Teresa Giudice and her husband were staring more than 30 years in prison in the face thanks to a litany of charges that included fraud. Recent reports indicate the couple have decided to accept a deal with prosecutors that would see them receive a far lighter punishment in return.
According to the New York Daily News , the Real Housewives of New Jersey stars are expected to appear in Federal court on Tuesday and will announce the deal during that appearance.
Teresa and her husband Joe were both first brought up on charges back in July. Since the initial filing, the couple have seen prosecutors continue to pile on the alleged crimes. When the smoke had finally cleared, the reality television husband and wife were looking at more than 41 different counts.
Perez Hilton points out that Joe originally tried to take all the blame for charges that stemmed from various fraudulent dealings. The feds haven’t bought into Teresa Giudice being completely innocent. While they haven’t tried to hang as many charges on the “housewife” she was still preparing to do some pretty serious jail time.
There have been some conflicts in the reporting into just how long the pair might actually be in prison, with some reports claiming Teresa could avoid jail time altogether. Most believe Joe did succeed in taking most of the blame and it seems a foregone conclusion that he will be spending some time in the grey bar hotel.
The New York Daily News also reported that the Feds would not take a plea deal from one of the Giudice’s without the other. This means the couple were basically a package deal for prosecutors. That in and of itself would be a win for the government since the television personalities had petitioned a judge to allow them to go to trial separately.
Some reports indicate that Joe could actually be deported back to his native Italy as part of the deal. If that was the case, one has to wonder whether the TV family will be broken up for good. Another report says the patriarch of the family could avoid deportation but would be sentenced to five years in prison.
The news, as far as how long she’ll be locked up is better for his wife. Some reports claim she will have to spend at least two years behind bars, while others claim Teresa Giudice will be able to simply be on probation for a number of years.