Ridgewood Assault Charges Dropped Against 'Real Housewives' Cast

Appearing in Ridgewood Municipal Court Thursday afternoon, lawyers for three “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast members and a man who had accused them of assault announced they had decided to drop a slew of charges stemming from an alleged brawl at the opening of a downtown boutique last March.

Jacqueline and Chris Laurita as well as Giuseppe “Joe” Gorga, all of Franklin Lakes, had been accused of assaulting Paramus resident Johnny Karagiorgis after he allegedly tweeted insulting comments about the Lauritas' autistic son.

The three reality show cast members in turn filed counter complaints alleging that Karagiorgis threatened them and provoked the brawl.

Nicholas G. Sekas, the attorney representing Karagiorgis, told Municipal Judge David Pfund that in the last week, lawyers representing the four parties in the case met with each other, spoke to their clients, and decided to drop the charges.

Beyond confirming that they had agreed to drop their complaints, the four defendants did not address the court.

Speaking to reporters outside the municipal building, James Leonard, who  represented Gorga, said that the attorneys had decided to move on and drop the proceedings because they had become a "big waste of time.”

In the months since the alleged brawl, the cast members made one appearance in Ridgewood court. The man who had represented them during police questioning was arrested by Ridgewood Police the date of their last scheduled court appearance for allegedly misrepresenting himself as an attorney.

While Bravo camera were not present in the court room Thursday afternoon, crews were rolling for the incident that led to the charges, when Jacqueline Laurita reportedly wielded a stiletto against Karagiorgis, as sinks from the adjacent salon were hurled in the fracas.

Last Sunday’s “Real Housewives” episode ended as the conflict between the four parties escalated, with the alleged brawl “to be continued” in the season finale this weekend, according to Bravo promos.

In prior statements to the press, Karagiorgis has claimed that the show’s producers staged the altercation for dramatic effect. Bravo has declined to comment on the claims.