CHIP OFF OLD DON
Gotti grandson grilled in blaze
THIS GOTTI’S all grown up — and going to court.
The 22-year-old grandson of the late Gambino crime boss John Gotti made his debut appearance on Thursday before a federal grand jury in Brooklyn.
The mob prince, who is also named John Gotti, was accompanied to the courthouse by his father, Peter Gotti, and lawyer, Gerard Marrone.
Gotti had been subpoenaed to answer questions about the burning of a Queens pizzeria owner’s Mercedes-Benz.
Gotti is currently dating the sister of Gino Gabrielli, a waiter at a rival pizzeria in Howard Beach, who has been indicted for arson.
“My only comment is my son knows zero about that case,” said Peter Gotti, the son of the murderous mobster who died of cancer in 2002 while serving a life sentence.
Marrone said he had advised his client to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against selfincrimination during the proceeding.
But later, Marrone refused to say whether in fact Gotti had taken his advice — and then refused to answer questions from a Daily News reporter, citing the secrecy of the grand jury.
“I wasn’t in the room,” Marrone told The News, “but he has nothing to offer. He had nothing to do with the arson.
“It’s silly and ridiculous that he was called here. The only reason he was called is because his last name is Gotti,” he added.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Mace declined to comment on the case.
Marrone, for his part, had tried to quash the subpoena on Wednesday, arguing before federal Judge William Kuntz that the process was tainted because the Daily News had reported on March 2 that Gotti had a date with the grand jury, sources said.
A transcript of the proceeding was sealed, but Kuntz apparently did not agree with that arguement.
The feds contend that the arson stemmed from a dispute between Aldo’s Pizzeria in Howard Beach that is owned by Gabrielli’s grandfather, and the owner of Sofia’s Pizzeria in Ozone Park, over a $1,300 catering job.
Gabrielli, 22, will be arraigned on the charge next week.
If he’s convicted, the punishment carries a mandatory minimum five years behind bars.
Gabrielli allegedly set himself on fire during the crime and suf- fered burns on his leg.
A surveillance video shows him going up in flames, according to court papers.
Shortly after the fire, he sought medical treatment at Jamaica Hospital, prosecutors said.
If the millennial Gotti’s grandfather was still around, there’s no way the kid would blab to the feds. The mob boss’ hatred of the government was legendary.
In the book “Shadow of My Father,” mob scion John (Junior) Gotti described his father’s position on dealing with law enforcement.
“If I robbed a church and the steeple was sticking out of my ass, I would deny it,” the Dapper Don had counseled Junior, according to the memoir.
John Gotti, also known as the Teflon Don because of his many acquittals before he was finally nailed for murder and racketeering in 1992, once headed the Gambino crime family.