The Fishwrapper's "Father of the Year"

Mobster's heartache
New York mobster Kevin Granato sits in a prison cell amid the green hills of Yamhill County -- the victim, he says, of his own remarkably successful effort to smuggle his sperm out of a federal penitentiary.

His scheme -- which produced a daughter, Gianna, who turns 6 next month -- generated headlines like "Mafia Sperm Baby" and "Mob Sperm Bust" in The New York Post.

The Granatos claim prison officials retaliated: Granato's wife isn't allowed to visit and although his daughter can visit, two years ago he was transferred to the federal pen in Oregon. Regina Granato, 42, who lives on Staten Island, says she can't afford to fly to Oregon with her daughter. Granato hasn't seen either of them since August 2003.

He said he trumped the prison system and now he's paying for it by serving his time at Sheridan in the Willamette Valley.

Read that last sentence again. THAT is what is wrong with America today. To this guy everything is all about him. He doesn't care about the child that he helped bring into this world who is growing up in a household with no father and that the "father" that is her male role-model is sitting in prison. No, he thinks he got screwed in this deal.

Adults now seem to put more emphasis on what feels good to them rather than what is right for their kids. Gay couples adopting, divorces, addictions, all these things involve parents putting themselves first.

And apparently our state's Fishwrapper sympathizes with this convicted mobster. They seem more concerned with his "heartache" than the young girl who was conceived by adults who knew that she would have a screwed up childhood.

...Ellen Corcella, who prosecuted Granato for racketeering and murder and is now a lawyer in Indianapolis.

She said Granato was involved in a half-dozen murders, playing various roles in the crimes. He was the lookout, was the driver and hid bodies. "They dumped bodies in Staten Island a lot," she said.

No word from the Fishwrapper on whether or not the victims or their families experienced any "heartache."

Regina Granato said she wasn't about to let her husband's incarceration stop the couple's dreams of having a family.

"What am I supposed to do?" she said, "Go out and have a baby with just anyone? I am not that kind of girl," she said.

Yeah, you're a real stand-up mother. You obviously wanted to give your daughter the best, a father in prison and national fame by having her be artificially inseminated while he was in prison. Again, just a selfish adult.

The bottom line: if you want to choose where you live then don't go to prison, if you want to "raise a family" then don't get someone pregnant while you are in prison. And if you do, don't expect anyone other than noellecrombie@news.oregonian.com to feel sorry for you.