It was an offer he couldn't refuse.
Former Sopranos capo Vincent Pastore pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of attempted assault on his ex-fiancée as part of a deal with Manhattan prosecutors to avoid the big house.
In exchange for his admission of guilt, the small-screen henchman was sentenced to perform 70 hours of community service, attend six weeks of anger-management classes and pay a $190 fine.
Had the case gone to trial--as was initially expected when the actor nixed several previous offers--he would have faced up to a year behind bars, if convicted.
Pastore, better known as the deep-sixed snitch Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero to devotees of HBO's mob drama, got into trouble back on Apr. 2. The 59-year-old actor and then girlfriend Lisa Regina, 44, were in a parked car in Little Italy when they became embroiled in a squabble that ended with him allegedly punching her in the back of the head, yanking her by the hair and forcing her head down into the gearshift. He then pushed her out of the vehicle backwards before driving off, according to a police report.
Regina was treated for cuts and bruises at a nearby hospital. Pastore turned himself into police shortly after the incident and was released on bail. He also insisted he was innocent.
However, when asked Monday by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Ellen Coin if he had hit Regina, Pastore replied, "Yes, I did."
To make sure the fomer Bada-Bing enthusiast has no plans to renege on the agreement, Coin threatened to toss him in jail for up to four years if he violated the stay-away order prohibiting him from contacting his ex.
Pastore said he wanted to carry out his community service by working at the Kingsbridge Veterans Administration Hospital in the Bronx, where he was born, serving food during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and helping out wherever needed. Pastore is a veteran himself, having served in the Navy from 1964 to 1967.
His lawyer, Dominic Barbara, was unavailable for comment Monday. But he previously said his client has been seeing a psychiatrist for the past 10 months to address his anger-management issues.
The anger-management counseling had been the final sticking point in the deal. Pastore was scheduled to enter his plea two weeks ago, but that hearing was postponed while the court's domestic violence research coordinator could check to see if his therapy would satisfy sentencing guidelines. It didn't, hence the extra six weeks of classes.
Pastore, whose non-Big Pussy credits including a bit part in Goodfellas, currently hosts The Wiseguy Show on Sirius Satellite Radio. He also has three films in the pipeline for next year, the comedy Vegas Baby and the horror flicks Rampage and Return to Sleepaway Camp.
And even though he was whacked, Big Pussy might make a posthumous appearance during The Sopranos's penultimate season next spring. An abbreviated eight-episode season will cap the Emmy-winning franchise in January 2007.