Steven Molinaro, the grandson of former Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, pleaded guilty on Friday to federal charges related to a shooting that nearly killed his ex-girlfriend.
Molinaro, accompanied by his mother and two other relatives, admitted in Brooklyn Federal Court that he was in possession of a 9 mm pistol despite a previous criminal conviction.
He also accepted that he knowingly destroyed a document or object to prevent it from being used in the process of judicial proceedings.
“He wants to take responsibility for his actions,” Molinaro’s lawyer, Chad Siegel, said outside the courtroom.
Siegel denied that Molinaro is getting any special treatment by the court because of his relationship with his grandfather.
”We hope, ultimately, he’ll receive leniency for the mitigating circumstances here, but that awaits,” Siegel said.
Judge Nicholas Garaufis set Molinaro’s sentencing for Oct. 18,
Molinaro, 33, could face between 11 and 14 years in jail.
He was initially hit with gun, drug and obstruction of justice charges,
Molinaro was arrested after the April 27, 2022 shooting at his home on Lyman Avenue in Staten Island.
As he and his girlfriend argued, Molinaro pulled out a loaded handgun, threatened her with it, then shot her in the chest in the home’s master bedroom, said authorities.
Molinaro left the woman in a pool of her own blood — and then waited an hour to call 911 and report that the woman had accidentally shot herself, federal prosecutors allege.
When police arrived, Molinaro changed the story, pinning the shooting on an ex-boyfriend who ran off down the street, authorities said.
“That is what females do to you,” he said after he was arrested. He then complained that cops seized nearly 95 pounds of marijuana and $161,000 cash from his house, according to federal court filings.
After the unidentified 21-year-old victim recovered from surgery, she identified Molinaro as the person who shot her, authorities said.
Molinaro’s father…
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