John "Junior" Gotti has been arrested on charges linking him to three New York murders

John "Junior" Gotti has been arrested on charges linking him to three New York murders, a law enforcement official said last night.Mr Gotti, 44, was arrested by the FBI at his Long Island home. Authorities in Tampa, Florida, are expected to announce a racketeering indictment, charging Mr Gotti with conspiracy to murder in connection with killings in the late 1980s and early 90s, according to the official. A separate indictment charges five other men with racketeering. It alleges some of them were involved with Mr Gotti in one of the murders, according to the official. It also alleges a fourth killing in New York, not linked to Mr Gotti.
Mr Gotti and two other suspects arrested in New York are expected to appear in Manhattan federal court today for a removal hearing. At least one other man has been arrested in Florida. Mr Gotti is the son of "Dapper Don" John Gotti, the late Gambino family boss. In 1999, Junior Gotti pleaded guilty to racketeering crimes including bribery, extortion, gambling and fraud. He was sentenced to 77 months in prison and was released in 2005. He was tried three times in Manhattan on racketeering charges for an alleged plot to kidnap Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. The trials in 2005 and 2006 ended in hung juries and mistrials. Federal prosecutors announced at the time that they were giving up, and Mr Gotti said he had long since retired from his life of crime. It was after a court hearing on his finances that Mr Gotti launched a public tirade last November against federal authorities, accusing them of endangering his life with a mafia hit by falsely portraying him as a turncoat. "My family lives in fear as a result of this," said Gotti outside the White Plains courthouse. "What happens next? Does it make it all better if I get one in my head?"