DiPietro was gunned down in a mid-afternoon assassination, will remain in prison pending the new trial. As the defense prepared to open its case, the central question was whether the 42-year-old mobster would take the stand in his own defense.

Zarallo had taken four days building an impressive, if circumstantial, case after Nicodemo. The evidence included witness testimony that Nicodemo's black Honda Pilot was the getaway car that a masked gunman jumped into after pumping six bullets into DiPietro.

DiPietro, 50, was slain in the 2800 block of Iseminger Street as he was getting into his pickup truck. The shooting occurred shortly before 3 p.m. on December 12, 20012.

A mailman who heard the shots, described how he saw a masked gunman in a hoody running from the shooting scene. Another witness, who was passing by, described how the gunman ran passed him and jumped into a Honda Pilot that was parked in an alleyway with its engine running. The witness got the license tag of the vehicle.

The Honda was registered to Nicodemo whose home in the 3200 block of South 17th Street is a five-minute drive from the murder scene. Within 20 minutes police were knocking on Nicodemo's door and taking him into custody. They also obtained a search warrant and seized the Honda which was parked behind his row home. Inside the vehicle, wrapped in a jacket and stuffed behind the driver's seat, they found a .357 magnum that, according to testimony from forensic experts, was the murder weapon.

Zarallo, in his opening statement to the jury last week, said that the evidence linked Nicodemo to the conspiracy to murder DiPietro and that while he didn't pull the trigger, he was just as guilty as the shooter. The Assistant District Attorney twice mentioned Domenic Grande, a friend of Nicodemo's and a mob associate, as someone who fit the description of the gunman. He also said that Grande's fingerprint had been found on the hood of the Honda Pilot.

Grande has never been charged and McMonagle said he would be in court at some point during the trial, an apparent reference to an appearance as either a character witness or a courtroom supporter of the defendant. The case, however, never got that far.

McMonagle, in his opening, had told the jury that Nicodemo was a victim of the chaos that surrounded the shooting. He said his client was sitting in his Honda when a masked gunman unexpectedly jumped in the vehicle and told him to drive. McMonagle implied that his client was forced at gunpoint to flee the scene. The lawyer said the gunman later jumped out of the Honda, but left the murder weapon behind.

The defense opening raised several questions. Why didn't Nicodemo report the carjacking? And why, when he was taken into custody, didn't he mention it to the police? Instead, he has sat in prison since December 12, 2012. Zarallo was expected to hammer away on those issues had Nicdemo taken the stand.

Legal sources in the defense community said the scenario laid out by McMonagle was the only one that could explain away the irrefutable evidence linking his client to the getaway car and the murder weapon. With this morning's mistrial, it may be several more months before another jury gets to ponder that defense argument.

Common sense would suggest that the explanation is bizarre at best. But in Common Pleas Court, bizarre is not necessarily unusual.

George Anastasia can be contacted at George@bigtrial.net.

Read more at http://www.bigtrial.net/2014/05/mistrial-in-nicodemo-murder-case.html#KbEMKEBTmpv6GYi8.99

looks like tampering was the issue.

Thanks delly

I'm a pretty sharp guy .

Man GA says the same thing over and over in his articles all the fucking time. He is such an overrated writer it isn't even funny. He writes one new paragraph a day and the reiterates everything else. Sad. But what's really sad is their aren't that many good reporters around. Newspapers went to shit. Any tom dick and Harry can start a blog. I miss when newspapers meant something and I'm only 34. But I remember as a kid my father would bring home the two New York papers. The daily news which I still get delivered to my door everyone morning and drives my wife nuts and the Post We would read them together when he got home from work. Damn I miss being ten

Anastasia could be blowing smoke. "Reports" Of Jury tampering could mean his Nanna thinks so....

I still think its because some putz opened a newspaper but looks like Im behind on this one

that made me laugh Mr Pizza

It was intended to. Because God only knows that I'm about as sharp as a marble.

Showing your age even knowing what a marble is

PB. Post or the Daily News for you?

I'm guessing you're a Lupica guy?

Yeah, I probably should have made a video game reference .

Aww this is so cute reading the interaction between cheech and PB.

Quick story. I'm at a Yankee game ten-twelve years ago with some of the guys. Before batting practice were down the field. Like you used to be able to. jeters there, oneill, Bernie. I'm yelling on top my lungs LUPICA!!! My friends don't even know who the fuck he is. They were asleep when Sports Reporters were on any way he comes over and I get his autograph under the brim of my Yankee cap.i shake his hands. He's surprised I even know who the fuck he was. My buddy vinny goes who is that? I said he's a newspaper writer. They just looked at me like I was a retard.

But that's me.