Juror: 'I'll cut off your finger'

A juror twice threatened to cut off the finger of another member of the jury during the deliberations at the end of a fraud trial in New York, it has been claimed.

The allegation was formally made to US District Court judge Robert Patterson and included in the court transcript, Reuters reports.

The note read: "In a loud and belligerent manner [the juror] threatened to 'cut off your (my) finger.

"She made that statement twice. In the same tirade she stated: 'I will have my husband take care of you.'"

The judge denied a mistrial request by defence counsel William Schwartz, while the jury foreman said that the dispute could be "traced to both parties involved".