Carmine Agnello is facing a hard deadline this week: Donate a kidney to his ailing mother, or report to federal prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury ordered the 39-year-old Agnello, grandson of late Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, to either complete the kidney transplant for his mother, Victoria Gotti, or surrender to begin his 15-month prison sentence by 2 p.m. on Monday (Aug. 10).
If the surgery happens by Monday, his self-surrender date will be pushed to Sept. 18. If it does not, he must report that afternoon.
The ruling follows a July 17 order in which Choudhury granted Agnello a reprieve until Sept. 18 if the transplant took place by Aug. 3. That operation was canceled after Victoria developed a serious infection requiring antibiotics.
Agnello's attorney, Robert Beltrani, disclosed the cancelation in an Aug. 4 court filing, calling it "what is expected to be a minor delay" and saying his client "stands ready to provide the donation and simply awaits word of a green light for the surgery." Beltrani also claimed that "the profile of this case would seem to be causing extra delays with the Hospital's legal department."
As of Friday, the family was still waiting to hear from a surgeon about a rescheduled date. Sources told TMZ the surgery "does not look like it's going to happen by Monday" and that the family was working to secure a confirmed date from doctors before seeking another extension from the court. Those sources said Agnello "is not trying to get out of his prison sentence" and that the family considers his imprisonment "inevitable" if the judge orders him to surrender.
Victoria Gotti, 63, the daughter of John Gotti and a former star of the 2004 reality series Growing Up Gotti, suffers from chronic kidney disease. In court filings, she has described Agnello as her only known compatible donor.
In a March letter to Choudhury, Victoria called her son her "miracle child" and wrote, "He is giving me the GIFT OF LIFE." She has also raised concerns about her son undergoing and recovering from the procedure while incarcerated. Agnello similarly wants to complete the donation before entering prison rather than go through the transplant process while in the custody.
The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office has consistently opposed delaying Agnello's sentence, arguing that his circumstances "do not warrant any leniency" and maintaining that he could donate his kidney while incarcerated.
Agnello was sentenced in April after pleading guilty to wire fraud for obtaining approximately $1.1 million in COVID-era small business disaster loans for Crown Auto Parts & Recycling LLC, a New York-based business he operated.
He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $1,268,302 in restitution.
