Woman in crash with mob widow Victoria Gotti sues

A Shirley woman is suing mob widow Victoria Gotti, alleging in court papers that she suffered serious injuries and "mental anguish" when Gotti struck her car last year in Moriches.

The Feb. 21, 2009, collision left Valerie Palleschi, 53, "incapacitated from her usual vocation and avocation," according to papers filed April 1 in State Supreme Court in Riverhead.

A Suffolk police report said Gotti, 68, of Howard Beach, was driving a 2009 Nissan west on Montauk Highway at 5:18 p.m., when it struck the front left side of a 2002 Infinity driven by Palleschi, who was driving south on Barnes Road and turning left onto Montauk Highway.

Both women were injured, though the police report does not indicate the severity of the injuries. No tickets were issued.

Palleschi and her attorney, Lisa Borsella of Holtsville, did not return calls for comment Friday.

Gotti's daughter, Victoria Gotti, 47, a writer and reality television star who lives in Old Westbury, on Friday characterized the incident as a "fender bender."

"It's being handled by the insurance company," she said.

The elder Victoria Gotti's late husband, "Dapper Don" John J. Gotti, died in June 2002 from throat cancer in a Missouri prison hospital, where he was serving a life sentence for murder and racketeering.

In the suit, Palleschi said she suffered "serious personal injuries, a severe shock to her nervous system and certain internal injuries," as well as "severe physical pain and mental anguish."

Court papers do not specify the nature of Palleschi's injuries and do not identify her occupation or how much time she may have missed from her job. The suit asks for monetary damages but does not specify an amount.