Many ‘what ifs’ for Amy and her story
By: Vic Monaco
It’s hard not to wonder.
What if Amy Giordano hadn’t made some of the unpopular decisions she made in her life?
What if she came from a family with money?
Or, for that matter, what if she came from a family to which she was still close?
If any of those questions could be answered in the affirmative, her disappearance would be getting more attention from the national media. And perhaps from more-pressured law enforcement officials.
The more I talk to those law enforcement officials, the more I get the impression that they are not optimistic of talking to, let alone arresting, Ms. Giordano’s married boyfriend, Rosario "Roy" Digirolamo, who fled to Italy after allegedly abandoning the couple’s baby boy, Michael.
It’s been explained how, without proof of a more serious crime, police have only been able to file charges related to the abandonment of the child. Even if there were more serious charges, police have talked about the difficulties in extraditing someone from a foreign country. If the United States won’t extradite 13 CIA agents wanted by Italy, what are the chances of getting Mr. Digirolamo back here?
I’ve also started to hear about the limited resources of law enforcement. The question apparently comes down to how many hours do you put into an investigation where the chances of success aren’t great. It’s not as though the Mercer County Prosecutor’s office doesn’t have other serious crimes to deal with.
I understand intimately the issue of limited resources.
But it’s still hard not to wonder how that issue might be affected by the weight of public pleas from Ms. Giordano’s biological and adoptive families and the kind of national media attention given to such stories as the disappearances of Natalee Holloway in Aruba or Jessie Marie Davis in Ohio, whose young son also was abandoned.
So, why not the same attention for Amy? Heck, there’s even a possible Mafia connection in her story.
Cpl. Jeffrey Whitmarsh of the Delaware State Police says he tried to get national media attention but his appearances got pre-empted by other stories. Me too. After being solicited by the "Nancy Grace Show" on CNN Headline News (and agreeing to appear only after learning that she was on leave), I was bumped four times in three weeks. The last time it was in order for the guest host to concentrate an hour on a young child who had been sucked into a pool drain. Before that, it was multiple programs on the murders and suicide allegedly committed by pro wrestler Chris Benoit. I guess the Anna Nicole Smith story had finally gotten old.
I left a message for the CNN producer last week, saying: "I couldn’t care less if I’m on TV, but this story deserves attention." I didn’t get a call back. I guess it’s difficult for a longtime newspaperman to fully understand TV news coverage.
Even harder is to imagine a sadder situation for young Michael.
The 1-year-old can’t ask any questions. And for the most part, those folks related to Ms. Giordano, either by blood or not, have chosen, for their own reasons, not to talk publicly.
So we feel an obligation to ask questions on their behalf.
Michael may learn in the coming years that he was abandoned. He has a right to know who was responsible for that and if his mother was murdered.
For that reason alone, we hope law enforcement officials, pressured or not, are doing all they can to work toward the same goal we have: getting answers for Michael.
Vic Monaco is managing editor of the Windsor-Hights Herald. His e-mail address is [email protected].

