John "Junior'' Gotti has decided he'll attend his trial after all.
The federal trial in Manhattan was temporarily halted today after Gotti told U.S. marshals that he didn't want to be there.
The reason was not immediately clear, and defense lawyer Charles Carnesi said his client's sudden absence was news to him.
The judge called a break so Carnesi he could talk to his client, after which Gotti showed up at the courthouse and changed into a suit. Carnesi was scheduled to resume his closing arguments.
The jury has no idea anything awry was going on. It wouldn't have mattered if they did, logistically speaking. A trial can go on without the defendant present, and the case could go to the jury as early as this afternoon.
It's Gotti's fourth racketeering trial in as many years; his previous three trials resulted in hung juries.
His father, former Gambino boss John Gotti, died in prison in 2002.
Last week, the Gotti courtroom turned into pandemonium when two jurors, who have since been kicked off the jury, nearly began fighting. Gotti's mother unleashed a profanity-laced tirade after the judge dismissed the jurors, screaming that her son wasn't getting a fair trial.
At the time, Gotti tried to calm his mother down, telling her he would be OK.
