Five men who were arrested last year at the same time as John "Junior" Gotti will join him in New York after a judge today ordered their trial to take place there.
The men, including Tampa resident James Cadicamo, had asked that their racketeering case be moved to New York because the majority of the crimes they are accused of happened in or near that city.
The other defendants in the case, all from the New York area, are John A. Burke, David D'Arpino, Michael D. Finnerty and Guy T. Peden.
The prosecution argued that the case should be tried in Tampa because important aspects of the conspiracy were centered in Florida.
The prosecution contends the defendants were a faction of the Gambino organized crime family that tried to gain a foothold in Florida. The indictment, however, also detailed murders, robberies and drug crimes in New York and New Jersey.
U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday, who previously ordered Gotti's trial be transferred to New York, again sided with the defense and ordered the related case also be transferred.
In a 19-page order, Merryday wrote that New York and the surrounding areas are "the undoubted 'nerve center' of the enterprise and the locus of the enterprise's malefactions."
Thanks to Elaine Silvestrini
