Con's Wife Faces Sperm-Smuggling Charges

May 23 -- — When Regina Granato speaks of her 3 ½-year-old daughter, Gianna, she sounds like any proud mother. "I've been touched by an angel," she says. But there's a cloud over Gianna's birth. Regina has been indicted by the federal government and could face years behind bars — for having her baby.

Here's the problem — as far as law enforcement sees it. Gianna's father and Regina's husband is Kevin Granato. He is an inmate at the Allenwood Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. Kevin Granato was convicted of a string of mob-related crimes involving racketeering, extortion, assault and drug trafficking stemming from his connection with New York's notorious Colombo organized crime family.

Here's the paternity riddle. Granato is indeed Gianna's father, but he's been serving time at Allenwood since the early 1990s and, as per rules for all federal prisoners, has not been allowed conjugal visits with his wife since then. Yet Gianna was born in 1999.

‘I’m Not a Criminal’

But Regina Granato doesn't see the problem. "God gave me that baby. She's here now; people need to accept it, you know, she's a human life; she's a little girl who's very loving and caring," Regina said.

"I'm not a criminal, I don't deserve to go to prison, you know, I feel I did nothing wrong. I can't see how anyone would want to put me in prison," she said.

With Regina's then 35-year-old biological clock ticking away, and with Kevin still facing many more years behind bars, Regina was desperate. So they figured out a plan to get Kevin's sperm out of prison, and into Regina. And it worked.

"My age was creeping up, my ovaries were failing, I had an ovary removed, and I knew, you know, I had to make a move, and I wanted to be a mother," Regina said.

You can imagine the scene in prison on visiting day when Regina suddenly showed up with a baby — Kevin's baby.

Regina said the prison guards were scratching their heads, but none of them asked her any questions about the baby. And she never thought that she'd land in any sort of trouble for the strangely orchestrated pregnancy.