We heard yesterday that Teresa Giudice was lawyer shopping in what will surely be a vain attempt to appeal the very lenient 15 months of prison she was given after pleading guilty to 41 counts of fraud. Most lawyers would tell Teresa that she’s not going to wiggle out of serving time, particularly since the judge gave her less time than the prosecutor recommended. However, Teresa apparently found a lawyer who has agreed to take on her case, and she’s a divorce lawyer. It could just be a coincidence that the only lawyer willing to work with Teresa is a divorce attorney, or she could be going for a two in one and planning an appeal followed by a divorce. At least that’s what Radar claims. Here’s more:
Weirdly enough, sources say that the lawyer’s first order of business will be to attempt an appeal of her prison sentence — even though, as Radar has reported, she is prohibited from appeal per the terms of her plea deal.
Though the female attorney specializes in family law, “Teresa really likes her and will likely hire her to handle the appeal of her looming prison sentence. The lawyer would also bring another attorney on board that specializes in white collar crime,” a source explained.
“While it’s odd that Teresa would be meeting with a divorce attorney to handle the appeal, it’s not that unconventional for the mother of four. She is going with her gut instincts on this one,” the source said. “It shouldn’t be lost on anyone either that Joe isn’t going to be pursuing any appeal, and Teresa will likely hire the divorce attorney to handle her inevitable split from him.”
During their WWHL interview, Teresa kept telling Joe to take care of their daughters. I really doubt she’s going to divorce him before she goes to prison. She needs him to watch the girls during the two hours of the day he’s sober. If anything, she’ll wait until he’s locked up and she’ll serve him then.
As Radar mentions, Teresa didn’t go with Joe to the sentencing hearing yesterday for a separate crime he faced charges for, using his brother’s identity to fraudulently obtain a driver’s license. In court, Joe vacillated on whether he was going to accept a plea deal and eventually accepted it. He received 18 months in that case to be served concurrently with the 41 months he’s already getting for stealing $5 million. That means he has no additional jail time, however the judge did call it a “virtual certaintly” that Joe would be deported after serving his sentence. Outside the courtroom, Joe told paparazzi to get back or he would “kick every one of yous in the head.”
In related news, US Magazine claims that Teresa has recorded video messages for her four daughters, to be played at birthdays and holidays during her year and a half in prison. That broke my heart a little. I do hope that family steps up for Teresa’s daughters while she’s away. If all they have is their dad, those little girls are in for a rough time.
Photo credit: WENN.com
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