The Not-So-'Oddfather'

Jailed mob don Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, once dubbed "The Oddfather" for his mumbling, bathrobe-clad meanderings, is competent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled.

In a brief order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Leo Glasser in Brooklyn said Gigante, 74, is "found both mentally and physically fit to proceed to a speedy trial" on charges he's been running the Genovese crime family from prison.

The motion to determine Gigante's fitness was brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office and was unopposed.

Gigante's lawyers had previously claimed he suffers from incapacitating mental and physical illness. His new attorney, Benjamin Brafman, did not make that argument, though.

"We did not raise, and do not raise, Mr. Gigante's competency to proceed," Brafman said.

Gigante, already serving a 12-year sentence on a 1997 conviction for racketeering and murder conspiracy, was indicted in January on the new charge that he was running the crime family in prison, having his son relay his orders. He has pleaded innocent.

Gigante earned the nickname "The Oddfather" for his penchant for wandering the streets of Greenwich Village in a bathrobe, and mumbling to himself. Authorities contended Gigante put on an act in public to dodge prosecution.