John Gotti’s grandson was put on notice Thursday: move forward with the kidney donation he said he planned for his seriously ill mother, or begin his prison sentence.
Carmine Agnello, 40, was originally ordered to report on June 20 to serve 15 months behind bars for COVID fraud. Instead, he received a two-month delay so he could donate a kidney to his mother, Victoria Gotti, 63, who is suffering from end-stage renal disease.
The transplant surgery had been set for August 3.
But the former Growing Up Gotti cast member has not yet undergone the procedure. His attorney says the delay came after Victoria Gotti developed a serious infection before the planned operation and was placed on multiple antibiotics.
“Mr Agnello stands ready to provide the donation and simply awaits word of a greenlight of surgery,” his lawyer, Robert Beltrani, wrote in a court filing earlier this week that was obtained by the New York Post.
Beltrani also told the court he had “high hopes” the kidney transplant would be completed by August 10.
Now, US District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury has set a firm timeline for Agnello, according to the New York Daily News.
“Should the organ transplant procedure occur on or before August 10, 2026, Mr Agnello shall self-surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by September 18, 2026,” Choudhury ruled Thursday.
‘Should the organ transplant procedure not occur on or before August 10, 2026, Mr Agnello shall self-surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by August 10, 2026 at 2pm.’
Carmine Agnello, 40, was warned on Thursday he must either donate a kidney to his ailing mother as he had planned or report to prison
Agnello’s mother, Victoria Gotti, 63, is facing end-stage renal disease
Agnello pleaded guilty in 2024 to one count of wire fraud for receiving three loans from the Small Business Administration on behalf of Crown Auto Parts and Recycling LLC, a Queens-based business he operated.
Prosecutors said he submitted documentation as part of the loan application process that falsely claimed he had no prior criminal record – even though he had two prior convictions, Newsday reports.
Agnello then received more than $1.1 million in small business loans.
In March, Victoria wrote a lengthy letter to the judge, begging him to spare her son due to the pending kidney transplant, which she said she desperately needed.
‘He is giving me the GIFT OF LIFE,’ she wrote at the time.
Agnello’s lawyer then doubled down on the request for leniency at his sentencing in April, arguing that his client’s link to the notorious Gambino crime boss had left him with limited options in life.
‘There was really no male role models for Carmine – they were all in jail,’ Agnello’s then-lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman said, according to the Post.
‘He tried to live up to the family name. He didn’t have a childhood that would have led to anywhere beside here.’
Agnello is the grandson of notorious gangster John Gotti
But prosecutors vehemently disagreed.
‘This case is not about John Gotti,’ federal prosecutor Charles Kelly argued at the hearing. ‘It’s about Carmine Agnello. At some point, his actions must be his own.’
Federal prosecutors also noted that Agnello could donate a kidney from behind bars.
Choudhury ultimately sentenced Agnello to serve 15 months behind bars, along with two years of post-release supervision, including 100 hours of community service.
He was further ordered to submit to a mental health evaluation and counseling for his gambling addiction.
But less than two months after the sentencing, Agnello was arrested for allegedly choking his girlfriend.
Police said he began yelling at his girlfriend in June, accusing her of cheating.
He then allegedly shoved her, slapped her and punched her in the face, News 12 Long Island reports.
Agnello also allegedly kicked the woman and placed his hands around her neck, obstructing her breathing.
He has since pleaded not guilty to charges of third degree assault, criminal obstruction of breathing and criminal mischief.
