'Real Housewives' Star Teresa Giudice Begins Prison Sentence
Teresa Giudice has begun serving her prison sentence.
The "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star surrendered at the Federal Correction Institution in Danbury, Connecticut—a minimum security prison camp for women that inspired the hit Netflix series "Orange is the New Black"—at 3 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, to begin serving her 15-month sentence for bank fraud, according to her attorney James J. Leonard Jr.
Leonard told Us Weekly that an hour and 15 minutes before reporting to jail, they stopped at a local diner in Connecticut so that she could eat.
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"She said she was hungry, so we went to a diner down the road," said Leonard. "It was Elmer's Diner in Danbury, about a mile away from the prison."
Giudice reportedly opted for a breakfast sandwich and coffee. Upon entering prison, Leonard said, "She was very stoic. Whatever emotions she needed to get out, she did it prior. She had her game face on—she was ready to go."
Hours after she reported to prison, Leonard appeared on "Good Morning America" and said that Giudice was "mentally and emotionally prepared". Her husband, Joe, was "somber."
"The enormity of this entire situation hit him," said the lawyer.
Once she arrived, the other inmates "were giving her the lay of the land" and they advised her to "keep her head up," added Leonard.
When asked if the reality star might be released early, Leonard said that it was "up to the judge and the bureau of prisons."
In an interview with Huffington Post, Leonard revealed what Giudice told him before heading inside.
"The last thing she said was basically, 'Tell everybody I'll be fine.' She was very positive, very upbeat, in great spirits," he said.
