Reading Time: 3 minutes
Carmine Agnello is facing years behind bars.
But not if his mother has any say in the matter.
Victoria Gotti is urging the court to grant her son probation for his 7-figure fraud scheme.
He pleaded guilty. And, she says, he is also her kidney donor for her upcoming transplant.
A plea for leniency
This week, The New York Daily News obtained and reported on a letter that Victoria Gotti submited to federal court.
Writing to US District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury, she begged the justice system to spare her eldest son, Carmine Agnello, from a prison sentence.
Carmine plans to donate one of his kidneys to her, she argues.
As such, she’d like for him to remain out of prison for his healthcare needs — and, in turn, for hers.
Carmine is 39. Unless the court follows Victoria’s plea, it is expected that he will spend time in prison.
“Your Honor, you want to know what kind of a young man Carmine is?” Victoria wrote.
“On my life, my upcoming transplant, THAT is the kind of young man my son is,” she praised.
Victoria announced: “He is giving me the GIFT OF LIFE.”
That is an inspiring thing for her son to do.
Ultimately, it will be up to the court to determine if this should mean an alteration to his prison sentence.
$1.1 million is a lot of fraud
Long Island federal court is preparing to sentence Carmine, the eldest of her three sons.
(He should not be confused with Carmine “The Bull” Agnello, who was his father and who also went to prison.)
In 2024, he pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
Carmine admitted to misusing COVID-19 relief loans in total of about $1.1 million.
A substantial portion of the money in those loans went to cryptocurrency.
Prosecutors hope that the court will sentence Carmine to 33 to 41 months behind bars.
They are also seeking restitution to the tune of $1.25 million.
Currently, Carmine is out on bond. But with sentencing swiftly approaching, that could soon change.
Her attorney echoed her sentiments. His suggestion to the court is that Carmine receive probation.
Additionally, her lawyer wrote: “Undergoing this transplant means that custody in the [Bureau of Prisons] is a huge risk.”
Kidney donation is noble, but might not be a sentencing factor
Federal prosecutors aren’t exactly in agreement.
“Being a kidney donor does not… constitute extraordinary family circumstances,” one US attorney wrote.
The prosecutorial argument is that the Bureau of Prisons is capable of handling things like Carmine’s transportation and medical needs for a kidney donation.
It is, of course, an inspiring thing for a son to give his mother a life-saving organ donation.
But doing good things cannot always cancel out doing bad things. Being a good son and a good citizen are not synonymous.
