Father of abandoned baby turns himself in

Digirolamo not talking about missing mom

By: Vic Monaco
   Rosario "Roy" Digirolamo, a person of interest in the disappearance of Amy
Giordano, of Hightstown, returned from Italy and turned himself in Thursday
morning to Delaware State Police to face charges of abandoning the couple’s
baby boy outside a Delaware hospital.
   He was released after posting $10,000 cash bond after being formally
charged with child abandonment and reckless endangering, according to
Delaware State Police.
   The Millstone man refused Thursday to answer any questions from authorities
from Delaware or the Mercer County Prosecutor’s office, which is
spearheading the probe into Ms. Giordano’s disappearance.
   "We did request to speak with Mr. Digirolamo and that request was denied by
his attorney, Jerome Ballarotto," said Casey DeBlasio, spokeswoman for the
prosecutor’s office.
   Ms. DeBlasio did not respond to questions about the impact of that lack of
cooperation and what possible steps her office might be able to take in the
absence of being able to file charges.
Sgt. Joshua Bushweller of the Delaware State Police said Friday that Mr.
Digirolamo’s lack of cooperation wasn’t surprising.
   "We didn’t know what he was going to do but, given the circumstances, we
were not surprised,’ he said.
   Thursday’s arrest occurred, according to Delaware State Police, after Mr.
Ballarotto called the Delaware Department of Justice on July 26 to say that
Mr. Digirolamo would return to Delaware.
   Sgt. Bushweller said that call was a big surprise to Delaware State Police,
who were not optimistic of making an arrest.
   "It was fantastic," he said. "Given the circumstances, extradition from
Italy was not going to be likely, so to receive that call from his attorney
was great news."
   Asked why he thought Mr. Digirolamo returned, Sgt. Bushweller said, "I
would hope it was because of the intense scrutiny all the agencies were
putting on him. And maybe some of his family members encouraged him to do so
because of that."
   Mr. Digirolamo was accompanied by his father Thursday when he arrived at
Philadelphia International Airport, via Italy, London and Toronto, Canada.
Law enforcement officials followed him by car to Delaware.
   "That was done to avoid the extradition process," Sgt. Bushweller said. "He
had made a prior arrangement (to turn himself in) with the Delaware Attorney
General’s office."
   Neither Mr. Ballarotto nor Jerry Bruder, the lawyer representing Mr.
Digirolamo’s wife, Maria DiMaggio, could be reached for comment Thursday. No
one answered the door Thursday afternoon at the married couple’s affluent
Stevenson Avenue home, outside of which was a Red Spider Ignition sports car
with no license plate and a Toyota Camry with a flat tire.
   Mr. Digirolamo, who had grown a beard since flying from Newark to Milan,
Italy on June 14, was arraigned in Delaware by video. Police said he was
ordered to surrender his passport, report immediately to Delaware Probation
and Parole for pretrial supervision and ordered to have no contact with his
son, Michael.
   Investigators said they were able to obtain a search warrant for the
purposes of taking DNA from Mr. Digirolamo in an effort to confirm he is the
biological father of Michael. Samples were taken Thursday, they said.
   After his release, Sgt. Bushweller confirmed, Mr. Digirolamo went to his
parents’ home in Brooklyn. Asked if that distance from Delaware is a
concern, he said that was a decision made by the court and parole office.
   "We’re just pleased that he came back and we’re looking forward to his next
court appearance," he said.
   That appearance has been scheduled for Aug. 17, he added.
   Mr. Digirolamo, 32, who worked at Conair in East Windsor, flew to Italy
five days after the now 1-year-old boy was found abandoned outside the
Christana Hospital in Newark, Del.
   Before leaving, law enforcement officials have said, he called his father
in New York and told him he was "confused and needed some time."
   Ms. Giordano, 27, was last seen June 7, along with Mr. Digirolamo and their
son, at the ShopRite on Route 130 in East Windsor.
   Following her disappearance, many of her personal
items, including identification cards, and the child’s belongings and
medicine were found in her borough apartment at 108 Mercer St.
   Stephen Fishbaum, a cousin of Ms. Giordano through her estranged adoptive
parents, expressed some relief at Mr. Digirolamo’s return.
   "I’m glad he came back. Hopefully the truth will come out," he said. "If
anybody has information about Amy, he’s the guy to speak to."
   He added, "Now that he’s back, hopefully we’ll get
some closure to this thing."
   "I’m hoping she’s not dead, but he’s the only one with answers," he
concluded.
   Kelly Bachman of Delaware’s Division of Family Services said earlier in the
week that Michael had been recently ruled in court as abandoned and
dependent, which is the first step toward making him available for adoption.
   Asked about the prospects of his parents turning up, she said, "In cases
similar to this, with this length of time passed, it would be severely
difficult for the parents to resume custody, but that would be up to a
court."
   Ms. DeBlasio said Thursday that the probe into Ms. Giordano’s whereabouts
continued. Still incomplete, she said, were the forensics report on Ms.
Giordano’s apartment and the analysis of two computers used by Mr.
Digirolamo and a laptop used by Ms. Giordano.
   Sgt. Steve Jones of the New Jersey State
Police said this week that Ms. Giordano is one of 1,528 persons reported
missing in New Jersey from as far back as 1988. In addition to that figure,
he said, there are 276 unidentified bodies that have been found.
   Staff writer Matt Chiappardi contributed to this story.