The wife and daughter of former acting mob boss John Gotti Jr have again pleaded not guilty to starting a brawl at a youth basketball game.
Kimberly Gotti, 56, and daughter Gianna Gotti, 25, were cuffed following the fight at Long Island’s Locust Valley High School on February 2, and each hit with a single charge misdemeanor third-degree assault.
They allegedly punched a woman in the face and ripped off her wig after she asked them to stop yelling profanities, as they sat and watched Gotti Jr’s son Joseph play for Oyster Bay.
Appearing at a Long Island courthouse after passing up on plea deals in March, the mother-daughter due were joined by Gotti Jr, who reportedly got into an argument with a reporter from Newsday.
Accusing him of phony reporting, the Teflon Don’s son and replacement reportedly told the journalist: ‘I’ve always gotten along with the press, I just don’t get along with you.’
Kimberly Gotti and daughter Gianna Gotti, the wife and daughter of former acting mob boss John Gotti Jr, pleaded not guilty to starting a brawl at a youth basketball game in Long Island Tuesday
Gotti Jr attended the proceedings as well, and reportedly got into it with a Newsday reporter
In the hearing held immediately before, the mob scion’s wife and daughter both pleaded not guilty, after appearing once in Nassau District Court in Hempstead in February and again in April.
The first hearing happened on February 3, the day after the altercation in question.
There, they were accused of punching, kicking and pulling the wig off the parent of a player from Locust Valley, where the game was taking place.
About an hour in, the 48-year-old victim, Crystal Etienne, said she was accosted by two women believed to be the Gottis, after supposedly telling them to stop screaming slurs.
‘I asked the two subjects to stop calling the kids ‘fa**ots and p***ies. At that point the unknown female in gray ran towards me. The female punched me and attempted to grab my hat.
‘An unknown younger female with a red jacket began to punch me too. Both unknown females continued to punch me,’ she said.
‘At that point, I began to feel my hair be pulled and then I felt the wig come off which which was held on by three clips and Velcro.
‘I allowed my head to go back and I felt my scalp was going to be ripped off.’
The mob scion’s wife and daughter both pleaded not guilty, after appearing once in Nassau District Court in Hempstead in February and again in April. Kimberly, 56, is seen leaving the latest hearing here
They allegedly punched a woman in the face and ripped off her wig after she asked them to stop yelling profanities, as they sat and watched Gotti Jr’s son Joseph play for Oyster Bay
Appearing at a Long Island courthouse after passing up on plea deals in March, the mother-daughter due were joined by Gotti Jr, who replaced his father as Gambino crime boss after he was sent to prison in 1992
Accusing a journalist of phony reporting, the Teflon Don’s son and replacement reportedly said: ‘I’ve always gotten along with the press, I just don’t get along with you’
The woman said the duo continued to rain blows down on her from above, and that she suffered severe pain from her wig being pulled off. She also suffered scratches to the face, she said – but did not identify the Gottis by name.
She said it was the pair hurling the alleged homophobic, sexist and racist slurs at members of the opposing team that spurred the confrontation, and her to step in.
A day later, Kimberly and Gianna were in court, with Justice David Goodsell presiding.
Both were arraigned on a charge of assault in the third degree with intent to cause physical injury to another person. They pleaded not guilty, and were released.
In April, they were in court yet again, where their attorney, Steven Christiansen, claimed Kimberly’s son, while playing in the game, was being abused by the woman.
Weeks later, Justice Goodsell questioned the credibility of the charges against the Gottis, due to Etienne’s affidavit only identifying them by their clothes, not by name.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s office proceeded to update their complaint against the duo, using body camera footage take from Nassau police, accounts from witnesses, and grabs of footage filmed during the fight to bolster their case.
This spurred a second arraignment – the hearing heard Tuesday.
The case Tuesday was called before 11 am and adjourned shortly thereafter – paving the way for a potentially final hearing slated for September 10
Outside, Gianna’s attorney, Gerard Mattone, continued to content the victim had credibility issues, citing a past arrest
Her lawyer, Frederick K. Brewington, countered that raising the conviction was an attempt to ‘intimidate’ his client, who Christiansen then contended is just seeking to sue after the trial. Their next hearing is slated for September 10
There, Christiansen slammed the day’s proceedings as ‘the third effort by the prosecution to draft a legally sufficient accusatory instrument,’ while accusing prosecutors of trying to ‘extort a guilty plea’ out of Kimberly.
He claimed they offered the way out to drop her daughter’s charges after six months, a year after the girl herself signed a contract to play basketball professionally in Portugal.
Despite the alleged grilling, neither flipped, after already rejecting plea deals that would have placed them in anger management programs in exchange for settling the charges.
The case Tuesday was called before 11 am and adjourned shortly thereafter – paving the way for a potentially final hearing on September 10.
Outside, Gianna’s attorney, Gerard Mattone, continued to content the victim had credibility issues, including a past arrest.
Etienne pleaded guilty in 2017 to a misdemeanor after embezzling $50,000 from a car dealership where she worked as a comptroller – a conviction she herself denied having.
Pictured: Mob Boss John Gotti – Gotti Jr’s father and predecessor – outside court before being sent to prison in 1991. He died in 2002
Her lawyer, Frederick K. Brewington, countered that raising the conviction was an attempt to ‘intimidate’ his client, who Christiansen then contended is just seeking to sue after the trial.
‘We’ll see what happens, but I think most likely the case will be dismissed,’ Brewington told The New York Post.
‘If the defendants’ last name wasn’t Gotti, this would not have gone this far,’ added Christiansen.
Gotti Jr, 60, replaced his infamous father as Gambino crime boss after he was sent to prison in 1991.
He served as acting boss until 1999, when he was arrested on racketeering charges.
In a plea deal, he pleaded guilty and served just under seven years’ in prison. His dad died in prison in 2002.
