Mafia trial jury sent home

The jury in alleged New York Mafia boss John Gotti jnr's racketeering and murder trial was sent home yesterday until next week after failing to reach a verdict in 10 days of deliberations.

The judge in the New York federal court told the 12 jurors to relax over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend and return on December 1.

The break came as the 10-week, tension-filled trial inched near to collapse, with the jury telling the judge on Wednesday, for a second time, that they were deadlocked.

If no verdict is reached it would be the fourth mistrial in five years for the son of New York's most notorious Cosa Nostra boss John Gotti.