John Gotti’s grandson Carmine Agnello has reported to federal prison as ordered, finally starting his 15-month COVID fraud sentence after months of delays over a kidney transplant to his mother, Victoria Gotti, that never happened.
A Bureau of Prisons spokesman confirmed that Agnello, 40, surrendered late Monday and is being housed at the federal correctional institution in Fairton, N.J. The “Growing Up Gotti” star is set to serve out his sentence in a minimum security satellite camp at Fairton, a source familiar with the case said.
Agnello managed to get his March 13 sentencing pushed to April 20, after his lawyer at the time, Steven Metcalf, wrote in a lengthy filing pleading for leniency because he needed to give Victoria Gotti one of her kidneys imminently, or else she might die or be permanently disabled.
The transplant never happened, though, and ahead of sentencing, Agnello’s new lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, apologized to the court and clarified that Victoria Gotti wasn’t on death’s door, but rather would need a kidney transplant in six to 12 months, or else face the prospect of a strict dialysis regimen.
U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury sentenced Agnello to 15 months, giving him until June 20 to surrender, but Agnello — once again represented by a new lawyer, Robert Beltrani — asked for, and received, another delay. Beltrani insisted in court filings that the kidney transplant was still on, and scheduled for Aug. 3, and Choudhury gave him a reprieve on his sentence until Sept. 18.
But Aug. 3 came and went with no transplant. Beltrani told the court that Victoria Gotti had come down with a sever infection requiting a battery of antibiotics, and wasn’t able to go under the knife.
The judge gave Agnello an ultimatum — donate the kidney by Monday, or report to prison.
Agnello made one last push to delay his fate, asking on Monday to keep the Sept. 18 date, and providing along a letter from Victoria Gotti’s doctor stating that “a renal transplant cannot be performed until her infections are fully treated.”
Choudhury refused.
“Because there is no concrete evidence that an organ transplant will be scheduled to take place at any time between today and September 18, 2026, the request for another deferral of Mr. Agnello’s self-surrender is unjustified,” she wrote.
Agnello admitted to fraudulently applying for three COVID relief loans for his business, Crown Auto Parts, lying about the size of his payroll and falsely claiming he had no criminal record. He used $420,000 of the loan money to invest in a cryptocurrency business, according to the feds. As part of his sentence, he must pay more than $1.26 million restitution to the Small Business Administration, serve two years of supervised release, and perform 100 hours of community service.
