Curtis Means/ACE/INFphoto.comJoe Giudice is back in a New Jersey court today for a hearing in his driver's license fraud case, barely two weeks after the Real Housewives of New Jersey star was sentenced to 41 months in prison.
According to reports, authorities allege that Teresa Giudice's husband used his brother Pietro's identity to obtain a license in June 2010 after his own was suspended following a DWI arrest five months prior.
Originally, local reporters said that Giudice rejected the plea deal which would have called for a concurrent sentence with the federal sentence—the deal-breaker being that the state insisted that his driver's license be suspended for up to two years.
Miles Feinstein, Joe's lawyer, said the Bravo star was not taking the "favorable" plea deal because he is not guilty, adding that his client wants to go to trial.
"He's taking quite a risk," the judge said, noting that he runs the risk of serving a consecutive sentence.
However, after the judge questioned Joe about his rejection, telling him, "You are making a momentous decision, there's no going back on this," the Bravo star asked for a bit more time to reconsider at which point the court was scheduled to reconvene later in the day.
When the hearing resumed, Joe made the decision to accept the plea deal. He has been sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to possession of a fraudulent license. He will not receive any additional jail time as his sentence will run concurrently with the federal time he is already scheduled to serve.
The state also said it will take no position on Joe's immigration issues (the Bravo star is a citizen of Italy and could very well be deported due to his conviction). The judge added that Giudice's deportation is a "virtual certainty."
On Oct. 2, the former pizza parlor owner was sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay $414,588.90 in restitution fees to Wells Fargo, plus another $10,000 to the government after the Giudices pleaded guilty in March to multiple fraud charges. Just before sentencing, a nervous Joe stood up and read a letter, saying, "I stand here humiliated before the court and my family and society. I disgraced many people, including my wife and four daughters. I take full responsibility for my actions. I promise to be a better person."
His wife was sentenced to 15 months and will serve her time first, after the holidays, so one parent can remain at home to take care of the couple's four daughters, Gia, 13, Gabriella, 9, Milania, 8, and Audriana, 5.
The couple opened up about their sentencing just days after the trial in a special for Bravo's Watch What Happens Live, during which Teresa defending her husband. "I don't think he meant to hurt me in any way," she said. "I think it' a learning lesson for both of us, right, honey?"
The formal sentencing in Joe's driver's license fraud case is scheduled for March 20. The judge will then decide how long his license will be suspended for after examining his driving records.