Jurors Deadlock in Maniscalco Triple-Murder Trial : Justice: Reluctant to declare a mistrial, a Superior Court judge will try Monday to help the panel resume deliberations.

After 22 days of deliberations--and the longest criminal trial in county history--jurors in the Thomas F. Maniscalco death-penalty trial have told the court that they appear to be hopelessly deadlocked, Superior Court Judge Kathleen E. O’Leary disclosed on Friday.

But before declaring a mistrial, O’Leary has asked jurors to return Monday morning to see whether she can provide assistance that would help them resume deliberations and reach a verdict.

Maniscalco, 45, a lawyer who helped found the Hessian motorcycle gang, is accused of masterminding a triple slaying in Westminster 10 years ago. The killing, according to prosecutors, was part of a feud over drugs and counterfeit money.

His trial began with jury selection on May 31, 1989, making it the longest criminal trial ever in Orange County. The trial and pretrial hearings total 40,000 pages of transcript. In comparison, the Randy Steven Kraft trial, which involved 16 murder victims, totaled fewer than 35,000 pages.

The jurors began their deliberations with a short session on Sept. 7 and took a two-week vacation before resuming again Oct. 1. No county jury had previously deliberated more than 11 days in a criminal case; this jury has been out 22 days.

At 3:30 p.m. Thursday, the foreman sent a one-sentence note out to the judge: “We the jury, after having exhausted all reasonable avenues for agreement, must inform the court that we are unable to arrive at a unanimous decision.”

The judge will not know until Monday morning which way the jury is split or how many votes are lined up on each side.

Attorneys appeared dismayed when O’Leary told them Friday morning of the deadlock. No previous communication from the jury had indicated an impasse.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard M. King, who does not discuss his trials outside the courtroom, was clearly frustrated. Joanne Harrold, co-counsel for Maniscalco, called it “very sad” for her client, even though it means that one or more members of the jury refused to declare Maniscalco guilty.

“If you were an innocent man, would you be satisfied with a hung jury?” Harrold asked.

The prospect of a hung jury had long troubled O’Leary. Throughout the trial, the judge had expressed anxiety about the many delays that had made it run so long. Several times she started hearing motions at 7 a.m. and continued until 7 p.m. during non-jury sessions in a bid to avoid delays.

At one point during a hearing with the jury gone, the judge sighed and gestured with both hands, telling attorneys: “I just want to get this trial moving again.”

It was four years after the murders that Maniscalco and co-defendant Daniel Duffy, 46, whose trial is pending, were arrested. By then, a third man whom prosecutors say was the triggerman had already been killed by police in a separate incident.

One other man said to have taken part in the slayings became a key prosecution witness.

After the two were arrested, the case took five years of twists and turns through the legal process before Maniscalco was finally brought to trial.

For example, it took more than a year of legal battles before Superior Court Judge Theodore E. Millard, who was opposed by the defense, finally agreed to step aside to help bring the case to trial more quickly. Then the new judge assigned the case, James Franks, committed suicide after suffering from serious health problems.

Deputy Public Defender Michael P. Giannini, who represents Duffy, predicted that if a retrial is needed in Maniscalco, it might not be over for a year.

“Clearly, no one expected this case to run this long,” Giannini said.

The victims were Richard (Rabbit) Rizzone, 36, a Hessian and once Maniscalco’s best friend; Rena Miley, 19, Rizzone’s girlfriend, and Thomas Monahan, 28, considered Rizzone’s gopher and bodyguard.

Rizzone and Monahan were found shot to death in the living room of Rizzone’s house. Miley, who had been raped, was found nude and shot to death in her bed.

Prosecutors allege that Rizzone was Maniscalco’s target and that the other two were killed because they were witnesses.