NATION IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Court Upholds 1992 Conviction of Gotti

A federal appeals court in New York City upheld the murder and racketeering conviction of reputed Mafia boss John Gotti, saying that he was not treated unfairly at trial when a judge disqualified a lawyer who was “house counsel” to the Gambino crime family. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals said disqualification was warranted because attorney Bruce Cutler had “allegedly entangled himself to an extraordinary degree in the activities of the Gambino crime family.” Gotti, 52, was convicted in 1992 of murder and racketeering in the 1985 execution of Paul Castellano, his predecessor as boss of the family. He is serving a life term without possibility of parole.