John Gotti was found guilty of murder, racketeering and all the other charges against him yesterday in a swift, stunning verdict in Federal District Court in Brooklyn that crushed his reputation for eluding conviction as boss of the Gambino crime family.
Mr. Gotti wore the same tight-lipped smile he had maintained throughout the trial as the jury forewoman began reading out the verdicts against him and his co-defendant, Frank Locascio, at 1:19 P.M., after only 13 hours of deliberation over two days.
"Guilty . . . Guilty . . . Guilty," she said over and over again as a court clerk read out the charges of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy -- the RICO statute that has given Federal prosecutors a strong new weapon against the mob -- and 10 separate criminal counts against Mr. Gotti.
