Carmine Agnello, the grandson of notorious gangster John Gotti, faces a stark choice: donate a kidney to his ailing mother or turn himself in to prison. The 40-year-old was scheduled to begin a 15-month jail sentence for fraud on June 20 but received a two-month reprieve to undergo the transplant operation.
Transplant deadline set
Agnello, who starred in the reality TV show Growing Up Gotti, was due to have the surgery on August 3. However, the procedure has not yet taken place. His lawyers say his mother, Victoria Gotti, 63, who is battling end-stage renal disease, suffered a serious infection and was prescribed antibiotics before the operation.
Court filings from Agnello's attorney, Robert Beltrani, obtained by the New York Post, state that Agnello "stands ready to provide the donation and simply awaits word of a greenlight of surgery." The lawyer expressed "high hopes" the transplant would occur by August 10.
Judge's ruling
US District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury set a firm deadline, as reported by the New York Daily News. The judge ruled: "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."
"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."
Fraud conviction
The former reality TV star pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud after receiving three loans from the Small Business Administration for Crown Auto Parts and Recycling LLC, a Queens-based business he operated. Documentation submitted with the loan application falsely claimed he had no prior criminal record, despite two convictions, prosecutors argued. Agnello received more than $1.1 million in small business loans.
In a letter to the judge, Victoria pleaded for her son to be spared jail so he could donate his kidney, which she said she desperately needed. "He is giving me the GIFT OF LIFE," she wrote.
