Phone calls from East Windsor office under scrutiny
By: Vic Monaco
Rosario "Roy" Digirolamo charged with abandoning his baby boy and labeled a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend and the child’s mother, Amy Giordano of Hightstown may have recently traveled to Sicily, Italy.
And the married Millstone man could have been making plans to flee to Italy while he was working at Conair in East Windsor.
A published report this week had Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini saying Mr. Digirolamo had been tracked to Sicily. But prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Casey DeBlasio said Wednesday that that was not necessarily the case.
"Sicily is one of the possible destinations that Mr. Digirolamo may have been traveling to, due to a family connection in that area," she said. "I couldn’t tell you right now where he is."
Ms. DeBlasio and Bill Evanina, special agent in charge of the Trenton bureau of the FBI, declined to say if Mr. Digirolamo is under surveillance.
Responding to a request, Ms. DeBlasio said Mr. Bocchini is unable to grant one-on-one interviews due to the "high media interest" in the case.
Ms. Giordano, 27, was last seen June 7 at the ShopRite store on Route 130 in East Windsor, with Mr. Digirolamo, 32, and their toddler, Michael Digirolamo. Two days later, the then 11-month-old by was found abandoned outside the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del.
Mr. Digirolamo was last seen locally at Conair on June 11. Three days later, the U.S.-born man boarded a plane in Newark headed to Milan.
Sicily, a group of islands about two miles off the southwest coast of mainland Italy, is close to 800 miles from Milan. It is accessible only by boat or plane.
Sicily is known as the birthplace of the Mafia, and law enforcement officials have been investigating a possible link between the mob and Mr. Digirolamo and/or his wife, Maria DiMaggio. That potential theory, which had apparently cooled the last couple weeks in the eyes of law enforcement officials, is the result of the couple buying their Millstone house from reputed Mafia member Stefano Vitabile. Mr. Vitabile was sentenced to life in prison last year for murder and racketeering.
Conair Vice President John Mayorek told the Herald this week that when Mr. Digirolamo talked on the phone from work, he often spoke in Italian.
"And since no one here speaks Italian, they didn’t know what he was talking about," he said.
He apparently wasn’t talking to his girlfriend at those times because, according to a family member and a borough acquaintance, Ms. Giordano didn’t speak Italian.
"She never spoke Italian," said Joe Mannino, of Mannino’s borough pizza parlor, where Ms. Giordano was a regular customer. "Even the guy (Mr. Digirolamo) never spoke Italian with me."
"No, she definitely does not (speak Italian)," said Stephen Fishbaum, a cousin of Ms. Giordano from her adoptive Orthodox Jewish family.
Mr. Mayorek said he hadn’t yet determined if his company’s phone system could reveal if Mr. Digirolamo had been calling Italy.
Ms. DeBlasio said she couldn’t discuss such an issue because it is part of the ongoing investigation. She also said she does not know if Mr. Digirolamo’s wife speaks Italian.
Ms. DeBlasio also was tight-lipped about the status of forensic testing done at Ms. Giordano’s apartment at 108 Mercer St. in Hightstown, initially declining to say if it had been completed. On Thursday, she said her office did not have "the complete report" and she was unable to predict when it would.
Assistant Prosecutor Angelo Onofri previously indicated the results were expected last week.
Ms. DeBlasio also said there was no information to offer on law enforcement’s analysis of three computers, one each taken from Mr. Digirolamo’s home and office along with Ms. Giordano’s apartment.
Mr. Mayorek said the company was asked to look at his work computer early on in the probe and "there was nothing there just work-related stuff and nonsense."
While Ms. DeBlasio was being veiled in her comments, Delaware State Police were acknowledging that they were almost done with their part of the investigation, which is restricted to the abandonment of the baby outside the Delaware hospital.
Delaware State Police have charged Mr. Digirolamo with child abandonment, a misdemeanor, and reckless endangerment, a felony, after discovering he had made cell phone calls from near the hospital June 9.
Cpl. Jeffrey Whitmarsh indicated this week that Delaware State Police don’t know who Mr. Digirolamo called that day. Mr. Digirolamo had phoned his father in New York before leaving the country and said he was "confused and needed some time," Cpl. Whitmarsh previously confirmed.
"Our investigation is almost concluded," Cpl. Whitmarsh said Wednesday. "We’re just corresponding with New Jersey to see how it’s progressing."
Asked if the prosecutor’s office probe also was winding down, Ms. DeBlasio indicated no.
"We have a missing person investigation. It will be over when we find Amy Giordano," she said.
At the same, Ms. DeBlasio said Mr. Bocchini’s published comment earlier in the week that "the situation looked grave" for Ms. Giordano was correct.
Mr. Evanina said "there’s still plenty of homework to do. We have a surveillable, findable human being."
But he acknowledged that, generally speaking, the level of work by law enforcement would kick into a higher gear if there were evidence of a murder.
"She could still be alive," he added. "Until she shows up dead or alive, she’s a missing person."
Ms. Giordano grew up as Amy Bernstein in New York after being adopted by a family, to which she has been estranged for several years. Her biological family apparently lives in the South but law enforcement officials have said they have been unable to locate those family members.
Cpl. Whitmarsh said those factors have not helped in the investigation.
"History has shown that when a family provides themselves as people to speak with and they’re actively clamoring for media attention and working with law enforcement, that provides for more coverage. It absolutely helps law enforcement," he said.
"We initially tried to contact the national media but they were interested in other stories," he added.
Cpl. Whitmarsh said that "while we’d very much like to find Amy, we’re focused on the abandonment, that leads us to him." He also repeated that the complicated issue of extradition is working against law enforcement.
Mr. Mayorek said nothing can be gained by talking to Mr. Digirolamo’s former co-workers.
"He kept to himself," he said, later adding, "He was no superstar."
"It’s sad this baby was born and thrown away like a loaf of bread," he added, "and then his mother disappears."
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call New Jersey State Police at (609) 584-5000, extension 5286,or Hightstown police at (609) 448-1234.
Staff Writer Matt Chiappardi contributed to this story.