'Victory' In Philly Mob Trial Savored From Jail

Veteran organized crime reporter George Anastasia is covering the federal organized crime trial in Philadelphia for Bigtrial.net.

One day after defense attorneys touted their stunning defeat of the government in the trial of mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and six co-defendants, it was difficult this afternoon to find anyone in the defense camp celebrating "the victory."

But while the the numbers supported the defense claim -- the jury rejected 46 charges, hung on 11 others and delivered just five guilty verdicts -- reality told a different story.

Prior to the convoluted and still puzzling mixed-bag, partially deadlocked jury announcement Tuesday afternoon, there were two defendants free on bail and five in prison. At the end of a series of post-trial hearings this afternoon, six defendants were in jail. Four were awaiting sentencing. And three faced a potential retrial on racketeering conspiracy charges.

If that's a victory, what does defeat look like?

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