Now may be a good time for Vincent (Chin) Gigante to give up his crazy act, make a deal, and end the lunacy he has created for himself and his relatives for 30 plus years.

He didn't fool a jury last time – when the feds had no tape recordings to counter his claim – so it's whacky to think he can do it now when they have hundreds of conversations in which he speaks lucidly with his wife, children and his heart doctor and friend, Bernard Wechsler.

And this time, the feds have an easier route to a conviction than in 1997, when Chin, now 74, was found guilty of labor racketeering and sentenced to 12 years.

In the current case, in addition to labor racketeering, he is charged with two seemingly easier to prove obstruction of justice counts, one for feigning mental illness from 1990 to 1997 and the other for misleading doctors by claiming that he had mental disease those same years.

And this time, the feds have pulled out all the stops. They have subpoenaed a psychiatrist – who claimed Gigante was loony in 1997 – to testify before the

grand jury, and they have threatened to prosecute additional relatives for being part of a 30-year-long conspiracy. Son Andrew (right) is already a codefendant.

Brooklyn federal prosecutors Daniel Dorsky, Paul Schoeman and Paul Weinstein laid it out last week in court papers contending that their unusual query into the doctor-patient privilege is warranted in Gigante's case.

"Numerous members of Gigante's family informed doctors that Gigante was mentally incompetent, and these doctors subsequently testified that Gigante was incompetent," the prosecutors said.

How does a turncoat wiseguy handle the same situation?

Lawyer Lynne Stewart will soon find out from Genovese capo Salvatore (Sammy Meatballs) Aparo and turncoat Gambino underboss Salvatore (Sammy The Bull) Gravano.

Stewart, charged Tuesday with serving as a conduit for blind radical sheik Abdul Rahman and his terrorist group, will soon discuss that thorny question with the two Sammys, whose cases we have written about in recent weeks.

Sammy Meatballs, who pleaded guilty to racketeering and loansharking earlier this month, is likely to waive any challenges to Stewart's work on his behalf, and proceed to the sentencing phase of his case in due time.

Sammy The Bull is a little harder to figure. He might offer to autograph a copy of her indictment, pose for pictures with her, or ask her to send a "stay strong" message to his crew of drug pushers in Arizona.

Not Really For Idiots
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