Jackie DiNorscio

Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DiNorscio (July 20, 1940 – November 14, 2004) was a member of the Bruno and, later, the Lucchese crime families. DiNorscio died near the end of the shooting of the film Find Me Guilty, which portrayed his participation in the The United States v. Anthony Accetturo et al. trial, after being released from jail on November 23, 2002, after serving 17.5 of the 30 years in prison he was sentenced to. During his incarceration, he and many others related to the Lucchese family were part of the longest federal trial ever (21 months) in which he was both the defendant and provided his own legal counsel.

Philadelphia family
The longtime Don of the Philadelphia crime family, Angelo "Gentle Don" Bruno, was killed on March 21, 1980, resulting in a huge power vacuum. Accetturo and Taccetta on the other hand, used their situation to establish a new foothold in Philadelphia, as a part of the Jersey Crew, with illegal gambling and loansharking operations. Because of the bad relations between the two factions in Philadelphia's crime family, as well as both Taccetta and Accetturo taking advantage of the situation, the relationship between Philadelphia and the New York Families, especially the Luccheses, eventually turned worse than ever, which led to all cooperation between the families being completely terminated. It was around this time that prominent Bruno member, "Jackie" DiNorscio, and many others, defected to the New Jersey faction of the Lucchese crime family to make more profit and to avoid being killed.

21 month trial
During the early 1980s, US law enforcement started an operation to determine all organized crime activities in the North Jersey area, as a four-year-long investigation was finally announced, and indictments were brought up toward 20 members of Jersey Crew. Accetturo was brought from Florida, the Taccetta brothers were arrested in Newark, and 17 other known members were put on trial for 76 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) predicates, which included loansharking, extortion, racketeering, illegal gambling, money laundering, drug trafficking, arson and thefts, as well as murder and conspiracy to commit murder. In late 1986 and early 1987, the trial first began. During the trial, DiNorscio went on to fire his lawyer and represent himself during the entire trial. Although not popular with Accetturo and Taccetta, DiNorscio is reported to have charmed the jury, as the trial ended in 1988, acquitting all 20 defendants. The prosecutors were stunned, as the Jersey Crew went right back where they left off.