Infamous mob boss John Gotti’s grandson Carmine Agnello missed a court-ordered deadline to donate a kidney to his mother, Victoria Gotti, after a judge gave him a two-month reprieve on his fraud sentence so that he could undergo the surgery.
After Agnello, 40, missed the deadline to have the surgery on Monday, August 3, his lawyer revealed in a court filing on Tuesday, August 4, that Victoria, 63, has a “serious infection requiring a battery of antibiotics,” according to New York Daily News.
Agnello was originally supposed to report to prison on July 20 after he was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to a $1.1 million COVID fraud scheme in September 2024.
However, U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury gave him two additional months before he had to report to prison so he could donate the kidney. Choudhury determined that Agnello would be allowed to self-surrender to prison on September 18 as long as he donated the kidney to his mother by August 3.
As part of the agreement, Agnello was ordered to self-surrender by Monday, August 10, if he did not undergo the surgery by the deadline.
After the decision was made, federal prosecutors argued that they did not agree that Agnello should be able to report to prison two months late.
“This is precisely the basis upon which the defendant sought an eve-of-sentencing adjournment in March; and, after obtaining that adjournment, no surgery actually occurred,” prosecutors said, per the outlet. “Needless to say, the government is extremely skeptical of the instant request.”
Agnello appeared to be taking the surgery seriously, and his lawyer, Robert Beltrani, previously submitted assurances from two doctors that the procedure would take place on August 3.
However, Beltrani said on August 4 that the infection prompted “what is expected to be a minor delay in the transplantation.”
“It is nonetheless hoped that she will be cleared for surgery in the coming days and Mr. Agnello stands ready to provide the donation and simply awaits word of a green light for the surgery,” the lawyer said, adding that he had “high hopes” the transplant would be able to take place on August 10.
Beltrani insisted that Agnello will follow the court’s ruling and surrender by August 10 at 2 p.m., but asked that the judge allow him to surrender at a later date if the surgery is able to happen before then.
“Unfortunately, much to my consternation, the profile of this case would seem to be causing extra delays with the Hospital’s legal department,” Beltrani said.
A judge has not formally responded to the request as of time of publication.
Before Agnello received his sentence in April, Victoria wrote a letter to the judge asking that her son not be sentenced to prison due to the pending kidney transplant. She called Agnello her “Miracle Child” in the letter and said, “He is giving me the GIFT OF LIFE.”
Agnello previously admitted to fraudulently applying for three COVID-19 relief loans for his business, Crown Auto Parts, in which he falsely claimed he had no criminal record and lied about the size of his payroll. Instead of using the $420,000 he obtained for his business, he used the money to invest in a cryptocurrency business.
His legal issues continued in June when he was arrested for his involvement in a domestic assault dispute with his girlfriend.
He pleaded not guilty on charges of third-degree assault, criminal obstruction of breathing and criminal mischief for allegedly choking his girlfriend. The case proceedings remain ongoing for the domestic abuse case.
Read the full article here
