John “Junior” Gotti’s wife and daughter were accused of assault after they claimed in court Wednesday that the mob family’s name was used against them during a brawl at a Long Island basketball game earlier this year. I would like to have it withdrawn.
Kimberly, 56, and Gianna Gotti, 24, were each charged with an altercation with another parent inside the Locust Valley High School gymnasium while Gotti’s son was playing on February 8. He is charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Oyster Bay High School visiting team.
The mother-daughter duo are accused of punching and pulling the victim’s hair during the scuffle, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
The alleged victim, Crystal Etienne, identified her attackers based on the clothing they were wearing, but a statement read in court did not reveal the names of the two defendants until after they were handcuffed by police. Newsday reported.
The newspaper reported that Nassau County District Court Judge David Gussel asked in a courtroom session why a corroborating deposition would be sufficient because “the identity cannot be established.”
Gerald Marrone, a lawyer for the Gottises, argued in court Wednesday that his clients’ notorious last names put them at a disadvantage.
“It was brought to my attention by the athletic director, John Gotti, who said the victim had been attacked by two women,” he said, according to Newsday.
“That’s why the name Gotti was thrown around. The Gotti girls, mother and daughter, were arrested. The victim identified my client and the client was arrested as he came out of the gym in handcuffs. It was only when I did it.”
Marrone reportedly said he intended to request that both lawsuits be dismissed. He has until June 4 to file his motion.
Gottis also rejected a second plea deal Wednesday that would have dropped the case against Gianna if Kimberly pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. News 12 reported.
Mother and daughter were offered a plea deal in March that would only require them to take anger management classes, but they rejected the offer.
Meanwhile, the District Attorney’s Office told Newsday on Wednesday that prosecutors intend to move forward with the case.
Marrone previously blamed the alleged victim for the explosion, telling the Post in February that the other parent had thrown the first punch and had been wooing Kimberly’s youngest son.
Kimberly and Gianna allegedly said gay slurs during the match, which Marrone also denied.
Marrone pointed out Kimberly and Gianna’s last names during the hearing, but Junior Gotti said outside court that he didn’t want to blame his infamous last name for the uproar.
“I don’t want that to happen. It’s a crutch, but I’ve never used it as a crutch and I never will,” he said, according to Newsday. “However, please be careful about this case.”
Gotti served six years in federal prison for racketeering, but was spared further prison time because four other trials between 2004 and 2009 ended in miscarriages of justice.
Junior Gotti is the son of the late “Dapper Don” John Gotti, the mob boss who took over the Gambino crime family by ordering a mob to beat up boss Paul Castellano outside Sparks Steak House in 1985. be.
He died of throat cancer in prison.
