Victoria Gotti said she would sooner die than accept a kidney transplant from her son if it means he has to recover from the procedure in prison.
The “Growing Up Gotti” star told TMZ her decision on the matter was mostly inspired by her father, John Gotti, who died in prison of throat cancer in 2002 at the age of 61.
The New York mobster and former head of the notorious Gambino crime family was convicted in 1992 of racketeering and murder.
Gotti’s son, Carmine Agnello, 39, was supposed be sentenced on Friday in Long Island Federal Court after he pleaded guilty in September 2024 to fraudulently obtaining $1.1 million in COVID-19 relief loans. He admitted to fraudulently applying for three such loans for his business, Crown Auto Parts — which he co-owned with his brothers — lying about the size of his payroll and falsely claiming he had no criminal record.
On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury granted an emergency request delaying Agnello’s sentencing hearing until to “sometime between April 14-17, 2026 or April 20-22, 2026,” well after the kidney transplant procedure is supposed to be performed.
Federal prosecutors have asked that Agnello get 33 to 41 months behind bars and that he pay $1.25 million in restitution. His attorney, Steven Metcalf, has meanwhile requested probation.
Gotti, who suffers from chronic kidney disease, submitted a letter on her son’s behalf to Choudhury earlier this week. She emphasized the fact that Agnello was planning to donate one of his kidneys to her as she begged Choudhury to keep him out of jail.
“Your Honor, you want to know what kind of a young man Carmine is?” she wrote in a letter to the court.
“I am sure every parent would say that if asked about their child, ‘Oh, he or she is the best’ — but on my life, my upcoming transplant, THAT is the kind of young man my son is,” Gotti continued. “He is there to help anyone. He is kind and generous to a fault. He is giving me the GIFT OF LIFE.”
Gotti told TMZ Friday that, after witnessing her father’s medical care in prison, she does not believe her son will be able to get proper treatment in prison after the kidney donation. His lawyer has expressed similar concern.
“Undergoing this transplant means that custody in the [Bureau of Prisons] is a huge risk,” Metcalf said. “If anything happens then he will be in the worst place to handle such a problem, BOP custody.”
Metcalf added that the surgery to remove one of Agnello’s kidneys and transfer it to his mother is scheduled to take place on March 30.
