Boy George’s Summer-time Blues

By M&C People News Jun 26, 2006, 16:43 GMT

A New York judge vacated a warrant for Boy George's arrest and told the former Culture Club singer “he will let him complete a non-jail sentence stemming from his arrest for cocaine possession.” According to the New York Times.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara “scolded” the defendant, real name George O'Dowd, 45, for not complying with the terms of his sentence and warned, "I'm not going to give you another chance."

Back in March, Boy George pleaded guilty to third-degree false reporting of an incident, the charge followed a false report of a burglary at his Lower Manhattan apartment where police found cocaine.

Under the plea deal, O'Dowd “was to enter a drug program in England and do five days of community service in Manhattan. He was also supposed to pay a $1,000 fine and a $160 surcharge, and avoid arrest for any reason during the next six months.” Reports the Times. 

"You have to do the community service," Ferrara told O'Dowd. "It's up to you whether you make it an exercise in humiliation or in humility. If you don't do the community service, I'll make you a promise: You're going through that door," Ferrara said, pointing toward the entrance to the jail cells.” In the Times report.

The judge gave O'Dowd until Aug. 28th to complete the community service.

O'Dowd left the courtroom and immediately went to the probation offices to get his community service assignment. "I never minding doing the community service," he said as he walked down the hall to the office.

Defense lawyer Louis Freeman said Judge Ferrara's ire was "based on a misunderstanding," that O'Dowd was trying to avoid complying with Ferrara’s community service sentence.

Freeman said the singer always intended to comply with all the terms of his conditional discharge, but he had proposed working with an HIV/AIDS charity while taking part in an outpatient drug-treatment program for himself.  A proposal that the Judge flatly rejected.
 
"He'll probably be raking leaves in Central Park, or something like that," Freeman said of O'Dowd, who was referred to the Sanitation Department for possible assignment.

Freeman reported to media sources that “his client was hoping to do the community service on five consecutive days so that he could make scheduled appearances in Europe. ‘He's already been threatened with lawsuits if he doesn't show,’ according to Boy George’s lawyer.

O'Dowd left the community service assignment office, and was reported to have said, "I'm going to be teaching basketball in Harlem." All according to the Times report.