Man gets 5 years prison after plea deal lowers homicide charge for Caloosahatchee River boat death

ALVA, Fla. —

A man pled no contest Monday in the case of a deadly boating incident on the Caloosahatchee River and is sentenced to spend five years in prison.

Anthony Curella reached a plea deal with the state and pleaded no contest to leaving the scene of a vessel accident or injury and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. A judge found him guilty on both charges.

This case was for Curella's involvement in a 2023 boating incident that resulted in the death of Christopher Giangeruso.

The State Attorney's Office amended the original vessel homicide charge to a lesser charge of leaving the scene of a vessel accident or injury during the plea hearing.

Curella was sentenced to five years in prison on each count and it will be served concurrently. He receives 161 days as credit for time served, and he will pay restitution, but the court reserved ruling on how much.

According to an arrest report, Giangeruso was killed after being struck by a boat propeller and suffered wounds to the right side of his head and neck on Nov. 26, 2023.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Curella did not call for help after the incident in Alva. Curella returned to home, did not contact emergency services for nearly three hours, misled investigators about where Giangeruso went missing, and tried to conceal critical evidence, according to court documents.

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