John 'Junior' Gotti's wife, Kimberly, and daughter, Gianna, reject anger management plea deal

The wife and daughter of John “Junior” Gotti, former acting boss of the Gambino crime family, on Wednesday rejected a plea deal requiring 12 weeks of anger management classes stemming from a fistfight at a high school basketball game.

The mother and daughter will opt instead to fight the charges, claiming that it was the other woman involved in the brawl who threw the first punch.

Gianna Gotti, 25, and Kimberly Gotti, 55, were both accused of hitting and ripping the wig off Crystal Etienne who asked them to stop heckling the teenagers in the bleachers cheering for Locust Valley High School, where the fight took place Feb. 9.

Gianna Gotti, wearing a dark pinstriped pantsuit with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, appeared in First District Court in Hempstead to enter a plea of not guilty. Her mother, who recently underwent medical treatment, could not attend.

Assistant Nassau District Attorney Sofiya Rubenova offered to resolve the case with a guilty plea to the misdemeanor assault charge, anger management classes and an agreement to stay away from the alleged victim.

Their lawyer, Gerard Marrone, told the court they would decline the offer and take their chances at trial.

According to the criminal complaint, the mother and daughter were shouting homophobic slurs at the teens at the game when the woman asked them to stop.

Marrone said that it was the teens who were taunting their son, as he shot free throws for Oyster Bay High School, the opposing team.

“He’s a tall kid,” Marrone said. “That’s bullying and that’s sad that this woman would condone it.”

Gianna Gotti did not speak after the hearing, but her father, wearing a black varsity letter jacket with the logo “The Dapper Don” printed on the back, said that they would fight the charges.

“She was an aggressor. She wasn’t a victim,” the former mafia don said of Etienne. “We would not be here if we were to counter-press charges. What happens is simply this: She chose a fight. She chose a fight with the wrong woman. She ended up with a bad decision. And then she decided to press charges.”

The mob scion added, “We don’t press charges.”

Etienne, who declined to comment when reached by phone, told police that as she was hit by the mother, the daughter came up behind her and yanked her hairpiece off her head.

“I’m 25 and me and my mother already snatched your [expletive] off,” Etienne told police Gianna Gotti said.

Marrone said that they had discovered video of the fight in which he claims Etienne is seen throwing the first punch.

“The Locust Valley fans were taunting the Oyster Bay fans, that's when it all started,” Marrone said. “They were cursing and making fun of the other players and that’s when Mrs. Gotti asked them to stop making fun of her son, Joseph. As a mom, she stuck up for her son and I can’t blame her.”

He said that's when the other woman tried to intervene. They exchanged words and got in each other’s faces, and that’s when the fight broke out.

“Mrs. Gotti was not the aggressor,” Marrone said. “We have a video showing that clearly.”

The defense lawyer said that the Gotti daughter, who was a top high school and college basketball player, plans to go to law school and would like to keep her criminal record clean.

Her father, on the other hand, has been charged numerous times.

The son of “Teflon Don” John J. Gotti, so-called for his ability to beat federal charges, “Junior” Gotti served six years for racketeering and extortion in 1999. He endured four other federal trials in Manhattan from 2006 through 2008, when he was acquitted of all the charges. 

“We have evidence that negates the victim’s entire statement,” Marrone said. “John fights cases. That’s what John does. John’s been fighting the government his entire life.”