NEW YORK, July 14 (UPI) -- A convicted New York mob associate of the late John Gotti is seeking early release from prison, saying he may need a kidney transplant.
In a court filing, Gambino family captain Dominick "Skinny Dom" Pizzonia says he learned last year he is suffering from advanced cancer of the urethra, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.
Pizzonia, 69, serving 15 years for a 2007 conviction on racketeering and illegal gambling charges, underwent surgery to remove his left kidney in December and is undergoing chemotherapy treatment at the federal prison hospital in Butner, N.C., the newspaper said.
"If my remaining kidney becomes damaged, I will need a transplant to survive," Pizzonia wrote in a petition before U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein.
"The [U.S. Bureau of Prisons] is unable to provide me with an organ transplant."
Pizzonia is asking Weinstein to reduce the sentence to 81 months or house arrest so he can get on a waiting list for a transplant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Norris had no comment on Pizzonia's medical condition but said there is no basis in law to grant such a request.
