Radio Station Buys Bobby's Get-of-Jail Card

Radio station pays $19,150 in back child support to spring entertainer; in exchange, Brown agreed to work at station for one week.

By Josh Grossberg Mar 02, 2007 1:30 AMTags

Being Bobby Brown may be one tough gig, but it pays the bills.

The erstwhile King of New Jack Swing checked out of a Massachusetts jail cell after a radio station ponied up $19,150 in back child support to ex-girlfriend Kim Ward. In exchange, Brown agreed to work at the station for a week.

"He got out [Wednesday] night at 7:45 p.m," said Deputy Dave Falcone of the Norfolk County Sheriff's Department. "His brother [Tommy] posted the money."

But Tommy was apparently acting as a middle man for the Washington, D.C.-based radio station Hot 99.5 WIHT-FM.

In a statement, the station says the deal was brokered by morning deejay Kane and Brown's lawyers. Kane says Brown will work at Hot 99.5 for a week, beginning Monday, discussing his trangressions onair and promoting the station off.

"Bobby deserves a clean slate," said Kane. "He has agreed to be a positive role model for the Washington, D.C., community and we look forward to welcoming Bobby to the staff at Hot 99.5. This is something positive, and while he  is in town with us, we will be giving back to the community."

The station says more details will be announced in the coming days, adding that "there is an office ready for him."

There was no immediate comment or confirmation from Brown's camp.

Brown, 38, was taken into custody last Sunday after arriving in his home state to watch daughter LaPrincia's cheerleading event. A warrant had been issued last October after he failed to show for child-support hearing regarding the care of his two children with Ward, LaPrincia, 17, and Bobby Jr., 15.

The trouble-prone reality star had forked over $11,000 in late fees to Ward last fall, but according to her lawyer, still owed a substantial amount of child support.

After he was collared at Bartlett High School, the soon-to-be ex-Mr. Whitney Houston reportedly called his current girlfriend and arranged to have $20,000 wired to him. At some point, however, it seems that Hot 99.5 intervened and began negotiations with Brown's attorneys.

The entertainer spent three nights in the slammer before the cash arrived. He had faced up to 90 days behind bars if he didn't come up with the money.

At this point,  Brown is probably on a first-name basis with the jailers.

In March 2004, a Norfolk judge tossed Brown in the clink after he was late for a court hearing and admitted that he wouldn't be able to pony up $63,500 in belated child support to Ward. The "Don't Be Cruel" crooner was sprung the next day when he suddenly managed to come up with the money, even though he claimed to have no job or source of income at the time.

Brown wound up in lockup again last March after he was nabbed for a litany of motor vehicle violations dating back 14 years. Again, he was nabbed as he went to Bartlett to watch his daughter in another cheerleading competition.

The onetime New Edition star's Atlanta-based attorney, Phaedra Parks, has said that Brown has had a hard time meeting his financial obligations because the payments were set when he still a music star, as opposed to fronting his train wreck of a reality series, Being Bobby Brown.

Brown, who hasn't released a studio album since 1997's Forever, is apparently on the hunt for a new source of income. As E! Online's Marc Malkin reported last week, the performer may go solo in a new version of Being Bobby Brown, which chronicling life after Whitney and his latest bid for a musical comeback.

Houston filed to dissolve their 14-year marriage in September, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple has one child together, 13-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina.

The "Saving All My Love" diva has requested a default judgment in her divorce proceedings in an attempt to speed up the process, according to court papers filed in December. She's seeking custody of Bobbi Kristina with visitation rights for Brown.