Maniscalco Jury Deliberates Some More : Murder trial: One day after telling a judge they were unable to reach a verdict, the members try again and are expected to continue today.

Jurors in the triple-murder retrial of a biker gang leader resumed deliberations on Thursday--one day after telling a judge they were unable to reach a verdict in Orange County’s longest-running criminal case.

The Superior Court jury has been deliberating since Feb. 7 in the trial of lawyer Thomas Maniscalco, 48, who has been in custody 10 years, longer than any other defendant in Orange County history.

This is Maniscalco’s second trial. In the first, the members of the jury deliberated 26 days in 1990 before concluding that they were hopelessly deadlocked.

On Wednesday, jurors in the second trial sent a message to Superior Court Judge Kathleen E. O’Leary saying they were having trouble reaching a unanimous decision. The judge sent jurors back into the jury room Thursday, and the members are expected to continue deliberations today. Attorneys in the case declined to comment.

Maniscalco is accused of masterminding the slaying of Richard (Rabbit) Rizzone, 36; Rizzone’s bodyguard, Thomas Monahan, 28; and Rizzone’s girlfriend, Rena Miley, 19, on Memorial Day, 1980, at Rizzone’s home in Westminster. Miley also was raped.

Prosecutors allege that Maniscalco ordered the execution-style killings because Rizzone was skimming profits from narcotics and counterfeiting operations run by Maniscalco.

But defense attorneys for Maniscalco, who is also the co-founder of a motorcycle gang, say their client is being framed for crimes he did not commit.

Maniscalco graduated from law school in 1973 and started a law practice with his father--a former New York Police Department sergeant--to represent “counterculture people” in Orange County who claimed they were being harassed by the police.

During his time in custody, Maniscalco has made a name for himself by giving inmates pointers on their cases and lobbying for prisoner rights.

Maniscalco’s case has been delayed by a separate trial for a co-defendant, by appeals, by changes in judges and attorneys and by other proceedings.

Maniscalco originally was charged along with Daniel M. Duffy, 51, in the killings. Duffy was convicted of the murders in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against Duffy but abandoned that after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on punishment.

Prosecutors have, therefore, also decided not to seek the death penalty against Maniscalco. If convicted, he would face life in prison without parole.