Gotti Loses His Bid to Stay in Hospital

Former New York mob boss John Gotti was back in solitary confinement Monday despite an attempt by his attorneys to keep him hospitalized.

Lawyers for Gotti, who is in the advanced stages of throat cancer, went to court Monday to stop his return to the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield.

But Gotti was sent back to the prison before a hearing could be scheduled, longtime family friend Lewis Kasman said.

The reason for the move was not clear, although Gotti had been advised of his “imminent transfer” back to prison, Kasman said.

Prison officials referred calls to the U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas City. Spokesman Chris Whitley said he had not seen the application from Gotti’s lawyers and could not comment on it.

Gotti’s attorneys referred calls to Kasman.

The hearing application they filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield said Gotti’s health would be jeopardized if he was released, because the treatment he was receiving from St. John’s Regional Health Center’s oncology department could not be duplicated at the prison. “He needs medical attention, not solitary confinement,” Kasman said.

Gotti, 60, was taken from his prison cell after his condition worsened Aug. 7. He was treated for complications from terminal cancer of the head, neck and throat.