Assault charges against Mafia heir John Gotti Jr.'s wife and daughter were dropped Tuesday in connection with a scuffle at a youth basketball game on Long Island, officials said.
Kimberly Gotti, 55, and Gianna Gotti, 23, daughter-in-law and granddaughter of the late notorious Mafia mobster John Gotti Sr., attend a basketball game at Locust Valley High School on Feb. 8. He is accused of attacking a woman after she screamed at him. He insulted Kimberly's son Joe, who was playing on the visiting team from Oyster Bay High School.
The mother-daughter duo reportedly punched the woman and ripped her wig off while calling the opposing team's players “shit, pie”.
A representative from the Nassau County District Attorney's Office said Gotti's misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault against the women were dropped Tuesday “for procedural reasons.”
The agency did not elaborate on the procedural basis.
But Gotti's attorney, Gerald Marrone, said Gotti's clients are concerned about witness reliability issues, including the implication of the alleged victim's unrelated criminal history, and the failure of prosecutors to turn over evidence in time. Because of this, he said he rejected an earlier plea deal from prosecutors.
“In fact, upon investigation, we found that the witness who accused us in this case had a significant criminal history and was charged with a felony,” the attorney said. “The prosecutor's office did not tell us that and did not provide us with evidence in an appropriate and timely manner.”
Marrone filed a “monster motion” raising this issue in court documents, saying, “The court agreed with us and the case was rightfully dismissed.”
“We are very happy with this result,” he said.
After the hearing, Gotti Jr. accused the media outside the courtroom of publishing witness affidavits alleging that his wife and daughter had made racist comments during the incident, a claim that was “absolutely false.” “and completely false,” Gotti Jr. said.
Gotti Jr. said the witness was unreliable and changed his account in a second affidavit.
Gianna Gotti — professional basketball player who previously played at Brooklyn College Signed with Portuguese team — added outside court that the judge's ruling “feels great.”
“I can't wait to get home and tell my mom the news,” she said.
Marrone said Kimberly did not appear in court because the judge had waived her appearance due to severe health issues.
“She's not feeling well,” explained the lawyer who represented the Gotti family for many years. “She's very sick. Unfortunately, her cancer has returned. She's fighting a battle now, poor woman. The judge knows that and refuses to let her go to court. I did.”
Mr. Marrone maintained that the charges “should never have been brought” and argued that the fact that his clients were mob royalty led to their arrest.
“We have always maintained that they are being targeted because of their name,” Marrone said of the law and general conflict with the Gotti family. The late Gotti family patriarch was the boss of New York's Gambino crime family.
“Today is just another example of law enforcement targeting them,” he said of Tuesday's proceedings.
The prosecutor's office will wait for the judge's written decision on the case before “considering its options,” an agency representative said, leaving the door open to a possible appeal.
