N.J. man charged in 'missing mom' case posts $1 million bond

TRENTON - A married man accused of killing his mistress and dumping her dismembered body in a Staten Island pond last year was released from jail this week after he posted a $1 million bond.

Rosario DiGirolamo left the Mercer County Jail on Wednesday, said Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the county Prosecutor's Office.

As a condition of his release, he must stay in his parents' home in Brooklyn and will be monitored by an electronic tracking device. DeBlasio also said authorities had confiscated his passport.

The 33-year-old former Millstone, N.J., resident was charged in March with murder and tampering with evidence in the death of 27-year-old Amy Giordano. He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

Giordano disappeared on June 7, 2007, after shopping for groceries with DiGirolamo and their baby. Prosecutors allege that DiGirolamo hit her over the head and then chopped up her body with a hacksaw after she was dead. They say he then stuffed some of the remains in a suitcase and dropped it in the pond on June 9.

DiGirolamo then drove the couple's 11-month-old son to a Delaware hospital, where he abandoned the boy in a parking lot. When discovered at the hospital by a nurse, the child had a handwritten note pinned to his diaper that called him "John Vincent" and said his caregiver had no job or health insurance.

The boy was soon identified after a tipster recognized him as Giordano's child. However, there was no trace of her until authorities were led to the pond in March by John R. Russo Jr., a friend of DiGirolamo's who was later charged with tampering with evidence.

Giordano was living with the couple's son in an apartment in Hightstown, N.J., when she vanished. Authorities said DiGirolamo was paying the $850 a month rent and was frequently seen at the apartment.

Shortly after Giordano disappeared, DiGirolamo abandoned his family, quit his job and flew to Italy, where he remained for about six weeks before returning to face child abandonment charges. He later pleaded guilty and was fined.