Judge orders Gotti grandson to donate kidney or begin prison term

In a Brooklyn courtroom, Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury presented Carmine Agnello, the grandson of the late mob boss John Gotti, with an ultimatum: donate a kidney to his ailing mother, Victoria Gotti, by Monday or report to prison to begin his 15-month sentence for COVID-related fraud. Agnello, who had been granted a two-month stay to allow a transplant originally set for Aug. 3, saw the operation postponed because his mother developed a severe infection and required intensive antibiotics.

He subsequently asked to shift his surrender date from Aug. 10 to Sept. 18, citing a new transplant date, but the judge rejected the request. Federal prosecutors from the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office argued that the situation does not justify additional leniency and suggested the surgery could occur behind bars. Agnello had pleaded guilty to skimming SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans and was ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution. Victoria Gotti, a former reality-TV personality, praised her son’s willingness to donate in a letter to the court.