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Fraud case against John Gotti’s grandson could derail a life-saving kidney transplant for his mom, Victoria Gotti, court papers say
A grandson of the infamous mob boss John Gotti says sending him to prison could cost his mother her life.
Recently unsealed court papers show that Carmine G. Agnello — grandson of the late Gambino crime boss John J. Gotti — is asking a federal judge to spare him prison time because he is expected to donate a kidney to his mother, best-selling author and former tabloid columnist and reality TV star Victoria Gotti, according to a Newsday crime report.
Agnello, 40, of Smithtown, pleaded guilty to wire fraud tied to about $1.1 million in federal COVID-19 small-business relief loans. Prosecutors have said he should serve 31 to 44 months in prison when he’s sentenced in federal court Friday by U.S. District Judge Nusrat Choudhury.
But Agnello’s attorney argues that prison could effectively prevent the transplant his mother urgently needs.
“Mr. Agnello’s incarceration would effectively foreclose the only viable path to preserving his mother’s life,” defense attorney Steven Metcalf II wrote in a sentencing memo, according to court filings reviewed by the newspaper.
Victoria Gotti, 63, suffers from end-stage kidney failure and faces grim prospects without a transplant — either permanent dialysis or death, she has said, and repeats in a court filing related to her son’s federal case.
Dialysis requires treatments several times a week lasting hours each session and carries a five-year survival rate of about 40 percent, Agnello’s defense filing states. Court papers stress Agnello may be the only viable donor within the family, a point Metcalf argues should weigh heavily against sending him to prison.
Victoria’s writes to the judge
In a letter to the judge, Gotti described herself as a single mother who gave up a potential legal career and her work as a newspaper columnist to raise her three sons, Newsday’s Nicole Fuller reported.
“I am a mother, absolutely sick and devastated my son is in this position,” Victoria Gotti wrote. “This is NOT the way he was raised!”
Victoria Gotti’s once-glitzy, long-abandoned mansion sells for $1.1M
Despite Agnello’s guilty plea to wire fraud in September 2024, Gotti wrote that she believes her son didn’t knowingly commit fraud, claiming a professional filled out the loan application and he responded to questions via text message.
Agnello’s lawyer also argued that donating a kidney would leave his client medically vulnerable — that entering federal prison soon after could pose serious health risks. The court filing also mentions Victoria Gotti’s other health issues. Those include mitral valve prolapse and a past surgery to remove precancerous breast cells.
Agnello grew up in the public eye during the early-2000s reality television show “Growing Up Gotti,” which was based in the family’s Old Westbury mansion and estate. His lawyer described him as a “fan favorite” who pursued interests in bodybuilding, music and cars despite the notoriety of his family name.
Agnello’s grandfather, John Gotti — the flamboyant Gambino crime family boss dubbed “The Teflon Don” for repeatedly beating criminal charges — died in federal prison in Springfield, Missouri, in 2002 after he was convicted of multiple mob-related murders.
Top: Victoria Gotti in 2018 (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) and Carmine G. Agnello (Instagram/Carmin Gotti Agnello)
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