An loose-lipped witness nearly derailed the racketeering retrial of Joseph Ligambi during testimony Friday by referencing the government's previous attempt to convict the reputed Philadelphia mob boss.
Defense lawyers called for a mistrial after Joseph Procaccini, the owner of a South Philadelphia video poker machine company, was asked under cross-examination whether he knew of a relationship between Ligambi and mob bookmaker Gary Battaglini.
"I know Gary was convicted in the first trial," Procaccini responded.
A federal jury found Battaglini and two other mob associates guilty of racketeering conspiracy in February but deadlocked on the same charge when it came to Ligambi and his nephew and purported consigliere, George Borgesi. Prior to the start of their retrial last week, U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno barred any mention of the previous proceedings before the new jurors.
But rather than let the slipup Friday force yet another trial, Robreno called the panel back after 15 minutes of legal wrangling and instructed members to disregard the reference.
Still, the incident offered jurors their first hints of the four-month, 14-defendant marathon that was Ligambi's first go-round in federal court.
Then, many of the men implicated by witnesses - including Battaglini, mob capo Anthony "Ant" Staino Jr. and underboss Joseph "Mousie" Massimino - sat beside Ligambi and Borgesi at the defense table.
Staino was sentenced to eight years in prison in July, after pleading guilty to three counts of conspiracy and illegal gambling. Massimino received a 15-year sentence after his conviction in February.
This time though, as witness after witness has outlined their dealings with the lower-level mobsters, few have made mention of the two men currently on trial.
Procaccini's testimony, which began Thursday, offered one of the first direct links.
He told jurors Thursday that Staino, Massimino and Ligambi edged him out of the South Philadelphia video poker market in 2001 by forcing him to sell his business. The three made men set up their own company, JMA Video Poker, so the deal would appear legitimate, prosecutors allege.
But what Procaccini viewed as a shakedown, Ligambi saw as just business, said Edwin Jacobs Jr., lawyer for the reputed mob boss. JMA paid Procaccini $3,000 for each of his gambling machines located at bars, laundromats and bodegas around South Philadelphia.
Ligambi, 74, and Borgesi, 50, deny any involvement in the illegal gambling, loan-sharking and bookmaking operations of their mob fellows and have repeatedly disputed prosecutors' characterization of them as men who muscled their way through business with threats of violence.
And as testimony continued Friday with a slew of bar flies, shopkeepers, and nightspot owners - all of whom said they housed JMA gambling machines in their businesses - even the convicted mobsters at times, came off as gentlemen.
Rhoda Burke, a 54-year-old barmaid, took the stand late in the afternoon and recalled her interactions with Staino, who came by her South Philadelphia watering hole twice a month to collect her poker machine's earnings.
"He was a very nice man," she said. "He used to bring baskets of fruit at Christmastime. He treated us very well."
