Grand jury indicts DiGirolamo for alleged child abandonment

Millstone man labeled person of interest in disappearance of mistress.

By: Vic Monaco
   Rosario DiGirolamo has been indicted on charges of abandoning the baby he fathered with his missing mistress, Amy Giordano of Hightstown.
   The Millstone man was indicted late Monday by a New Castle County Superior Court grand jury, according to Jason Miller, spokesman for the Delaware Attorney General’s Office. He was indicted on both charges filed against him — a felony charge of reckless endangering and a misdemeanor charge of child abandonment.
   "The grand jury, in handing down the indictment, indicated that sufficient evidence existed that the defendant committed the crime to send this case to trial," Mr. Miller said Thursday
   The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail while the misdemeanor charge carries a maximum jail term of one year.
   Mr. Digirolamo’s attorney, Jerome Ballarotto, did not return calls seeking comment.
   Then 11-month-old Michael DiGirolamo was found June 9 abandoned outside the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del.
   Delaware State Police say they charged Mr. DiGirolamo after discovering that his cell phone was used near the hospital that day.
   Mr. DiGirolamo, 32, flew to Italy on June 14, after telling his father that he was confused and needed some time, according to law enforcement officials. He flew back to face the charges in Delaware on Aug. 2 and was freed on $10,000 cash bond.
   He has not been charged in connection with Ms. Giordano’s disappearance but law enforcement officials have labeled him a person of interest in the case.
   Ms. Giordano, 27, was last seen June 7 with Mr. DiGirolamo and their young son at the ShopRite on Route 130 in East Windsor. Many of her belongings, including identification and credit cards, and those of her son were left behind in their apartment at 108 Mercer St.
   Mr. Ballarotto, said last week that Ms. Giordano is alive but Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph Bocchini has said he is "very skeptical" of Mr. Ballarotto’s comments.
   Mr. Miller previously explained that indictments are followed by an arraignment, and that arraignments are typically followed by two case-review hearings before the state Superior Court judge assigned the case in Wilmington. The second such hearing, he said, usually occurs about 10 days before the trial begins. And, in general terms, it’s a matter of months before the trial gets under way, he added.
Staff writer Matt Chiappardi contributed to this story.