Real Housewives' Danielle Staub's sordid past confirmed; sex tape on hold

Real Housewives of New Jersey' cast member Danielle Staub has just had her sordid past shared with all the world. And when I say sordid,' I really mean it. In more than the Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan sense of the word. Staub has quite the criminal record, which the Smoking Gun got a hold of. It includes charges in 1986 of attempted kidnapping, selling massive quantities of cocaine for a Columbian drug family, working as a snitch - oh and working as a prostitute, too.

A lot of these accusations were rumors that were floating around on the TV show, based on her inclusion in a book called Cop Without a Badge' which talked about several of the crimes. Danielle wasn't the focus of the book (her name was Beverly Ann Merrill back then, she changed it because of the book), which is about her drug dealing ex-husband, but there was enough embarrassing information in there to do some serious damage. The book was revealed during the first part of the show's finale, and there was a lot of drama regarding who really knew about it and who exposed Danielle. The internet has been wondering just how accurate all the information was. The Smoking Gun got a hold of many of the files related to the case (at least 23 pages of them) which prove just how sleazy Danielle's life was.

In previews for Thursday's second installment of The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion, it appears that things heat up when the discussion centers on Danielle Staub's past. Now, with the emergence of legal documents uncovered by TheSmokingGun.com, it looks like her past may be much more checkered than the 46-year-old New Jersey Housewife has been letting on.

According to documents filed in Miami's U.S. District Court, Staub ' then known as Beverly Ann Merrill ' and Daniel Aguilar, her alleged drug dealer boyfriend at the time, were arrested by the FBI in June 1986 for holding a man they blamed for a botched cocaine deal for $25,000 in ransom. While Staub has insisted her involvement in the incident was minimal, the documents state that she went so far as to place a phone call to the man's father to ask for the money ' and threatened injury or death' to the man if it wasn't delivered.

The documents go on to reveal that Staub was arrested at a Miami apartment, where police also discovered six kilos of cocaine and $16,000 cash, and that Staub cooperated with the FBI in exchange for a more lenient punishment. The papers appear to confirm several accusations made about Staub in Cop Without a Badge, the now infamous book about her FBI informant ex-husband Kevin Maher that became a major plot-twister on the show this season when it was discovered and brought to light by costars. Staub recently denied the accusations in an interview with PEOPLE, saying she was only an accessory' in the incident, never worked as a prostitute and never had a cocaine problem.
But according to the papers, Staub was charged with one felony count and convicted of extortion; she worked for an escort service,' according to an FBI agent on the case; and she was sentenced to drug treatment and weekly urinalysis tests for six months. Two years later, her substance abuse counselor recommended that her drug aftercare' program be extended, considering the severity of Beverly's drug history and her former drug life style.'

[From People]

As if this all weren't seedy enough, Danielle went to court to get a temporary restraining order so her ex-boyfriend couldn't release a sex tape of the pair.

Contrary to popular belief, Danielle Staub doesn't want every aspect of her life captured on camera. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star has obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent an ex-boyfriend from peddling'what else?'a sex tape featuring the duo in presumably happier times.

Stephen Zalewski, who was not in court Wednesday, has also been ordered to gather up all videos and explicit photographs he may have of Staub and appear in court July 21 for a follow-up hearing. But Staub, who easily took the title of housewife with the most skin-crawling back story on the Jersey installment of Bravo's hit franchise, has only just begun.

She is also suing Zalewski for defamation, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress, claiming he that she didn't even know the tape existed until he was quoted mentioning it in a Star magazine article.

Ew.

'She cost me so much money, why shouldn't I make a few dollars?' Zalewski told the magazine, according to the lawsuit.

[From E!]

To quote the eloquent writer at E! ew.' I believe that's about the best way to put it. This woman has led an insane life. Sure other people have stories like hers, but few of them end up living in mansions and starring on reality TV shows. I hope. I am seriously afraid she's got a murder planned as some sort of shocking twist. When you've got a history like Danielle's, nothing's really surprising anymore.

Here's a snippet from the show, along with a few mentions of the book.'