EAST HAMPTON.- Justin Timberlake is not the first celebrity arrested in the Hamptons. The coastal communities on the eastern tip of Long Island in New York are popular with the wealthy and celebrities; However, some have gotten into problems there, many of them vehicular. These are some examples:
Billy Joel
Singer Billy Joel and commercial fishermen from the East Hampton Baymen’s Association of Long Island were accused of illegally catching striped bass during a protest against fishing regulations in July 1992. The charges were later dismissed. The plight of fishermen, whose livelihood is threatened by regulations, inspired Joel’s song The Downeaster ‘Alexa.
Then, in January 2003, Joel went off the road and crashed his Mercedes into a tree in Sag Harbor. Joel was hospitalized, but was not arrested.
Martha Stewart
A landscaper who worked for real estate mogul Harry Macklowe accused television personality and home goods entrepreneur Martha Stewart of intentionally reversing her car on him in May 1997 amid a dispute between Macklowe and Stewart, who were neighbors in East Hampton. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office investigated but decided not to file charges against Stewart. “Not all events that negatively affect a person’s life deserve to be litigated in court.” penal“said then-District Attorney James Catterson.
Lizzie Grubman
On July 7, 2001, a security guard in Southampton asked Lizzie Grubman, a publicist to the stars whose clients included Britney Spears and Jay-Z, to move her Mercedes out of a fire lane. Grubman responded by backing the vehicle into a crowd, injuring 16 people. Grubman was accused of crimes including second-degree assault, driving while intoxicated and reckless endangerment. He faced a prison sentence of up to eight years, but only served 38 days in jail and five years of probation after reaching a plea deal.
Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd, the basketball Hall of Famer and coach whose Dallas Mavericks lost the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics on Monday, crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a light pole in Southampton in July 2012. He pleaded guilty of a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated and was placed on probation. In exchange for the guilty plea, Kidd agreed to speak to Long Island high school students about the dangers of drunk driving. The accident occurred toward the end of Kidd’s career as an NBA player.
Brian France
Former Nascar CEO Brian France was arrested in Sag Harbor for driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of oxycodone in August 2018 after police said they saw him driving his Lexus through a stop sign. France pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and was required to perform 100 hours of community service and undergo alcohol counseling.
Source: AP
