Victoria Gotti a step closer to getting son's kidney after his sentencing is postponed

The sentencing of Carmine Agnello — the grandson of late mob kingpin John J. Gotti — has been postponed from Friday to next month, allowing time for him to donate a kidney to his mother, according to court records.

In an “emergency request” issued Thursday, Agnello’s defense attorney Steven Metcalf asked U.S. District Judge Nusrat Choudhury to postpone his client’s sentencing on wire fraud charges related to COVID-19 small business loans so he can undergo surgery March 30 to donate his kidney.

Metcalf’s request redacted the name of the individual who will receive the kidney, but recently unsealed court papers identified the transplant recipient as Agnello’s mother, Victoria Gotti, of Smithtown, the deceased mob boss’ daughter, Newsday previously reported.

On Thursday, Agnello, also of Smithtown, was scheduled for “pre-op testing,” which Metcalf indicated would likely carry over into Friday, his original sentencing date. The testing was “immediately needed because the surgery has been scheduled amongst at least three surgeons to take place on March 30, 2026,” he said.

“Mr. Agnello is still in a status to be ‘cleared’ for the surgery,” Metcalf added. “The primary concern now is that if Mr. Agnello is not ‘cleared’ immediately, then he will not obtain the ‘clearance’ for this transplant; and thus, the entire procedure will be jeopardized if Mr. Agnello is not approved within this new time frame — basically the next two weeks.”

Choudhury ordered the sentencing of Agnello, 39, to take place “sometime between April 14-17, 2026 or April 20-22, 2026,” court records state.

Metcalf could not be immediately reached for comment late Thursday.

Agnello pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before Choudhury in September 2024, Newsday has reported. He received about $1.1 million from the federal Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program under false pretenses. The various loans he secured for his business, Queens-based Crown Auto Parts & Recycling, went to his own personal use.

Agnello previously hoped the judge would sentence him to probation to allow him the opportunity to donate his kidney, Newsday has reported. Prosecutors opposed the leniency and are seeking a sentence of 33 to 41 months in prison. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles P. Kelly “did not oppose a short extension of the sentencing date,” Metcalf said in his Thursday request.

Agnello is Gotti’s only relative who is a possible doner, according to court documents. Without the transplant, she will permanently depend on a “grueling” dialysis regimen or die of end-stage renal failure, Metcalf said in a previously unsealed sentencing memorandum.