newsmakers

newsmakers

‘Real Housewives’ star pleads guilty in ID case

PATERSON, N.J.

One of the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” stars already headed to federal prison for bankruptcy fraud pleaded guilty Wednesday in an unrelated state case.

Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice accepted the plea deal after initially telling a judge through his attorney that he would go to trial on charges of unlawful use of an ID and impersonation. The hearing was briefly put on hold while Giudice conferred with his lawyer.

The false-identification charged was brought after Giudice purportedly used his brother’s identity to obtain a driver’s license while his own license was suspended for driving while intoxicated in 2010.

He was charged with unlawful use of an ID, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence upon conviction, and impersonation, which carries an 18-month maximum sentence.

Under the deal, Giudice will be sentenced to 18 months in prison, to be served concurrently with his 41-month federal sentence. He won’t have to begin serving the combined sentence until after his wife, Teresa Giudice, finishes her 15-month sentence in the federal case, under a federal judge’s ruling last month that took into account the couple’s four young children.

Judge finalizes divorce of Heidi Klum and Seal

LOS ANGELES

Model Heidi Klum and Grammy-winning singer Seal officially are divorced.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas finalized the pair’s divorce judgment Tuesday. They were married for nearly seven years before seeking a split.

Klum filed for divorce in April 2012, roughly two months after the pair announced their separation. They have three children together.

The divorce judgment does not give any details about how the pair will split custody or their assets.

Associated Press