newsmakers

September 29, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

newsmakers

Rapper pleads guilty

NEW YORK

Rapper Kid Cudi, a Cleveland native, has pleaded guilty in New York City to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said Tuesday that the charge will be dismissed if the entertainer stays out of trouble for six months and serves two days of community service.

Cudi was arrested June 11. Police said at the time they believed he had cocaine in his pocket. He performed the next day at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. Cudi pleaded guilty Friday through his lawyer. His next court date is March 23.

Chef commits suicide

TRENTON, N.J.

A New Jersey chef once featured on Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” show has jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge. New York City police say the body of 39-year-old Joseph Cerniglia was found floating in the Hudson River on Friday. Cerniglia owned Campania in Fair Lawn, N.J.

In 2007, the debt-ridden restaurant was featured on Ramsay’s show. On the show, he described “overwhelming” personal debt and estimated he owed purveyors about $80,000.

Cerniglia is the former executive chef for the New York-based Gallagher’s Steakhouse chain. He is the second former contestant on a Ramsay television show to commit suicide. The other was a former competitor on his “Hell’s Kitchen” chef competition.

Police investigate family for bigamy

SALT LAKE CITY

Police in Utah say they’ve launched a bigamy investigation into a polygamous family starring in a reality television show. Lehi police Lt. Darren Paul told the Salt Lake Tribune for a Tuesday report that the investigation was triggered by publicity surrounding the show.

“Sister Wives” premiered Sunday on TLC. It features Kody Brown, a 41-year-old advertising salesman and his four wives.

Bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utah, although it is rarely prosecuted. Under the law, a person can be guilty of bigamy through cohabitation, not just legal marriage contracts. Polygamy is a legacy of the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons abandoned the practice in 1890 as a condition of Utah’s statehood.

Locked door can’t stop Gloria Estefan

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.

Singer Gloria Estefan made a daring climb out a window after getting locked in a stadium suite during a Miami Dolphins game.

The musician was watching the game against the New York Jets on Sunday from her suite at Sun Life Stadium and was set to introduce Latin singer Enrique Iglesias during the halftime show. But Estefan was locked inside. A locksmith, security officers and firefighters tried unsuccessfully to unlock her door. So Estefan took matters into her own hands. WPLG-TV reports that Estefan kicked off her Dolphin green Yves Saint-Laurent pumps and climbed out the window into the suite next door. She ran out the door and across the field and made it onstage just in time.