From the start, this fourth trial — preceded by three prior mistrials, each one on similar charges — was burdened by the dead weight of its history. The key to the defense was Mr. Gotti’s argument that he had once been a gangster — indeed, had been the boss of the Gambinos — but eventually had broken with the mob.  His quasi confession apparently resonated with the jurors, four of whom told reporters afterward that his strategy of arguing “withdrawal,” as it is known, was crucial to their decision. The jurors said that of the 12 people on the panel, 6 did not believe that Mr. Gotti quit the mob, 5 did believe him and one remained undecided.  “The evidence was just not there to prosecute the guy,” said one of the jurors, all of whom remained anonymous. Others said they did not believe the government’s chief witness, John Alite, a confessed hit man and a former member of Mr. Gotti’s crew.  The jurors’ sharpest words came when they were asked if the government should retry Mr. Gotti. No, they said resoundingly— the only unanimous verdict they had reached.  “They should stop this now — it’s ridiculous,” said one of the jurors, a middle-aged man. Another juror, a woman, said of the prosecution: “It’s abusive. It’s almost become a mockery.”  Steeped in Oedipal drama and hinging on an emotional — if partial — admission of guilt, Mr. Gotti’s trial sometimes seemed like a proceeding for the Oprah Winfrey era. With its easy emotionalism and narratives of painful personal growth, it was not unlike the now-familiar spectacle of a disgraced politician confessing his sins — and then announcing his campaign for re-election.  At the news conference afterward, Mr. Gotti delved deeply into his feelings. He said, for instance, that just that morning at the federal jail where he had been held, other inmates wished him well, and that his family kept him strong throughout the trial.  He said that his father, who was finally convicted of murder and other charges in 1992 and spent the remainder of his life in prison, was foremost on his mind. For the last five days, he said, at precisely 10:27 p.m., two songs — “Field of Gold” by Sting and the campy classic “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” — happened to be playing on the radio. Not only did these songs remind him of his father; remarkably, he said, his father’s birthday is Oct. 27 — or 10/27.  Did the son feel that the father was watching over him?  “How else do you explain it?” he said.  A version of this article appears in print on December 2, 2009, on Page A28 of the New York edition with the headline: For the Fourth Time, a Mistrial in Prosecution of Gotti. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Some jurors at a trial in federal court were persuaded by the defendant’s claim that he had broken with the mob.