Published: Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Ex-con angered when she laughed at plans to name child for mob boss

By Scott North
Herald Writer

EVERETT -- John Keinath was not amused when a nurse laughed about his plan to name his newborn after the late mob boss, John Gotti.

She thought he was joking. He wasn't.

"I'm going to put a cord around your neck, strangle you until you die, throw you in a ditch, and no one will ever know who did it," the Everett man allegedly told the nurse before storming out of Stevens Hospital.

That was in March. Keinath, 39, has since been free, awaiting trail on a felony harassment charge.

On Monday, he was back in Snohomish County Superior Court where Judge Kenneth Cowsert jailed him in lieu of $1 million bail.

Keinath is an ex-con with felony convictions for drive-by shooting and beating someone with a piece of pipe. He's spent the past few months trying to trick people at the hospital into providing the nurse's identity, prosecutors maintain.

They obtained an arrest warrant last month after a confidential informant said Keinath had discovered the nurse's name and was talking about harming her, deputy prosecutor Janice Albert told the judge Monday.

Keinath was arrested late last week after being chased around by local police and U.S. marshals.

He had narrowly evaded arrest after surveillance cameras at his home tipped him as federal agents converged, Albert said.

Keinath left so quickly that his cellphone was still open on the bed, the prosecutor said. Soon there was a taunting message on his My Space page: "(Expletive) the us marshalls you were so close!"

Keinath was arrested at gunpoint in Marysville late last week. He tried to run when a law officer called out his street nickname, "Flare."

He's also being investigated for the "softball-sized" amount of methamphetamine police recovered during their hunt, Albert said.

In addition to the drive-by shooting and pipe assault, Keinath's criminal history includes domestic violence and car chases with police. On Monday, he did not challenge the prosecutor's bail request.

Scott North: 425-339-3431, north@heraldnet.com.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100810/NEWS01/708109931