"Top Chef" Josie to Cops -- You Dropped the Ball

Posted Nov 16th 2007 3:14PM by TMZ Staff

The former "Top Chef" wannabe who was the victim of an alleged gay-bashing is livid that cops haven't made charges stick on their suspects -- and now Josie Malave-Smith is sticking it to the popo with a formal complaint.

Malave-Smith, in a statement obtained by TMZ, slams the Nassau County Police Department for their "poor" handling of her case, and says she's "disheartened" by the inability of cops to charge the suspects, whom she claims to have already ID'd in lineups.

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Filed under: Celebrity Justice, TV

Tags: Josie Smith-Malave, JosieSmith-malave, Top Chef, TopChef

Suspect Arrested in "Top Chef" Gay Bashing Case

Posted Sep 14th 2007 11:40AM by TMZ Staff

New details have emerged regarding the vicious attack on "Top Chef" contestant Josie Smith-Malave and her friends over Labor Day weekend. Nassau County police department reported that they've arrested Matthew W. Wall, 20, of Oregon, and charged him with second degree robbery and a bias crime. He was arraigned yesterday.

Police report that Wall, along with approximately twelve of his friends, were involved in a confrontation with Smith-Malave and three of her female friends. The altercation escalated when Wall and his posse allegedly began spitting and hitting the four women and making derogatory statements about their sexual orientation.

According to the police report, Wall "forcibly stole a video camera from one of the four, causing her to fall and injure her knee." The investigation is ongoing.

Smith-Malave appeared on the second season of "Top Chef" and was rejected in episode five.

Filed under: Celebrity Justice

Tags: josie smith-malave, JosieSmith-malave, top chef, TopChef