The Teflon Don’s grandson is hoping this ploy sticks.
Carmine Agnello, the grandson of late Gambino crime boss John Gotti, wants a federal judge to cut him a break on prison time — because he’s donating a kidney to his ailing mom, court records show.
Agnello, 39, could face three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to fraud in 2024 for pocketing $1.1 million in COVID relief funds meant for struggling businesses — using much of the ill-gotten cash to invest in cryptocurrency.
But the mob-connected con man is hoping an organ donor defense can cut him loose sooner — a desperate move that federal prosecutors in Suffolk County are trying to shoot ahead of his March 13 sentencing.
“If the defendant becomes the donor and an imminent date is set for the operation, a delay in the defendant’s surrender date may be appropriate,” prosecutors said in a motion filed Thursday.
“However, being a kidney donor does not … constitute extraordinary family circumstances and warrant a below guidelines sentence,” the US Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York wrote.
Agnello’s request for a break in the sentencing came in a Feb. 19 court filing in the case, which has since been sealed and is not available for public scrutiny.
However, the response from prosecutors, which was reviewed by The Post, spells out the request.
The intended organ recipient is not identified, but it’s likely Agnello’s mom, Victoria Gotti.
People magazine reported in November that Victoria Gotti needed a transplant, and the court filing notes Agnello has “two adult brothers who live with, or nearby, their ill relative” to help with the recovery.
Prosecutors also argued that the federal Bureau of Prisons has more than adequate medical facilities to handle Agnello’s own recovery from the kidney transplant, the document said.
“BOP officials have advised me that, if the surgery does take place, BOP could accept defendant once he is cleared by the surgeon who removes his kidney,” the prosecutors said.
“Planning to donate does not preclude BOP custody without a delay in surrender date as there have been inmates [who] donate while incarcerated.”
According to the US Attorneys Office, Agnello admitted that he filed three fraudulent applications for COVID relief lans through Crown Auto Parts, lying about the number of employees and the intended use for the money, court records show.
In addition to his pending prison sentence, he was ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution.