John Gotti’s grandson Carmine Agnello must begin his prison sentence after his surrender date was postponed so that he could donate a kidney to his mother, Victoria Gotti.
As Us previously reported, a judge ordered that Agnello, 40, must undergo the kidney transplant by August 3 or report to prison by Monday, August 10. If the surgery took place before the scheduled date, he could remain out of prison until September 18 in order to support his recovery.
His lawyer, Robert Beltrani, asked U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury on August 10 to push the deadline back, arguing his client would still report to prison on September 18. The request included a letter from Victoria’s doctor, which explained that her “renal transplant cannot be performed until her infections are fully treated.”
Despite the request, Choudhury did not rescind the initial ruling and only gave Agnello two extra hours before he had to report to prison on August 10. He was also ordered to surrender to either the U.S. Marshals or the Bureau of Prisons by 4 p.m., according to New York Daily News.
In his request to the judge, Beltriani argued that requiring Agnello report to prison on August 10 would render it impossible for him to donate his kidney to Victoria, 63, as she battles renal failure.
“If Carmine is required to surrender later today (Monday, August 10) he will essentially be disqualified as an option to serve as his mother’s living donor at the very time that his mother’s medical team is working to determine when she can safely proceed with the transplant,” Beltrani wrote, per the outlet.
“Carmine understands his obligation to surrender on September 18 and is not seeking to avoid that obligation,” Beltrani continued. “He is simply asking the Court to allow him to remain available to his mother during this very limited period while he doctors determine whether and when she can proceed with transplant.”
Federal prosecutors responded that they denied the request in part because the surgery has not yet been scheduled.
“The medical report attached to defendant’s letter and filed on ECF states that the recipient has had recurrent infections necessitating the cancellation of any potential transplant. A workup is being performed to identify the etiology and the proper treatment for these infections,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kelly wrote, according to the outlet. “Clearly, the transplant surgery is not imminent.”
The judge made it clear she agreed with Kelly, writing that there was “no concrete evidence that an organ transplant will be scheduled to take place at any time between today and September 18, 2026.” Due to that fact, the “request for another deferral of Mr. Agnello’s self-surrender is unjustified.”
Agnello pleaded guilty to a $1.1 million COVID-19 pandemic-related fraud scheme in September 2024.
He was originally supposed to report to prison on July 20 after he was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison, but Choudhury gave him two additional months to report to prison so that he could donate the kidney.
In the absence of a scheduled surgery date, Choudhury ordered that Agnello report to prison by August 10.
In a Tuesday, August 4, filing, Agnello’s attorney said that Victoria had a “serious infection requiring a battery of antibiotics” that prevented the surgery from happening.
“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,” Beltrani said, adding that he had “high hopes” his client could have the surgery by August 10.
Beltrani went on to insist that Agnello will follow the court’s ruling and surrender by August 10 at 2 p.m. if the surgery was not able to take place. However, he asked the judge to allow Agnello to surrender at a later date if the surgery did happen before the deadline.
