Wiseguy, quit stallin’ trial: judge

A FEDERAL CASE against a gangster, delayed for months by antics and psych tests, is finally rolling ahead.

And the judge wants to keep it that way.

Back in May, Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged Battista (Benny) Geritano, 45, with making an extortion attempt through threatening letters.

Authorities say the reputed Gambino associate sent menacing missives while he was locked up on a 12-year sentence for stabbing someone at a Bay Ridge bar.

Until Thursday, Geritano hadn’t even been arraigned on the federal charges. Brooklyn Federal Judge Sterling Johnson entered a not guilty plea on Geritano’s behalf when his lawyer balked.

“The case is going to move,” Johnson said.

There’s a reason for his impatience.

Geritano was removed from arraignment court in May after announcing he was the person running the show and insisting clerks identify themselves.

And when he started mouthing off days later to Johnson, the judge sent him to North Carolina for a mental health evaluation. A psychologist said Geritano exhibited no mental illnesses precluding him from fighting the case.