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Aug 2, 2007 2:18 pm US/Eastern
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N.J. Man Tied To Missing Mom Surrenders To Police
DOVER, Del. (CBS/AP) ―
A New Jersey man considered a "person of interest" in the disappearance of his mistress has surrendered to police in Delaware, where he is charged with abandoning the couple's one-year-old son, authorities said Thursday.
Rosario DiGirolamo, 32, of Millstone, N.J., who fled to Italy after the boy had been abandoned, turned himself into Delaware State Police in Bear about 9:30 a.m. Thursday. DiGirolamo, accompanied by his attorney, was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and child abandonment. He was released a few hours later after posting a $10,000 cash bond.
DiGirolamo also was wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Amy Giordano, who was last seen in early June.
Authorities said DiGirolamo, who is married, had a lengthy affair with Giordano, 27, and fathered her infant son, Michael S. DiGirolamo. The toddler was found abandoned June 9 at a Newark, Del., hospital. He is now in foster care under the supervision of child welfare officials in Delaware.
"As far as we're concerned, it doesn't mean anything," Delaware children's department spokeswoman Kelly Bachman said of DiGirolamo's return to the United States.
Bachman said the infant, whom she described as "still happy, still healthy," was declared dependent and abandoned following a hearing last month, a necessary step in terminating parental rights.
A parent seeking to regain custody would have to petition Family Court, where he or she would have the burden of proof regarding fitness as a parent, Bachman said.
Authorities have said DiGirolamo flew to Milan on June 14, the day that police in Delaware and New Jersey connected the baby to Giordano and DiGirolamo.
Giordano, of Hightstown, N.J., was last heard from on June 8, when she spoke by telephone with her 6-year-old son, who lives in New York City with her ex-husband.
The next day, Michael DiGirolamo was found abandoned in the parking lot of Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del. A scrawled note pinned to the baby's diaper read: "Please help my baby John Vincent I can no longer take care of him. Lost job, lost medical. God have mercy on me."
A few days later, Giordano's landlord saw a picture of the boy distributed by Delaware authorities, identified the toddler as Giordano's son, and contacted Hightstown police. Police later found a prescription bottle with the boy's name in Giordano's apartment.
Her landlord, Mike Vanderbeck, said police also found a notebook with entries that included phrases such as "I don't deserve you," or "I'm not good enough for you."
Vanderbeck said Digirolamo paid the $850 monthly rent for Giordano and her son but did not live with them.
Investigators said DiGirolamo, who worked as a computer analyst for Conair Inc., boarded a flight for Milan at Newark Liberty International Airport the same say that authorities identified the baby.
A 1998 Lexus registered to DiGirolamo's wife, Maria DiMaggio, was found parked on a residential street in Staten Island on June 26.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)