It really is hard out there for a Hogan. I mean I used to feel a little badly for poor Nick Hogan – what with the nearly taking someone’s life and then getting punished for it with 8 months in jail – but now I feel super badly for him. Nick has to spend the bulk of his day in solitary confinement because he’s a minor in an adult, maximum security facility. And I’m guessing he’s more than a little bit of a target in there as well. But Nick doesn’t like it, and wants out. And what Nick wants, Nick should get, right?

Lawyers for Hulk Hogan’s son, Nick Bollea, filed a motion earlier today requesting that the 17-year-old be released from solitary confinement and placed into a program that would give him the same treatment as anyone else with the same sentence.

According to the motion, filed in Florida’s Pinellas County Court, Nick, who was convicted to an 8-month sentence after pleading no contest to charges stemming from his August 2007 auto accident, is wrongfully being held in solitary confinement for up to 17 hours a day.

“Nick’s current confinement in maximum security was not appropriate based on their evaluation of Nick, the circumstances of his offense, and Nick’s lack of any prior criminal record,” his lawyer’s claim.

“Treating a minor in this manner is simply unwarranted,” says Morris “Sandy” Weinberg of the Tampa office of Zuckerman, Spaeder. “We are only asking the court to make available to Nick what anyone else in his situation would have available to them, and also to respect the Bollea family’s privacy.”

[From OK! Magazine]

While I have a policy of never feeling any empathy to Nick Hogan, even I have to admit that placement in a maximum security facility for a minor without a record seems pretty extreme. But I’m all for the judge not showing Nick any special treatment. Obviously jail isn’t fun. In fact it’s supposed to suck as much as possible. Sounds like it does. Maybe it really will work as some sort of deterrent for Nick next time he wants to drag race and slam into a palm tree.

Nick Hogan is pictured at his sentencing hearing on May 13th. Images thanks to Splash.

The Hogan family really didn’t make the most of their time on reality televsision. Instead of focusing on Brooke’s mind-numbingly boring music career, they instead should have featured the weird love triangle between Brooke, her father and her best friend. Instead of having some petty domestic dispute between Linda and Hulk, they should have had shown his face when he learnt about their divorce from a newspaper calling for comment.

Consistent with her classy behavior in the past, Linda Hogan has been seen out partying with a man young enough to be her incarcerated son.

In an effort to make the Hogan family look even worse, Linda Hogan took her 19-year-old Nick-a-like boytoy to the opening of Palms Place last night!

Our spy says Linda’s prey, Charlie, said the two are just friends — because friends are typically all over each other at the Palms.

TMZ

Does anyone ever fall for the ‘just friends’ line? While people of different genders and ages can be friends, I find it hard to believe that Linda could have made fast friends with a 19-year-old bleached blonde perma-tanned young lad she just met in a club. And then put her hands ‘all over’ him. Unless they’re comparing tanning salons and discussing the best way to cover up dark roots.

The thing that horrifies me the most about the whole thing is that the young man looks quite a bit like Linda’s son Nick, rather like Hulk Hogan’s girlfriend looked like his daughter. I know it’s probably just coincidence, but it creeps me out all the same.

Picture Note by Celebitchy: Linda Hogan and her boytoy, identified as “Charlie,” are shown on 5/31/08 on the dancefloor at the Palms Place opening. That guy is a lot older than 19. He looks like he’s pushing 30 to me at least. Thanks to Splash News for these photos.

Brooke Hogan was involved in a car accident on Sunday, which was caused by another driver who was not a member of her family and resulted in no injuries. Brooke, 20, was driving a 2008 Mercedes with her friend Laura, 23, in the passenger seat. She was in the center lane on a bridge when a 1997 Toyota that was speeding in the right lane lost control while trying to change lanes and smashed into her car, pushing it into the left concrete barrier. Both cars sustained about $3,000 worth of damage. There is no charge against the other driver, but the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. Brooke’s mother and father, who are going through a divorce, both came to the scene of the accident. [Details from Tampabay.com via WeSmirch]

Not one to miss a chance to dismissively mention the vegetative victim of her brother’s drunken car crash last year, Brooke blogged on her MySpace that she reminded her friend to buckle up, thanks to the important lesson he taught her by ending up comatose. Brooke claims she told her friend to buckle her seatbelt and that she had just put it on when a car slammed into them. The thing that I find most offensive about this entry is the title. Brooke capitalized the “MY” in the “Seatbelts saved MY life today” as if to emphasize that it was John Graziano who was to blame for not wearing a seatbelt. This would be consistent with an earlier statement her family put out that emphasized that John was not wearing a seatbelt, along with Brooke’s now-deleted blog post calling John’s family liars for their tearful testimony at her brother’s trial:

Seatbelts saved MY life today…

What happened to my brother and our friend John was horrible and very hard for both of our families. But I truly believe my brother and John saved My life and my best friends life…. I don’t know if you heard, but my friend and I got into a really bad car accident today ourselves… As I turned on my car I clicked my seatbelt. As we pulled out onto the road, I looked over and realized my friend didn’t have her seatbelt on. I reminded her to put it on and the minute she clicked it, a car crashed into us. It was a horrible car accident, one that most would be severely hurt in, but we had our seatbelts on and they kept us in tight. I have to thank my brother and my best friend John for teaching me an important lesson that saved our lives.

I know that because my family is under a microscope, the turn of unfortunate events are magnified and seem like they just keep on coming…And having everyone watching and commenting on our life is extremely hard. If I could stop it I would because it feels terrible. We try to stay away from it but can’t help that its shoved in our faces. So please, if youre a supporter, please spread the good around cause its nice to have friends when things go awry. And for the haters, Im sure we’re not the only ones you’re hurting. I would hope people are never this mean to you because it makes things so much harder……You’re human and so are we. Nothing different.

[From Brooke Hogan's MySpace via ONTD]

Brooke Hogan is saying out of one side of her mouth that she wore a seatbelt and that’s why she’s safe as compared to her brother’s Iraq veteran friend who will probably never be able to walk or speak a full sentence in his life again. On the other side of her mouth she’s telling people not to rip on her family, despite giving us more reasons to do so every day. Her brother may be spending eight difficult months in jail, but he will get out again and live very comfortably. Brooke and most likely the rest of her family will never grasp what a horrible crime her brother committed or realize that the insults and criticism hurled at them is like a mosquito bite compared to the pain of losing a family member.

Header photo by Eamonn Kneeshaw for the St. Petersburg Times. Photo below of Brooke out shopping in December thanks to WENN.

Nick Hogan really doesn’t like jail. I mean really. It’s no fun at all – in fact it’s downright boring. Though it appears he hasn’t been made anyone’s bitch (yet), Nick still thinks the place sucks and wishes he’d gone to trial instead of copping a plea. The inmates are allowed to talk on the phone as long as they want at Pinellas County Jail – during their free time of course. Nick spends an average of two hours a day on the phone, generally complaining and whimpering to his mom.

The contents of some of Nick’s conversations have been released, and now we can hear a few of the specifics about just how tough jail really is.

The phone calls began just hours after Nick Bollea was hauled away from the courtroom.

Nick Bollea: “Had I known this, I would have rather gone to trial or I would rather, you know, appeal the case or something. I can’t deal with this for eight months. It’s (Bollea’s cell) like the size of my bathroom.”
Linda Bollea: “Oh!”
Nick: “No windows or nothing. Just one little top bed thing.”
Linda: “Oh my God!”

[From ABC Action News]

I know! My God indeed! Now I’m guessing Nick Hogan’s bathroom is bigger than most of our bedrooms. So I am not necessarily impressed by how small his cell is. And it’s not like he’s got a lot of stuff to keep in there. What does it matter how small it is? But I just love the shock and “Oh my God!” I’m guessing that was followed with, “What thread count are the sheets? 200 you say? My God!”

Bollea is being kept in a single cell at the Pinellas County Jail because he is one of only two minors serving time in the adult facility. On the phone, he cries often and is comforted by his mother Linda.

Nick: “All you do is sit there and think, and there’s nothing to think about.”
Linda: “We’ll get through it.”
Nick: “Yeah.”
Linda: “Prove to everyone you’ve learned your lesson and be more careful.”

Bollea asks for anything to pass the time, including books and magazines. He even talks about breaking the world record for sleeping and working out in his cell. On Wednesday his famous father Terry (a.k.a. Hulk Hogan) congratulated him on his time served so far.

[From ABC Action News]

Considering how Nick’s family has often reacted to the car crash (which left passenger John Graziano in a vegetative state, probably for life), it’s actually surprising to hear Linda Hogan acknowledge that Nick did do something wrong, and has a lesson to learn. Linda has encouraged Nick’s racing hobby for years, including drag racing – which was what he was doing when he crashed his car.

However she did support Graziano family for a while, renting a condo for his mother to stay in while she kept watch over her son . So it seems like she has some teeny, tiny bit of common sense lacking in father Hulk Hogan, who said the following:

~”I’m very proud of you brother. Very, very proud of you. You’ve been thrown in a tough spot and you’ve handled it better than I could have probably handled it. Any man I know. You’ve really been somebody to look up to.”

[From ABC Action News]

Yes, ruining a young man’s life, never taking responsibility or saying sorry directly to his family until you’re forced to in a court of law – you are someone to look up to, Nick Hogan. You’ve ruined many lives. Congrats. I hope the next seven months are filled with deep thoughts… though you’ve already admitted you don’t have many of those.

Nick Hogan is pictured at his sentencing hearing on May 13th. Images thanks to Splash.

Who would have thought it? Turns out, Nick Hogan doesn’t like jail. Which is odd, because most people are really big fans. What with the friendly service and great food and all, you’d be batshit crazy not to enjoy your free vacation.

Nick Hogan is not doing well in jail, friends say. The son of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan started serving eight months in California’s [sic – it’s Florida] Pinellas County Jail on May 9 for a drunken-driving accident that left his best friend, John Graziano, in a coma.

“Nick’s doing really bad. He’s struggling to even form a sentence,” one friend said. “They have him in a cell by himself, isolated from the general population, because of threats. He didn’t understand how awful jail really is until now.” That will be small consolation to Graziano’s relatives, who say Hogan has done very little for their son since the crash.

[From the New York Post]

Nick is also in isolation because he is the only minor in the jail. Though if he serves just two and a half months of his eight month sentence, Nick will have the pleasure of becoming a full-fledged adult in jail. I wonder what kind of birthday cake they get you when you turn 18 in jail. I’m sure it’s nothing fancy – probably one of those grocery store bought cakes at best. But still, something to look forward to Nick. Wait, they don’t get you a cake? Madness. I’d hate jail too. Poor Nick.

I’m guessing Nick’s lawyer is going to ask that he be transferred to some type of mental health facility – or pull a Paris Hilton and try to get him released altogether because jail makes you kind of unstable. Man, if only Nick had known jail sucks so much. You’d think that might have been a deterrent or something.

As much as I enjoy rampantly spreading Hogan-family hate, for once I actually feel empathy for them. Or at least one of them. Brooke Hogan is supposedly suffering from an emotional breakdown as the result of younger brother Nick’s incarceration and father Hulk Hogan’s affair with one of Brooke’s former friends.

Hulk Hogan’s 17-year-old son Nick Hogan was recently sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading no contest to charges of reckless driving in an accident that left his close friend critically injured. But friends of the “Hogan Knows Best” family are more concerned about his 20-year-old sister, Brooke Hogan, according to our source.

“She’s suffering the worst of all; she just can’t keep it together and has been hit the hardest,” said the source, adding that Brooke is “extremely sensitive” and her emotions are spiraling out of control. Brooke’s relationship with her father was severely strained after his reported infidelity with her former friend made news in February.

While our source said that Nick’s arrest has “brought them a little closer to reconciliation,” it’s not the case for Hulk and his wife, Linda. The estranged couple appeared together at Nick’s hearing on May 9, where Linda even flashed her wedding ring, apparently for the first time since news of the reported affair broke.

“Basically they were trying to put their best foot forward and fake a public image of unity and support for their son,” our insider said. “He [Hulk] is a very astute businessman and very good at playing the media — he even admitted in court that their reality show was scripted and not so real after all.”

[From Fox News’ Pop Tarts]

I always found Brooke to be pretty annoying, and lots of blogs have a love affair with mocking her. But of everyone in her family, she’s the one who really hasn’t done anything. Her younger brother committed a crime that left another man in a coma and in a quasi-vegetative state likely for the rest of his life. Her father cheated on her mother with Brooke’s friend. Linda Hogan has been videotaped encouraging Nick to drag race… and we all know what that led to.

Brooke certainly hasn’t done anything bad. She’s an easy target, but it seems like her family members are irresponsible and she’s left emotionally exhausted and overwhelmed from it. Hopefully her parents are still able to pay enough attention to her, despite their divorce, to get her some help.

Here’s Brooke and Hulk Hogan at the courthouse on the day of Nick’s sentencing, May 13th. Images thanks to Splash.

I am very happy to report that Nick Hogan was just handed down a surprisingly long jail sentence as a result of his guilty plea in his felony reckless driving case. Nick was sentenced to eight months in jail, 500 hours of community service, three years without his driver’s license, and must attend a DUI education class. He could have served up to five years in prison – though considering the leniency often shown celebrities and their offspring, I’m pretty damn surprised Hogan was sentenced to any jail time.

Nick Bollea was sentenced to eight months in Florida’s Pinellas County Jail for felony reckless driving Thursday after pleading no contest in court. A judge also handed down five years probation, 500 hours of community service and a three-year drivers license revocation. Nick will not be able to drink for the duration of his probation, and will attend DUI education classes within one year.

The 17-year-old donned a light colored suit to Pinellas County Court and stared straight ahead as the sentence was read. Sitting behind him was a black-clad Hulk, who prayed during the proceedings and grew teary-eyed, sister Brooke, who wore a top with the shoulders cut out and Hulk’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Linda.

Nick was arrested last November on reckless-driving charges stemming from an August 26 crash. An eyewitness told police that Bollea and a pal were drag racing upwards of 100 mph when Nick’s yellow Toyota Supra slammed into a palm tree. Two hours after the crash, alcohol was detected in his bloodstream.

[From Us Weekly]

John Graziano – the passenger in Nick’s car who was severely injured – will most likely spend the rest of his life in a nursing home. His family appeared in court and spoke on his behalf. The Hogan family has never issued much of an apology, nor has Nick publicly taken any responsibility for his actions. In fact the Hogans tried to blame Graziano for his injuries since he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt – not their drunk kid who drag raced and smashed into a tree. Graziano’s family confirmed that Nick has never privately expressed any remorse or taken any responsibility. It’s pretty disgusting.

“My life now consists of 10 hours each day at a hospital watching my son suffer,” John’s father said in a statement during today’s court proceedings. “Nick has shown no remorse for what he’s done for my son.

Added John’s sister: “We have never once heard him apologize for what he’s done or take any responsibility for any of his actions.”

[From Us Weekly]

No word on how much time Nick is actually expected to spend in jail. But I’m glad he’s going to at least do some time – and hopefully he’ll spend it actually reflecting on how not to be a loser douche bag from now on.

Hulk Hogan’s idiot son Nick may finally get his comeuppance. You’ll remember that then-17-year-old son Nick wrecked his car while drag racing, critically injuring his passenger, 22 year old John Graziano. Nick was eventually charged with felony reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. Graziano is expected to be a near-vegetable for the rest of his life, and will need constant care.

Following the crash, Hogan blogged about racing, his supposed corporate endorsement from Polaroid (which didn’t turn out to be true), and as an afterthought, mentioned “keep john graziano in your prayers” – after he requested that everyone wish himself luck in his races. The guy is a grade A douche bag.

Nick is expected to plead guilty tomorrow, and could receive up to five years in prison. His sentence is entirely determined by the judge.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Nick Hogan will cop to a criminal charge in court tomorrow.

We’re told Hogan will not fight the charge of felony reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. He will plead either guilty or no contest. Sources say no deal has been struck with prosecutors. Hogan will enter an “open plea,” meaning the judge will have complete leeway in his sentencing and the victim and his family will have an opportunity to testify at a sentencing hearing on how the crime has affected their lives. The maximum penalty is five years in prison.

On August 26, 2007, Nick was driving a suped-up Toyota with passenger John Graziano when he crashed, severely injuring John.

We’re told Hulk and the rest of Nick’s family will be in Pinellas County court (Florida) tomorrow.

[From TMZ]

I know that there’s almost no chance in hell that a rich celebrity’s kid will do much time – but one can always hope. Nick is being tried as an adult. He has a long history of EXTREME speeding tickets, but that’s not technically a prior record, even in a speeding-related crime. I’ll bet he gets sentenced to a few months, max, and will probably only serve a couple of days in jail, best case scenario. Too bad, since his victim will be serving the rest of his life.

Here’s Nick and his family leaving a medical center in Beverly Hills on January 16th. Images thanks to WENN.

The family of permanently disabled John Graziano, the now comatose passenger in Nick Bollea’s car accident last year, has finally filed suit against Nick and his parents. The civil suit names Nick, Linda and Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) as co-defendants, as well as the man who was street racing against Nick in the minutes leading up to the wreck that left Graziano, 22, in a permanent vegetative state.

Clearwater, Florida - The attorney for John Graziano’s family announced details of a 6-count complaint civil lawsuit filed in Pinellas County on Monday.

The lawsuit cites three counts of negligence against Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan and Nick’s father), one against Linda Bollea (Nick’s mother), one against Nick Bollea, and a final count against Daniel Jacobs, the driver of the Dodge Viper that Nick was racing.

The Graziano family is claiming in the lawsuit that Terry and Linda Bollea should have known that their son was a reckless driver, and were also aware that their son was drinking on the day of the crash.

Hogan’s son, Nick Bollea, was allegedly speeding when Clearwater police say he lost control of his car and crashed last summer. Graziano was a passenger in the car and suffered serious head wounds. Graziano’s family says he will require medical care for the rest of his life.

Bollea faces a felony charge of reckless driving with serious bodily injury.

[From Tampa Bay News 10]

If you recall, Nick and his parents went on the offensive in the weeks after the horrific crash, deflecting blame instead of owning up to their roles in this young man’s injury, stating that if John had been wearing a seat belt he would have been fine, even though the photos of the car after the crash suggest otherwise. It looks like John’s family will finally get their day in court after all. This will be one in a long line of court appearances for Nick, who was arrested in the days after the crash on three charges, including third degree felony reckless driving.

Hulk Hogan sure is coming across as one greedy guy in his divorce proceedings from his wife of 24 years, Linda Bollea (the Hogan family’s real last name is Bollea). It’s been rumored since last spring that the couple were having marital problems, but nothing came of the rumors until August when their 17-year-old son Nick wrecked his car while drag racing, critically injuring his passenger, 22 year old John Graziano. Linda Bollea filed for divorce a few months later. Since then, she and Hulk have been at each other’s throats. The whole family is incredibly offensive – often publicly blaming Graziano for his own injuries since he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt – instead of their own son for drag racing and slamming into a tree .

Yet it appears that Hulk is the biggest douche bag of the bunch. He told Linda that he’s not giving her alimony or child support, and has supposedly hidden the assets from the sale of their $18 million Florida home. He’s completely cut Linda off financially. Since they’re all a bunch of jerks, I normally wouldn’t care. But Linda Bollea did do one decent thing. She was paying for a condo in Clearwater, Florida, for John Graziano’s mother to stay in (Graziano is expected to be bedridden and comatose for the rest of his life) while she takes care of her son. Because Hulk cut Linda off, she can no longer pay for the condo.

Since the accident, Linda Bollea had paid for a condominium for John Graziano’s mother Debra in Clearwater [Florida] but, according to a source close to the Graziano family, the stipend came to an end because of financial wrangling between Hulk and Linda.

“Debra is in the middle of her own divorce from her husband, Ed, and has no money to handle the upkeep on the condo and living expenses,” the source told the Enquirer.

“Hulk cut off Linda, and that cut off the payments to Debra Graziano. While the lease on the condo goes through September, she could end up being homeless while their lawsuit proceeds. Linda has told Debra that she can no longer help her out.”

[From the National Enquirer, print edition, February 18, 2008]

The Grazianos are in the process of suing the Bolleas for an expected $20 - $30 million according to the Enquirer. They noted that John’s immediate care right after the crash cost $5 million. Given that amount, it doesn’t seem like the amount requested is especially punitive – it will obviously cost a lot to care for John for the rest of his life. The Enquirer closes the story by noting that the Grazianos may find themselves in a state of limbo until the Hogans get their divorce worked out. I can’t imagine how long a bitter, litigious divorce could take, but I hope somehow the Grazianos lawyer is able to push forward and get the money the family needs to take care of their son, which is far more important than anything going on with the Hogans.

Header of the Hogan family at the VH1 “Big in ‘06” Awards in December 2006. Here’s Nick Hogan’s car after the crash. Images thanks to PR Photos.