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Nick Bollea gets 8 months jail sentence and five years probation
By Colin Vassallo
May 9, 2008 - 8:15:10 PM
- Nick Bollea, Hulk Hogan's son, had a date at the Pinellas County courtroom today along with his father, mom Linda and sister Brooke to face the felony charge of reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. Nick pleaded no contest to the charges and the State said that the Graziano family is asking for a year's jail sentence. Nick's attorney, Kevin Hayslett, agreed to a one year deal with probation up to five years after he discussed it with his client and parents. It was then asked if Nick could do probation in the state of California instead of Florida and the Judge didn't have any problem with that. The Judge explained to Nick that agreeing to the no contest plea it waives any rights for a trial and he would be sentenced today to which Nick agrees.
Pinellas County Assistant State's Attorney Scott Rosenwasser then proceeded for his talk and showed the Judge a video as well a photos from the crash. Ed Graziano, the father of the victim, talked afterwards, listing his son's medals and accomplishments he received as a United States Marine. He said the crash is all because of the "reckless and senseless act of Nick Bollea," and added that "What Al Qaeda didn't do to my son, Nick Bollea did it in a matter of minutes," referring his son's trips to Iraq. John Graziano's sister addressed the court and was an emotional wreck during her speech. She said Nick never said sorry for what he did and there's no punishment that is enough. John's girlfriend Ashley was up next and just like his sister cried throughout her speech, holding her head down while reading her letter to the court. She slammed Nick for drinking while being underage and for his horrible driving history and said that "he should never be allowed to drive again." John's mom took the stand and seemed the most calm out of the bunch. She said that Nick should be sentenced at least six months to one year in jail, five years probation, no alcohol during the five years and must complete the probation in full. "I'm not seeking revenge, only justice," she said.
Hulk Hogan took the stand after a short note by Nick's legal team. Hulk said that John was a part of their family and they took him to several family trips and helped him when he had problems with his father. Hulk explained how the day before he went to Iraq he spent his time with the Hogan family and when he was in Iraq he called and wrote several times, asking for protein and power bars. Hulk said that Nick was poorly portrayed by the media because of his on air persona and said that their show wasn't reality TV but it was scripted and Nick did whatever the producers asked him to do. After regaining his composure, Hulk pleaded the Judge not to have his son a convicted felon and while he's certainly not asking for any preference, he's doesn't want his son to be harshly penalized because of who his father is.
Linda Bollea was next saying the accident was heart breaking for both families and went over the fact again that John was like family. "I know my son never meant to hurt his best friend," Linda said while crying. She added that Nick will live with this for the rest of his life no matter what the sentence will be. A letter from Nick's grandfather - Linda's dad - was then read out.
Sean Schumura, who runs a charity, took over and said that Nick has been working for the National Wave charity for several months now and turned over his $150 per day pay back to the charity. He said that Nick would be more helpful if he's still allowed to donate his time and services to the charity rather than being locked up.
Nick Bollea took the stand next, saying that he misses being around John every single day that goes by. He understands the pain that he caused to both families and feels terrible about it and apologized for his actions. He said no matter what anyone says about him, he thinks of John and the accident everyday. Nick then turned around facing the Graziano family and apologized for what he did and said that he will never be able to say sorry enough. Nick said that since the accident he hasn't driven yet and mentioned his work at the charity.
Brooke was next to talk and said that she's here to defend both her brothers - her biological one, Nick, and John. Brooke - who cried during her speech - told the Judge how John was like a brother and her best friend who protected her when needed. She said that both families went from best friends to enemies.
After closing arguments by both the attorney and the Assistant State's Attorney, the Judge took over for sentencing. "There's no magic answer, no perfect way to do it," explained Judge Philip Federico. At the end of his speech, the Judge withhold adjudication but sentenced Nick - who sported a stone cold face - to 8 months in prison at the Pinellas County jail, five years probation, 500 hours community service, three years driving license suspension, DUI school and nearly $7,000 in fines. He said there are 30 days to appeal the decision and Nick would be taken to jail starting from that very moment. Interesting to note is that Hulk and Linda didn't sit next to each other with Linda's mom and Brooke sitting next to Hulk and Linda on the other end of the bench. After the trial was over, Hulk stood there staring while Linda walked by in front without even looking at him. TMZ.COM carried the live feed of the court case and you can see several pictures below.
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