Joe Giudice To Stand Trial in July on Falsifying Charge

NorthJersey.com:

“Real Housewives of New Jersey” hubby Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice will go on trial July 15 on charges he posed as his brother to get a driver’s license, an alleged offense that could cost him 10 years in state prison if he’s convicted.

Giudice in April rejected a plea deal that would have gotten him four years in state prison. The prosecution has maintained that it is the final offer.

 The trial date was scheduled during a status conference on the case by state Judge Greta Gooden Brown in Paterson. Miles Feinstein, the defense lawyer for Giudice, and Jay McCann, a Passaic County assistant prosecutor, said in court that a mid-July start would give them reasonable time to prepare.

“We are happy that a trial date has been set and we look forward to Joe being exonerated,” Feinstein said following the brief hearing Monday, in which Giudice attended with his mother. Both declined comment.

Feinstein predicted a “rather lengthy trial” in light of the difficulty seating a jury in July, when many people are on vacation. He also said given his client’s fame – Giudice appears frequently on the Bravo TV show -- finding unbiased jurors could take time. Jury selection could take weeks and the trial itself could last as long as two and a half weeks, Feinstein said.

But he said a trial is preferable to accepting terms offered in April by the prosecutor’s office.

“The plea deal offered by the state is totally unacceptable and is contrary to other plea offers in other similar cases,” he added. Feinstein accused the state of being harder on Giudice because of his “celebrity status.” “Joe should be treated, like anyone else,” he said.

The state has denied the allegation.

Giudice, 43, of Montville, is accused of using his brother Pietro's identity in June 2010 in an attempt to obtain a driver's license at the Motor Vehicle Commission office in Paterson. Obtaining a false driver's license in New Jersey is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Authorities allege that Giudice used a marriage and birth certificates belonging to his 39-year-old brother to obtain the license. Giudice's license was suspended at the time for driving while intoxicated after he flipped his pickup in Montville in January 2010.

The brothers came under suspicion by investigators after Pietro Giudice was pulled over by Lincoln Park police. When the officer ran Pietro Giudice's information through a dashboard computer, the search produced Joe Giudice 's photograph, authorities said.

Feinstein has argued that because Joe Giudice has no prior criminal convictions, he should be eligible for probation.

Giudice is married to Teresa Giudice, a castmember of the show, which takes place in various North Jersey locations.

Despite all the glam, the couple has had their problems. In September 2010, Joe Giudice served a 10-day jail sentence for driving without a license in Morris County. In October 2009, the Giudices filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

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