What Joe Giudice’s Lowered Sentence Means For His Deportation

Joe Giudice has been in prison for about a week now, and he is learning to live a life behind bars. He is currently serving time for conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud charges. He pled guilty in 2014, and he was sentenced in October of that same year. Teresa Giudice was sentenced to 13 months and served just about 11 months before she returned home to celebrate Christmas with her family. Now, it’s Joe’s turn, but his lawyer is already talking about Giudice having a reduced sentence.

According to a new Bravo report, Joe Giudice is set to be released on March 14, 2019. While that seems far into the future, it’s actually a shortened sentence. During his first week in prison, Giudice has learned that he is already facing an early release, and his attorney has a perfectly good explanation for it. As it turns out, this early release has nothing to do with Joe Giudice.

“In the federal prison system, inmates typically serve 85 percent of their sentence. So when you’re looking at a projected release date, what you’re looking at is 85 percent of the actual custodial sentence. Additional time can and often does come off of the projected release date for things such as halfway house or home confinement, so in many cases an actual release date can be different than the projected release date. It seems very confusing, but it’s actually not,” James J. Leonard Jr., Joe’s attorney, revealed to Bravo’s Daily Dish.

In fact, this is common, as it is rare that people actually serve their full sentence. But Joe Giudice is facing a deportation once he is released, so this shorter sentence has nothing to do with his deportation. As it turns out, Giudice will still face deportation once he’s released. His deportation has to do with his status in the United States and him breaking the law for the sake of his own benefit.

His lawyer didn’t say anything about his deportation, because he may not know anything about it. A judge will have to decide what Joe will face once he is released. It is possible that his deportation could have something to do with his sentencing, how he behaves in prison, and how he has managed to pay back his restitution. Under their plea agreement, the Giudice’s were ordered to pay $414,000 in restitution, and based on Teresa’s comments, they have been able to do so.

According to ABC News, Joe Guidice has been living in the U.S. illegally since he was an infant, but that isn’t necessarily true. Giudice just never became a citizen, but that doesn’t mean that he was staying in the country illegally. Surely, he wouldn’t be able to have incomplete papers with the business he was running, the home he was building, and him filming a very popular reality show, The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

“I just want to say thank you so much to all my fans out there. All your love and support means the world to me and my family. It has been a difficult week for us, but we’re making it through, thank God. Joe’s doing as well as expected. Of course we spoke to him,” Teresa said in a video she made after Joe had left for prison, adding, “And I just want to say thank you again from the bottom of my heart for being there, and for all your beautiful tweets. Love, love, love you, from my family to yours.”

What do you think about Joe Giudice’s sentence being lowered? Do you think he will be deported, or do you think he may be able to stay in the country since he has paid back his restitution?

[Image via Instagram]