On March 17, 2003, Gotti was convicted of extortion, money laundering, and racketeering activities centered on the Brooklyn and Staten Island waterfronts, and for the attempted extortion of film actor Steven Seagal. On April 15, 2004, Judge Frederic Block of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York sentenced Gotti to nine years and four months in prison for the charges. During the trial, Gotti's lawyers stated that he was blind in one eye and suffered from thyroid goiter, sciatica, emphysema, rheumatoid arthritis, postconcussion syndrome, and depression.