2nd man charged in Giordano case
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - March 21, 2008 John A. Russo Jr. of Staten Island, N.Y., is accused of
tampering with evidence in connection to the death of Amy Giordano,
the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said.
Authorities refused to release details, citing the ongoing
investigation. Russo is not in custody. Authorities said he has
been advised of the charge and is expected to be formally served
with the complaint in the next few days.
Russo, 43, faces a maximum of 18 months in prison if convicted
on the fourth-degree crime, according to prosecutor's office.
A phone listing for Russo could not be found and it was not
immediately clear if he had retained a lawyer. An after-hours
message left for the prosecutor's spokeswoman was not immediately
returned.
The charges against Russo were announced just one day after
Rosario DiGirolamo was charged with murdering Giordano, 27, of
Hightstown. Her body has not been found.
DiGirolamo, 33, who had lived in Millstone, and was married, was
having an affair with Giordano at the time of her disappearance.
Giordano vanished last June two days before the couple's
11-month-old son was abandoned in the parking lot of Christiana
Hospital in Newark, Del., by DiGirolamo. The child was found with a
handwritten note pinned to his diaper calling him "John Vincent"
and saying his caregiver had no job or health insurance. The child
has been in foster care since then.
According to authorities, DiGirolamo flew to Italy on June 14,
the day that police in Delaware and New Jersey connected the baby
to him and Giordano. He returned in early August and surrendered to
police in Delaware on charges of reckless endangerment and child
abandonment. He pleaded guilty to those charges in November.
Authorities declined to comment Thursday on what led to
DiGirolamo's arrest on the murder charge, but said there is
evidence that Giordano is dead. He was taken into custody at his
parents' home in Brooklyn.
DiGirolamo faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted,
Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini said.
He is being held in New York on $1 million bail, and no
extradition hearing was immediately scheduled. Courts are closed on
Friday for Good Friday.
DiGirolamo's lawyer, Jerome Ballarotto, said they are ready to
defend against the murder charge.
