ILS1
04-28-2005, 08:05 PM
By Sarah Hall
1 hour, 54 minutes ago
A typical day in the life of a Fox intern: make coffee, make copies, conduct background checks on American Idol contestants, call down to the deli for lunch...
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At least, we're assuming it must be the interns who screen Idol wannabes for potential criminal records--otherwise, how to explain all the contestants with skeletons in the closet who somehow slip through the cracks?
Long-haired crooner Bo Bice is the latest Idol contestant to fall prey to the skills of the super sleuths at the Smoking Gun Website, who unearthed Bice's arrest records for felony cocaine possession back in 2001 and marijuana possession in 2003.
In fairness to Fox's background checking department, we were only kidding about the whole intern thing. The network claims it knew all about Bice's drug busts ahead of time and that it doesn't care. (We paraphrase.)
"The information disclosed on various salacious gossip websites regarding Bo Bice's past was already well-known to Fox and the producers of American Idol," the network said in a statement released Thursday. "From the beginning, Bo was honest and forthcoming in revealing his previous indiscretions and their outcome."
Fans, however are not so forgiving. Several posts on the idolonfox.com message boards are suggesting Fox dump Bice and replace him with the competition's other self-styled rocker, Constantine Maroulis, who was voted out on Wednesday's show.
The rocker, whose real name is the definitely un-rocking Harold Bice Jr., per his police record, was nabbed by cops in Huntsville, Alabama, in June 2001 after scoring about half a gram of cocaine from an acquaintance at the local Silver Dollar strip club, per the Smoking Gun.
He was taken into custody and released after he posted $1,000 bail. According to his court records, his preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for Aug. 22, 2001, but was pushed back a week at the request of the prosecutors.
When a Huntsville Police Department investigator failed to appear at the Aug. 29, 2001 date, Judge Susan Moquin tossed the case, per the court docket.
However, when prosecutors moved to refile the felony drug charge against Bice, he opted instead to undertake a drug diversion program overseen by the district attorney's office.
But before Bice entered the program, he was arrested again in 2003 and charged with marijuana possession, public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia.
After the pot bust, Bice formally entered the drug diversion program, effectively taking one course of action to cover his two drug-possession charges.
Once Bice completed the program, which typically includes submitting to urine tests and drug counseling and attending awareness classes, the drug charges were dismissed. According to the Smoking Gun, the cocaine charge was erased in April 2004 and the pot charge was tossed five months ago.
In December 2004, Bice pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges of public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Had he been found guilty of felony cocaine possession, Bice could have been slammer-bound for up to 10 years, though as a first-time offender, he would have more likely received a probationary slap on the wrist.
Instead, the gritty vocalist, whose performance of Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Wanna Be" Tuesday was received well by judges and fans alike, is a frontrunner to become the next American Idol.
Of course, Bice isn't the first contestant this season to get stung by the Smoking Gun's investigation squad.
Beefy finalist Scott Savol also saw the dark secrets of his past come to light this season after the Website dug up his prior arrest for domestic violence.
The charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Idol producers claimed Savol had been forthcoming about the arrest and that it wouldn't affect his future on the show.
Bice and Savol are merely the latest entries on the roster of Idol contestants whose police records made headlines once they achieved their 15 minutes of fame.
Notable Idol sinners of the past include Corey Clark, who was kicked off the second season of the show after the Smoking Gun smoked out an arrest for assault; Jaered Andrews, who was booted from the semifinals of the second season after being arrested in connection with a murder charge (he was later acquitted); and Frenchie Davis, who was canned from the second season semifinals after photos surfaced of her posing topless on a porn site.
Harold "Bo" Bice (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=797&e=1&u=/eo/20050428/en_tv_eo/16444)
1 hour, 54 minutes ago
A typical day in the life of a Fox intern: make coffee, make copies, conduct background checks on American Idol contestants, call down to the deli for lunch...
ADVERTISEMENT
At least, we're assuming it must be the interns who screen Idol wannabes for potential criminal records--otherwise, how to explain all the contestants with skeletons in the closet who somehow slip through the cracks?
Long-haired crooner Bo Bice is the latest Idol contestant to fall prey to the skills of the super sleuths at the Smoking Gun Website, who unearthed Bice's arrest records for felony cocaine possession back in 2001 and marijuana possession in 2003.
In fairness to Fox's background checking department, we were only kidding about the whole intern thing. The network claims it knew all about Bice's drug busts ahead of time and that it doesn't care. (We paraphrase.)
"The information disclosed on various salacious gossip websites regarding Bo Bice's past was already well-known to Fox and the producers of American Idol," the network said in a statement released Thursday. "From the beginning, Bo was honest and forthcoming in revealing his previous indiscretions and their outcome."
Fans, however are not so forgiving. Several posts on the idolonfox.com message boards are suggesting Fox dump Bice and replace him with the competition's other self-styled rocker, Constantine Maroulis, who was voted out on Wednesday's show.
The rocker, whose real name is the definitely un-rocking Harold Bice Jr., per his police record, was nabbed by cops in Huntsville, Alabama, in June 2001 after scoring about half a gram of cocaine from an acquaintance at the local Silver Dollar strip club, per the Smoking Gun.
He was taken into custody and released after he posted $1,000 bail. According to his court records, his preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for Aug. 22, 2001, but was pushed back a week at the request of the prosecutors.
When a Huntsville Police Department investigator failed to appear at the Aug. 29, 2001 date, Judge Susan Moquin tossed the case, per the court docket.
However, when prosecutors moved to refile the felony drug charge against Bice, he opted instead to undertake a drug diversion program overseen by the district attorney's office.
But before Bice entered the program, he was arrested again in 2003 and charged with marijuana possession, public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia.
After the pot bust, Bice formally entered the drug diversion program, effectively taking one course of action to cover his two drug-possession charges.
Once Bice completed the program, which typically includes submitting to urine tests and drug counseling and attending awareness classes, the drug charges were dismissed. According to the Smoking Gun, the cocaine charge was erased in April 2004 and the pot charge was tossed five months ago.
In December 2004, Bice pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges of public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Had he been found guilty of felony cocaine possession, Bice could have been slammer-bound for up to 10 years, though as a first-time offender, he would have more likely received a probationary slap on the wrist.
Instead, the gritty vocalist, whose performance of Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Wanna Be" Tuesday was received well by judges and fans alike, is a frontrunner to become the next American Idol.
Of course, Bice isn't the first contestant this season to get stung by the Smoking Gun's investigation squad.
Beefy finalist Scott Savol also saw the dark secrets of his past come to light this season after the Website dug up his prior arrest for domestic violence.
The charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Idol producers claimed Savol had been forthcoming about the arrest and that it wouldn't affect his future on the show.
Bice and Savol are merely the latest entries on the roster of Idol contestants whose police records made headlines once they achieved their 15 minutes of fame.
Notable Idol sinners of the past include Corey Clark, who was kicked off the second season of the show after the Smoking Gun smoked out an arrest for assault; Jaered Andrews, who was booted from the semifinals of the second season after being arrested in connection with a murder charge (he was later acquitted); and Frenchie Davis, who was canned from the second season semifinals after photos surfaced of her posing topless on a porn site.
Harold "Bo" Bice (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=797&e=1&u=/eo/20050428/en_tv_eo/16444)