NEW YORK (AP) – Three mistrials added up Friday to one huge victory for second-generation mobster John A. “Junior” Gotti.

Federal prosecutors announced they would not pursue a fourth racketeering case against Mr. Gotti, son of the late Gambino head John “Teflon Don” Gotti.

“The decision wasn’t unexpected, but obviously it’s great to have confirmation,” said Mr. Gotti’s attorney, Charles Carnesi. “It’s a terrific relief.”

Mr. Carnesi had not yet spoken with Mr. Gotti, who said after last month’s third mistrial that he wanted to take his wife and six children to the Midwest, attend college and lead a quiet life away from the region where his name became synonymous with organized crime.

U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said in a statement that retrying Mr. Gotti “is not in the interests of justice in light of the three prior hung juries in the case.”

But more legal problems could lie ahead: Radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa promised a civil suit against Mr. Gotti over his near-fatal June 1992 kidnapping allegedly ordered by the mob scion. Mr. Sliwa was allegedly targeted for his incessant on-air criticism of the elder Mr. Gotti. He survived by diving out the window of a moving cab after suffering a pair of gunshot wounds.

The jury in the third trial unanimously found that Mr. Gotti, 42, had ordered the kidnapping, and the defendant admitted to a lengthy criminal career. But that was insufficient to convict the younger Mr. Gotti of racketeering because the panel was split on his claim of quitting the mob before July 1999.

Mr. Gotti’s assertion was the key to the case, because the five-year racketeering statute of limitations expired if he had stopped mob activity by that date. The latest case had a jury divided 8-4, with most believing Mr. Gotti never swore off the mob before the Sept. 27 mistrial was declared.

In Mr. Gotti’s September 2005 trial, a jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction. This spring, a second trial produced the same result – although that panel favored acquittal.