Part one of Teresa and Joe Giudice’s very special post sentencing interview aired last night on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live. (It’s not yet available on demand so I’ve only seen clips and recaps so far.) Teresa continues to live deep in denial, claiming that she got in this mess because she signed contracts blindly and is a “trustworthy” [sic] person who believes what people say. From what I’ve seen, there weren’t any new revelations from Joe and Teresa, and Teresa is focusing on how shocked and hurt she is that she’s actually going to prison for defrauding creditors and the US government out of millions. Teresa also said her oldest daughter Gia, 13, promised to help her dad, Joe, take care of her three younger sisters while Teresa was locked up. That part was sad. Deadline has a good recap where you can read more and I’ve added some quotes from People:
Doesn’t directly answer question about whether she’s in denial
Andy asks if she’s in denial. Teresa says she needs to read things before she signs them in the future. Or, get a lawyer. “I do need to read things [and] understand things before I sign them. I’m a trustworthy person and sometimes I take what other people say … I can’t do that anymore.”She’s scared she won’t be able to be there for her daughters
“I am scared … not being there for my daughters. I can’t even imagine not being there. I’m their mom,” Teresa says. “They need their mom. It’s not the same with a father. A mom is a mom.”Teresa didn’t think that she would go to jail
Teresa says she did not understand she might go to jail after she accepted her plea deal. “I thought my lawyer was going to fight for me. That’s what lawyers do. That’s pretty much why you hire an attorney…. I was shocked. Believe me, whatever I needed to do I would do.” Ditto Joe: “I expected me — I didn’t expect her.”On why they stole the money, they don’t answer the question
“Why did you do it? Did you need the money? Was it a matter of keeping up with the Joneses?” asks Andy. “That’s what the judge said!” they both counter, like they meant it to sting. Teresa says she did not pay full retail for the $3,000 purse she got so much grief for carrying the other day on the show. By way of demonstrating how frugal she is, Teresa adds, “I would buy a used home.”How her family took the news
Teresa says after the sentencing, back at home… “My mom started crying. I was like, ‘Mom, don’t cry; be strong for me.’ She couldn’t believe it. She said, “You’ve always been a good kid.” My heart was breaking seeing her be upset. … I saw [oldest daughter] Gia; she was crying. We hugged for long time. … She said, ‘Mommy, don’t worry, I’ll help Daddy with the girls. That will make me a better mom; that will prepare me for when I’m a mom.’” The other three daughters have not yet been told.On how she will cope without hair and makeup
“You like to get your hair and makeup done. How do you think you’re gonna do in prison?” Andy asks Teresa. “I’m gonna do fine,” she insists. “I don’t care about that. I’ll just slick my hair back and get on with my day.”
[From Deadline additional quotes from People]
TMZ reports that Bravo paid the Giudice’s handsomely for this interview. In fact Bravo allegedly paid them $325,000, which should go directly toward paying the $400,000 in restitution they still owe the court. Bravo denies this figure, but you know they paid them a ton of money.
I’m not buying Teresa’s “woe is me” act. She had plenty of time to look over the figures and to understand the seriousness of the situation she was in. Teresa is willfully ignorant and she’s been that way for years. In fact I remember interviews with her four years ago when blamed the bankruptcy on her husband’s real estate investments and insisted that she lived within her means. She never admitted that her spending was a problem and she refused to take any responsibility. She had enough time to turn it around to the point where she could have avoided jail time, but instead she expected everyone else to handle it while she played the victim. The Giudices failed repeatedly to submit accurate asset statements to the court, to pay the restitution they owed and to pay their taxes. The judge saw this, and that’s why Teresa got sent to the slammer.
I don’t even feel a tiny bit bad for her. She knew what she was doing. Whenever people freaked out at her on reunion episodes she’d play dumb as well.
Shame that the kids are being raised by such absolute morons. No wonder the girls seem so bratty – look what they see on a day to day basis as ‘normal’ behavior.
I enjoyed the way Andy wasn’t just sweet to them.
She said he got things at discount too, and he snapped back “I do pay my taxes.”
The perfect interviewer for them now.
I apologize if this was answered in the other posts, but I didn’t read them. Are they going to actually do jail time or are they going to be locked up for a few hours?
Sentenced under federal law, they will do prison time and must serve 85% of the sentence.
Actual time in federal prison but probably minimum security.
They get no sympathy from me. It’s like they had to have the over the top lifestyle to be the characters they played on TV. If they had been normal, no fame. I wonder how long ago Bravo saw this coming.
I think because these are federal charges she will have to do real time. This isn’t like when Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan go to jail and are out 4 hours later. But she could get out sooner on “good behavior”.
I saw on another site people were saying because it’s a federal charge, they’ll each have to do about 85% of their sentence.
Their going to do actual time.
When it comes to evading taxes the courts don’t mess around – hence Wesley Snipes actually served over TWO YEARS, whilst the Hollywood brats with their drugs charges and DUIs are in and out within a week.
Governments like to send a message that payment of taxes by private citizens is non-negotiable.
When sentenced to federal prison you HAVE to serve 85% of the sentence. That is all they can shorten it .
Thanks everyone!
Teresa will get out of prison between Thanksgiving and Xmas next year. She will probably do 12-12.5 months.
I am surprised she isn’t being sent to the CT women’s Federal prison, since she has small children.
What a moron.
I was thinking that she might be of interest to anthropologists.
..because of the forehead?
it’s the hairline, isn’t it?
That, and what Goodnames said.
Smithsonian Institution is waiting.
Perhaps some of those ill-gotten gains should have gone towards electrolysis.
Her forehead makes me feel like an awful person…because I can’t stop staring at it and wondering why she could afford such luxury but never had that taken care of.
Or an education!! She’s a dolt who’s only sorry she got caught.
no this 100%
she says she didn’t pay retail, 3 grand, for the purse. That means she paid something for it, when she is in debt and going to jail. Pathetic.
also, no jail time is part of the plea. if it’s not there, it’s not part of it, so she obviously didn’t read the document. even with a lawyer, read for yourself.
Anybody who pays 3 grand for a purse is a fool. Buying a logo, that’s for idiots who like to waste money trying to impress people. Not impressed. Wastefulness and excess is not attractive or impressive. Enjoy lock up, you silly grifters.
the law – who knew?! not only for the peasants at times.
it’s a conscious jailing xD
ha!
Watching this was painful because they are both so incredibly stupid. I have ZERO sympathy for either of them, but especially Joe. I have no doubt that the moment he gets out of prison, he’ll go right back to scamming people.
I watched it too. These two are a couple of unapologetic a-holes.
I am hoping that somehow their kids do not grow into adults with a warped sense of reality but with parents like that…
Well, there’s a chance they will seek therapy as adults and come out the other side highly self-aware, and clear-eyed about their parents’ shortcomings.
On the other hand, the alternative is probably personality disorders that mirror their parents’.
:/
I don’t think they are being jailed because they are stupid. They were willfully criminal in their behaviors, continuing the same shite for years. Their public position is that they didn’t know what they were doing, that it is someone else’s fault. We aren’t talking CountryWide Mortgage here. These two repeated sought multiple ways to illegally increase their cash flow. Now T is pouting because her lawyer didn’t get her off with a slap on the wrist, because in her mind, that is what being defended means- walking away scott free. Clearly she still hasn’t learned her lesson or admitted culpability, otherwise you might see a second or two of contrition.
Oh, and I do believe she is *the* most inarticulate person on television, and that says a lot.
Like thinking “trustworthy” means she’s trusting. No, it means other trust you because you’re worthy of trust. If you blindly trust others, that would simply be “trusting.” Duhhhrrrrppp.
I have less than no sympahty for these two. They are nothing but bully thugs with a false sense of entitlement. If you don’t earn it yourself, you deserve nothing. I can’t stand people who think they should have what others have just because they want it. My guess would be others have it because they worked for it. If you want nice things, material life-style, go back to school and get a marketable education and real job skills.
Agreed !! They live in a fantasy world where all is okay apparently. Bully thugs with a sense of entitlement puts it nicely. I’m so glad they aren’t getting away with this because they can pay attorneys or that they are movie stars…..this is the real world, folks. They should have thought about their children BEFORE considering how they were going to illegally make more money, so I don’t feel sorry for them now.
I’m still mesmerized by her hairline .
Me too! I was just going to comment the same thing. I know it’s a frivolous comment when they’re facing jail time, but hey they’re frivolous people.
I don’t see why she couldn’t have it receded with laser hair removal or something? I think it would such an improvement!
Same here. I try not to comment on things that are ‘natural’ on a person that they were born with, you know? But every time I see her all I do is stare at her forehead. Is this natural? Does she wear wigs that need pushed further back? I have truly never seen anyone with a forehead/hairline like hers.
I must admit I found myself repeatedly drifting back to this thought, “why don’t you have a good two inches taken off via electrolysis????”
Every time I see that hairline, I’m reminded of my school texts with their drawings of Neanderthals.
what? you mean if you commit fraud you GO to jail?!!
I think someone is suffering from affluenza, poor girl
I’m not saying this in a negative way, but I actually think she was sedated during this interview. Also, they either come across as not smart or they really did think they could get away with it. Actually, BOTH.
I also think she seemed sedated.
I thought Joe was drunk.
Agree 100% with you (and also with Tracy re: Joe).
The government does not play with taxes. They will get your $ or you will go to jail. End of story.
These idiots lived outside their means for years and then I’m sure it just got worse to keep up with the show. Better get to selling those Louis Vuittons girl!
BS. I’m not a criminal lawyer, but I know what kind of time those charges carry. The maxiumum sentence for a single count that they were charged with is 10 YEARS in prison. They were charged with dozens of counts. If the judge had been so inclined to impose maxiumums and make them run consecutively, both of them could have been facing an effective life sentence. They need to count their blessings that they will both be able to come out and still see their kids being kids.
It also sounded to me like Theresa might be trying to set up some kind of ineffective counsel-type appeal by claiming she did not understand the plea, but somehow I doubt she has the intellectual verve to do so.
Meaning the lawyers did do their job! Stupid Teresa thought she would defraud the government and get off easy, which I guess she kind of did.
Yeah, the intellectual verve of a houseplant. I think she meant “trusting” not “trustworthy.” To name one.
I still can’t believe the Judge thought Teresa showed remorse, which is why she was lenient with her sentence. Since when is denial remorse??
I think the judge feels bad for the kids (ugh at the thought of Joe parenting alone…). These two got so lucky, and don’t even appreciate it.
Enjoy the no waxing in the slammer, Zera . Cornelius will be blowing kisses to you through the fence across the exercise yard.
Biggest laugh of the morning ( and in the running for the entire day, I think), thanks!
She NEEDS to serve time. I think she’s mentally ill…and I with his drinking, I don’t think Joe is in any position to take care of those children on his own. I hope someone steps in.
Teresa really is that stupid…she’s always using the wrong word and not knowing the difference. Andy himself has corrected her many times in past years. The statement above alone proves to me how dumb she is: “I thought my lawyer was going to fight for me. That’s what lawyers do. That’s pretty much why you hire an attorney…. I was shocked.”
She thinks all it takes is money and her attorney can wave a magic wand and erase her criminal behavior.
Joe isn’t stupid but she definitely is. I can believe she blindly went along with whatever he did as long as the money was flowing in. She never questioned it. She doesn’t believe she broke the law because she didn’t read things she was signing or questioning what her husband was doing. Which I can believe, up to a certain point. Once the bankruptcy judge started questioning what they had filed should have been her first clue that something was amiss and maybe she should pay attention. She was given multiple chances to correct her path. She would have received probation if they reportedly their assets truthfully, started paying some of the restitution back and stopped the mad spending spree she was on.
I think she was going for plausible deniability.
Teresa isn’t stupid either. Teresa was the one explaining to Andy about why they accepted the plea deal because Joe was not able to explain it that well. If she understood the plea deal, she understood she could get prison time, but she says she didn’t understand that. She is still lying to get public sympathy.
What irritates me is that not only do they not express any remorse for their actions-but they continue to be on these stupid shows and in the news capitalizing even more on their greed and stupidity.
Well, who did they defraud…the government & banks? Yes, they broke the law but how many times have banks broken the law (2008 mortgage crisis) and gotten away with it? I am not excusing their behavior any but I can understand why they are not showing any remorse. Would you forgive them if they showed remorse?
Banks should show remorse and these dimwits should show remorse as well.
Agreed. I don’t care for Juicy & wife, but I totally see your point. Corporations buy their way into semi-legal tax loopholes, but our gov’t seems way more concerned about individual citizens.
You realize that the government is funded by us, the American people who do pay their taxes? So in effect, yes, they’re stealing from all of us. And just because corporations don’t pay their fair share does not excuse these people from defrauding the government and banks.
They owned rental properties, and there was a big issue a few years ago when they didn’t pay the electricity during the winter and people were in their apartments freezing. “Someone” tampered with the wiring to circumvent paying the bill. It was several hundred thousand dollars.
One business who supplied the wood for building their mausoleum declared bankruptcy.
Joe also forged his partner’s name on several checks and compromised their business.
This has affected people locally in North Jersey as well as the government.
Thanks for that information MrsC. I figured these two harmed small businesses but I had no idea about their rentals. They are disgusting!
Who they defrauded is irrelevant. Would they deserve the punishment more if they screwed over little old ladies instead of a bank? They committed the crimes, they were caught and they should be punished. It doesn’t matter how evil the banks are or how screwed up our tax system is, they deserve their punishment and should be contrite and remorseful.
I thought they defrauded small time contractors that did work on their houses as well? Those people cannot afford to not get paid and were probably greatly hurt
What baffles me is that when they were required to submit a list of their assets to the courts PRIOR TO SENTENCING they lied?!?!
Their attorney certainly would have impressed upon them that ANY attempt to lie or mislead the courts would influence the judge on sentencing.
What in the world could they have been thinking? Grifting must be their go to impulse to be this incredibly stupid!!!
I wonder if he is going to be deported after he gets out of prison…
He will be deported. The government will probably start removal (deportation) proceedings against him while he is in prison. They do that so that when his sentence is up, they can ship him directly to Italy.
Because of the seriousness of his crimes, he will be charged in removal proceedings as an aggravated felon. In effect, he will never return to the U.S. legally again unless he is pardoned by the President of the U.S. at some point in the future.
The sad part is that Teresa is now a convicted felon as well. Many countries do not allow convicted felons to enter, even as tourists. So she may not be able to visit Joe in Italy or in many other third countries as well. And if she continues to be on RHONJ, she may be barred from travelling overseas for the show.
Their children are the ones who will suffer. It’s clear to me that Joe and Teresa never thought of the consequences of their actions.
Yes, I wonder if they realize that once Theresa leaves to start her prison term of 15 months, even if it is reduced to 12, Joe leaves to begin his own term immediately upon her release, and since the sum total of their two sentences is just 4 months less than 5 years – FIVE years! – by the time he gets out, their 13 year old will be 18 – a legal adult – and Joe will likely be deported back to Italy. After January 5th, their life as they know it – and as their poor kids know it – is effectively OVER. Over. They will never again be together as a family in one house. Was it worth all those gaudy clothes and garish furnishings?
He’s still waiting for the trial, conviction, and sentencing for trying to get a driver’s license using his brother’s ID, iirc. So, even after this 41 months he just got, he might get some more time beyond that or served concurrently. If it’s added onto his 41 months, he’d still be in the US for some more time so Teresa and the kids would be able to go visit him in prison a while longer.
I hope they did get paid well for this – and that the feds too that check and applied every penny to their mountain of debt. The people they stole from deserve to be repaid.
I have zero sympathy for either of them, they knew what they were doing and enjoyed it. If they were so worried about their daughters, they shouldn’t have done things that are now taking them away from them.
She will be going to fluff prison and will have it easy. She needs to just keep her mouth shut and take her punishment like a grown up. As for being medicated for the show (I didn’t see it but others made comments about it), I wouldn’t doubt it after reading about what happened at the reunion show where she got up and stopped the show when she couldn’t handle it.
she thought she could play the “i need to be there for the kids” card and get off with house arrest. boo hoo hoo.
I have never watched any of these Real Housewives shows. I have no use for reality tv crap. The only way I know of these idiots is from blogs like this. They’re morons. Being on a reality tv show is an easy way to get the IRS to do an audit… especially if they see what is going on there doesn’t mesh up with the lies they told on their Tax Returns. They are getting EXACTLY what they deserve… and what did she seriously expect? Because she’s a (very) minor celebrity, they’d give her a slap on the wrist?
Just a thought.. maybe Bravo (and all subsequent networks showing tv like this) should do a better job at vetting the people they get for these shows? You know… make SURE before they make the idiots who want to be famous for NOTHING AT ALL aren’t crooks, child molestors, or bigots?
Can someone please explain why Joe is often referred to as Juicy Joe? I would search myself but I am at work and am scared what might pop should I google Juicy Joe. Is it a play on his last name or something far more gross?
Maybe he was “juiced up” from steroids at one point? I dunno
I watched the first season of this mess and I believe it was Teresa who described her husband as “juicy” which I guess means attractive to her? Shudder
i think juicing can be slang for steroid use. so they might be implying he does steroids.
p.s. you’re lucky you can access this site at work. mine blocks it. *cries*
I also think it’s a play on their last name. It’s kind of alliterative and when you say his whole name, Juice Joe Guidice, it sounds hilariously funny. Hilarious.
In the first season (perhaps even the first show?), Teresa referred to her husband as being sexy by calling him “juicy”. Ugh.
She’s not ignorant nor stupid. She simply refuses to take any responsibility for any of it. She lives her life (what we see on TV) by never, ever taking any responsibility for anything beyond her own desires which are always, according to her, right.
She can’t even apologise when she’s confronted( because that’s the only way to try to get her to apologise) with ironclad evidence of her own misdeeds.
So from that POV, everyone else, including lawyers and judges not to mention the people/organisations they stole from, are wrong and picking on her to boot.
Now am going to hang my head in shame that i’ve watched so much housewives TV that I know all this about Teresa.
I said as much in a less concise way in another post. Don’t worry, you don’t have to freely admit you watched a lot of the show, you can claim you are just an astute student of human behavior & it was obvious to you, LOL. She’s an unapologetic grifter, and she’ll do it again.
She hasn’t been too stupid to own and work several businesses, though. ITA with everything you said.
She’s illiterate and greedy.
Even after the prison sentences are complete joe will more than likely be deported. And even IF they pay off the IRS you can bet they/she will be audited every year after. The IRS is no joke. They will take everything you own including the rings off of your fingers.
I’d like to see that on TV.
They did that to Willie Nelson. Anyone remember his IRS record? He made an album just to pay off the remainder of his debt.
No clue about these people but I must add that they certainly *look* dodgy. If I saw that bloke coming down the street, I’d swiftly cross the road thinking: “the defendant”.
Screw her, she knew what she was doing and I’m sick of her constant victim BS. She played innocent in all the drama with her friends and family as well, she’s a manipulative liar and I’m glad she got time. Millions of people work hard just to scrape by with nothing, and she stole millions and has no remorse, it’s sickening!
Right there with ya, Jess, well said!!
So basically she needed to live like she makes $50,000 a year and she was living like she made 50 mil. Oh I’d buy a used home. Well LA TI DA Theresa. How salt of the earth of you.
Yes, that statement made me cringe, too. That’s her concession to all of this–she’d live in a “used” home.
Really, have you ever? Some of the most beautiful homes in the world are “used” you pinhead.
I don’t buy it. I think they both new exactly what they were doing but thought they were so smart and Entitled that no one would do a thing to them if they were to get caught. I don’t know who this awful woman thinks she is but if Martha Stewart had to do jail time, so does this pos. And really they got off easy considering the amount of money. They need to change the law for these type of people and really punish them they same way they punish other criminals.
Martha was entrapped and she took it better than these two who were just flat out grifting.
Don’t ya just hate it when you break the law and have to go to jail for it? Stupid criminal justice system! These people should have had my mom (may she rest in peace) growing up. I stole a cool looking rock from the neighbors when I was about 7 or 8. My mom snooped through my room and found and knew where it came from. She made me take it back and confess to stealing it. I was so embarrassed, that effectively stopped my criminal life.
I work in the law field and you would be surprised how many people are like Teresa and Joe who are out there cheating and lying to put more money in their pockets and live in complete denial.
Part of what the government had to prove was a culpable mental state. Teresa and Joe both knew exactly what they were doing, or else they would not have been convicted.
Yeah she’s “shocked” she was caught and made to pay the consequence. She chose money and frivolously acquiring material things over her children…period. No sympathy here.
Really, for all the offenses she committed she got a good deal. She should be a little more grateful, actually.
BTW that $400,00 is probably taxed at 50% and the balance seized by the IRS.
I hope they know that whatever money Bravo gave them for that interview is automatically taxable income. It’s not like they can transfer the $300K+ to pay down their penalty. That money is taxed. Yeah it’s a slippery slope. They should have never filed that bankruptcy and cheated the government. I don’t feel sorry for her.
The government never forgets either, they’re in it for the long haul, they will be paid.
Wendy Williams has a segment on her show today in which she showed a WWHL clip with Teresa saying she didn’t tell the younger three children yet and doesn’t believe other kids at their respective schools will get word to them of the prison sentence. She’s either truly delusional or just not a responsible parent or both.
I get the feeling that this won’t stop them permanently. They’re too rebellious. I’m not picking up delusion as much as willful resistance to authority coupled with arrogance. I predict more legal troubles for these two.
Agreed, they’re defiant. The rules don’t apply to them.
Oh yeah now you think about your kids. I have zero sympathy for these two. My sister stole and I had to lend her my hard earned savings which she is taking her own sweet time to repay. If it wasn’t for me, she would be separated from her kids. Did she think about her kids before she stole? Now you wanna say your kids will be heartbroken? Sheesh.
What’d she expect, that the judge would ask for her autograph, tap her on the wrist and say Bye-Bye?
Teresa’s slick lawyers, if well paid, will esure that Teresa goes into a mental hospital and not prison. That is seriously where she belongs. What a Sociopath and a Psychobitch. Years and years of emotional and verbal abuse by her husband (and no doubt her father), have contributed to your delusional state of mind due to her wealth and materialism, making her who she is today.
Who she will be after the entire prison(hospital) sentence is yet to be determined.
Okay, the “I thought my lawyer was going to fight for me.” comment is beyond ridiculous. I’ve been a legal secretary for 15 years and the fact that she wound up with jail time does not mean her lawyer didn’t “fight for her.” He’s an attorney, not a damn wizard. And while it’s possible the plea agreement did not specify her sentence, who would know though, because she claims to not have read it. Huh? You’re facing multiple federal charges and you don’t read the godforsaken plea agreement prior to signing it?
why don’t they get kicked out of the mansion?