After eighteen days of deliberation in the Philadelphia mafia trial against reputed boss Joseph Ligambi and co-defendants, the jury has reported that they have come to an impasse.
In a rare Saturday session, the jury sent a note alerting the judge in the case that they were at an impasse. Eduardo Robreno then instructed the jury that they were in no real hurry and to continue deliberations and try and resolve any impasse. Some believe that this could be a sign that a mistrial is now a looming possibility.
“Joseph Ligambi”
One thing that is still unknown is if the impasse is related to all of the defendants or all of the counts in the case. So it’s still anyone’s guess as to if the jury agrees to any of the 52 counts found in the indictment. The trial lasted 10 weeks and contained various types of evidence from a decade long investigation by the FBI which included 15,000 recordings from multiple turncoats and informants into the current Philadelphia mafia leadership. So there is a magnitude of evidence for the jury to look over and consider.
Frank Labor the Assistant U.S. Attorney argued that by impasse the jury meant they were deadlocked and renewed a previous request that they be given a copy of the indictment to use as a sort of road map. But the defense fired back saying that the indictment was the governments one-sided account of the evidence and it would be blatantly unfair if it was given to the jury. Judge Robreno noted that he was not inclined to give the jury a copy of the indictment nor did they ask for one. The panel has returned to deliberate more today.
