Does Prison for Real Housewives Stars Teresa and Joe Giudice Really Send a Message?

I
suppose on some level it’s always a good thing when a Real
Housewives couple gets sent to jail. But in the case of
Teresa and Joe Giudice, who starred in The Real Housewives of
New Jersey, it seems particularly appropriate.

Convicted of conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud, Joe will be going
away to federal prison for 41 months. Teresa will be sent packing
for 15 months.

The couple had pleaded guilty in March, admitting they hid
assets from bankruptcy creditors and submitted phony loan
applications to get some $5 million in mortgages and construction
loans. Joe Giudice also pleaded guilty to failing to pay taxes
totaling more than $200,000.

Despite the admonitions, the judge gave Teresa Giudice a
sentence below the agreed-upon range in her plea agreement, 21 to
27 months. She cited “significant mitigating circumstances”
including the Giudices’ four daughters, Teresa Giudice’s aging
parents and the fact that she had a lesser role in the conspiracy
than her husband.

Press reports indicate that Joe got a sentence in the middle of
his range, partly because he did charitable work in the aftermath
of Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene.

Yet this part of the saga bothers me a bit:

“We prosecute a lot of white-collar crime,” [U.S. Attorney Paul
Fishman] said. “The fact that she’s a celebrity played no role in
what her punishment was. But we do believe that when people like
Teresa Giudice and Giuseppe Giudice are investigated, prosecuted
and sentenced for these types of crimes that it does send a message
to everyone who’s watching.”

More here.

What is it that movie mogul Sam Goldwyn used to say? “If you
want to send a message, call Western Union.”

I’m dubious that this sort of case sends much of a message (and
given that one of the defendants got less than her plea deal, it’s
far from clear what the message might be). It’s always appalling,
of course, when celebrities or well-connected folks get away with
stuff the rest of us would get nailed for, but the idea that such
weird, rare, and random events as a trial of reality TV stars will
change criminal behavior strikes me as pretty sketchy.

Indeed, it smacks of the same sort of delusional myth-making by
which Happy Days auteur Gary Marshall claimed that
requests for library cards increased “500
percent” after Fonzie applied for one in an episode of the
show. Sorry, guys, but that just ain’t how
television (or press coverage of trials) work.