Former Miss USA, and current DUI defendant, Rima Fakih is picking up some crisis management tips from two of her beauty queen sisters ... one of whom is no stranger to controversy.
Fakih was arrested back on December 3 for driving under the influence. Cops said Fakih's blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner -- who almost lost her crown over "inappropriate behavior" and allegations of drug use -- tells us she reached out to Fakih because, "I know how horrible it feels to have the media air your dirty laundry and it is important to have a support system."
Fakih also got a call from Miss USA 1995 Shanna Moakler who says, "I told Rima the transition to life after the crown can be tough, but we’re a sisterhood and we help each other out."
Rima, Tara, and Shanna are meeting up this weekend in Las Vegas for the Miss Nevada USA pageant. To be a fly on that wall ...
Former Miss USA Rima Fakih barely said a word in her DUI case hearing today ... but the judge WENT OFF on her lawyer.
Long story short -- the judge was HOPING to hear that Rima's team had banged out a plea deal with prosecutors. But after the lawyers started making excuses ... she got mad. REALLY MAD.
The judge set a bench trial date for March 14 -- which means if she doesn't strike a deal by then, she runs the risk of facing the maximum penalty ... 93 days in the slammer, plus fines.
As we previously reported, Rima was popped for DUI back in December in Michigan -- and cops claim her blood alcohol level was more than TWICE the legal limit at the time of her arrest.
2010 Miss USA Rima Fakih was HAMMERED when cops arrested her for DUI this weekend ... this according to Michigan police.
According to the police report, obtained by the AP, Fakih was initially stopped when officers noticed the 26-year-old speeding and weaving through traffic in Detroit early Saturday morning.
Cops say Fakih "immediately identified herself as Miss USA."
According to the report, Fakih took a breathalyzer and blew more than TWICE the legal limit -- once blowing a .19 and then a .20. The legal limit in MI is .08.
Officers claim they also found a half-empty bottle of wine on the floorboard behind the driver's seat.
Fakih was arrested on suspicion of DUI. If convicted, Fakih could face some serious jail time.
Former Miss USA Rima Fakih was arrested in Michigan early Saturday for suspicion of drunken driving ... this according to an attorney for the beauty queen.
Police would not confirm the arrest -- and Fakih even tweeted yesterday she wasn't even in Michigan -- but her attorney, Donald Elder, told the Detroit Free Press, "Unfortunately she was."
Elder told the paper Fakih was "very saddened and very apologetic for the situation that she is in right now."
As for the tweet, Fakih posted around 5:00 PM on Saturday: "Let’s clear things up now.... I’m NOT in Michigan and I’m NOT in jail! Wrong Fakih."
Mrs. America doesn't give it up for free ... even to bigshot TV producers ... and now the company behind the pageant is going after a network that aired the competition without paying up ... this according to a new lawsuit.
The Mrs. America pageant (it's like Miss America without the oral sex ... just KIDDING!) ... claims it had a deal with My Family TV to bank 50% of all ad revenue on the broadcast of the 2011 contest.
Mrs. America claims My Family TV had 60 days to pay up after the May 8th broadcast -- which featured Florence Henderson BTW -- but the network has flaked out in a big way.
Now, Mrs. America is demanding their money -- more than $50,000.
Shanna Moakler is doing her best dainty beauty queen "goodbye" wave to California ... and taking her talents to The Silver State ... to take a new gig with the Miss Nevada USA organization.
Shanna has been a MAJOR factor behind the scenes with the Miss California pageant -- and was credited with helping Miss California USA Alyssa Campanella take the Miss USA title in 2011.
But sources tell us she's looking for a new challenge and feels Nevada is the perfect fit.
We're told Shanna is looking forward to taking Nevada's competition "to the next level" -- hoping to deliver a Miss USA to a state that has NEVER had one before.
Move over Donald Trump and Miss USA contestants, because the lovely Ms. Felma Schrimshire is the winner of this year's highly coveted pageant title, Ms. Alabama Nursing Home 2011.
Felma -- who is 100-years-young -- beat out 74 other contestants and while she did not have to endure talent or swimsuit competitions, they all underwent 15 minute interviews before the crown was awarded to Schrimshire.
As part of her illustrious duties, Felma will travel to various nursing homes and community events.
Fifty-one smoking hot chicks slipped into bikinis for a Miss USA pool party in Las Vegas -- but some snooty people in the TMZ newsroom think there's something WRONG with this ... SERIOUSLY??
Check out TMZ on TV -- click here to see your local listings!
Beauty queen roommates Miss USA Rima Fakih, 25, Miss Teen USA Kamie Crawford, 18, and Miss Universe Ximena Navarette, 23, all sashayed at the same event in NYC on Thursday.
An ex-Miss Teen Arkansas USA -- who was arrested last weekend for public intoxication -- is "mortified" about the situation ... and says she's "sorry if I brought any shame on my state."
A rep for the Miss USA Organization tells TMZ, it was Megan Burgess' resident assistant at her University of Arkansas dorm who called the cops on Megan for being a drunk nuisance -- and when police found her, she was sitting in the snow outside by herself.
But the Miss USA Organization isn't holding any grudge -- telling us, Megan "is a sweet girl who exemplifies the values of a Miss Teen title holder and is mortified about this."
The rep adds, "She even called over to us and said she was 'sorry if I brought any shame on my state.'"
Carrie Prejean's lawyer claims he knows exactly who leaked details to TMZ about a private mediation involving the beauty queen's homemade XXX video ... and now he wants the alleged secret spillers to pay up.
Charles LiMandri -- Prejean's lawyer -- has filed a lawsuit against Miss California USA executives Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler -- and their lawyer -- accusing them all of feeding top secret information to various news outlets ... in particular, TMZ.
According to the docs, LiMandri claims the two sides agreed that everything that took place during the mediation was to be kept private. But somehow, LiMandri claims, accurate details involving everything from negotiation tactics .. to the fact that Carrie's mom actually watched the footage of Carrie's solo exploits ... somehow made its way to us.
LiMandri states that he was particularly shocked at how quickly TMZ was able to publish accurate details -- in fact, he states, "Moments after the Settlement Agreements were signed, TMZ posted a report that the parties had settled, and quoted the agreed upon joint statement."
So why is LiMandri suing? Dude says the Miss Cali USA people agreed to pay for a portion of his legal fees -- which he reduced in exchange for their silence.
But since LiMandri believes they broke the deal -- he wants his full rate ... plus punitive damages.
UPDATE: Keith Lewis tells us, "Everyone has moved on. Carrie has gotten married and she’s pregnant. I feel
sorry for Mr. LiMandri who is the only one who obviously hasn’t moved on."
