Joe Giudice from Real Housewives of New Jersey called his tax evasion charges a “bogus crime.” The father of four appeared on the season finale to provide an update for fans.
The United States government caught Joe trying to avoid paying his avoiding taxes and was forced to spend some time behind bars. However, when he was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement back on Oct. 11, he was then immediately flown back to his home country, Italy. He never went through the process to become a U.S. Citizen. The family is still fighting an appeal, but the reality is Joe may never be able to set foot in the United States again.
While the Giudice family was visiting Joe in Naples, he had a private conversation with Teresa to say that what he did was a “bogus crime.” The comment left viewers of the show and his wife a bit taken aback as he continued to say that most people do not serve time for what he did. The mother of four's eyes almost popped out her head as he failed to recognize the significance of what he had just said, since people do spend time behind bars. Both of them did.
The idea that Joe felt he had done nothing wrong left a bad taste in her mouth. She spent 15 months behind bars for turning a blind eye. While in prison, her mother also became sick, dying shortly after her release. Teresa had been honest, saying she held resentment towards Joe for this since she lost time with her mother. The couple, with Joe at the helm, was charged with serious offenses that included conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud and making false statements on loan applications. With Joe also failing to file his tax returns from 2004 to 2008, a time period during which he earned $1 million. In layman's terms, the couple fraudulently secured millions of dollars in loans during an eight-year period. The couple was able to do this by submitting false applications, which included fake pay stubs, tax returns, and W-2 forms.
For Joe to completely ignore the seriousness of his offenses showed Teresa that he was not a changed man and would never take responsibility for his actions. This left the reality star with no choice but to move on. The idea that Joe still felt as if he was above the law did not sit well with most viewers. Many stand behind the government’s decision to deport him back to his native country.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey air Wednesday at 8pm EST on Bravo.