Frank Agnello - better known as Frank Gotti, a star on the popular television show "Growing Up Gotti" - was pulled over by Suffolk police in Dix Hills earlier this month and arrested on drug charges.
The 16-year-old was driving two friends in his 2006 Chrysler Pacifica on South Hollow Road, when he was pulled over for a traffic stop at about 8 p.m. on Nov. 10, according to police and court records.
Authorities discovered several OxyContin pills, a prescriptive pain killer that also is used as a recreational drug, inside the car that none of the teens would claim. As a result, all three were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, Det. Sgt. Bruce Markgraf said.
Agnello, of Old Westbury, and Juliana Buckley, 17, of Dix Hills, also were charged with criminal possession of marijuana, court records state. The third friend is a juvenile. His name was withheld by police.
Once in police custody, Agnello's mother, Victoria Gotti, went to the Second Precinct in Huntington - not far from where he runs Gotti Tans on West Jericho Turnpike - to bail out her son.
"It was like something out of their little TV show," said a witness who did not want to be identified.
The witness said John Gotti Jr., Agnello's uncle, also showed up the precinct. Agnello was given a desk appearance ticket and is scheduled to be arraigned in Suffolk County Criminal Court in January.
Agnello's attorney said he will enter a not guilty plea.
"There were no drugs found on his person," said W. Adam Mandelbaum, of Oyster Bay, who is representing the youngest of the three Gotti brothers. Mandelbaum said the pills were found in one friend's handbag. He had few other details to release about the alleged crime.
"Right now, the case is under investigation," Mandelbaum said.
Buckley and her family could not be reached for comment.
On one of his Web sites, Agnello, the grandson of mobster John Gotti, says he is a student at St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay. He authored a book called "The Gotti Diet," in which he describes losing 80 pounds in a year before starting the reality television show.
"Ironically, he is also an excellent cook and hopes to one day own his own restaurant," the official "Growing Up Gotti" Web site proclaims. "In the meantime, this over-achieving honor student and MVP all-around athlete plans to go to college for business management."
The show followed Agnello, his two brothers and single mother in their daily lives. It began in 2004 and was cancelled in December 2005.
