Nick Prugo Bling Ring Ringleader Sentenced to Jail ... Again
Nick Prugo -- who masterminded the Bling Ring string of heists on L.A. celebs -- has just been sentenced to 160 days in jail for violating his parole.
TMZ broke the story ... Nick got dragged into a murder-for-hire case involving the skin care specialist to the stars, who allegedly solicited a former Detroit Lions' player to kill one of her competitors.
When the skin care lady was arrested, she dropped a dime on Nick, telling cops she was friends with him and he had left California in violation of his parole.
Nick served prison time for his role in the Bling Ring cases.
In the current case ... the judge mentioned that Nick may have also committed credit card fraud.
History repeats itself.
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'Bling Ring' Leader Arrested Murder-For-Hire Suspect Ratted Him Out
10:10 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us ... contrary to a report ... Prugo was NOT in possession of a gun.
The guy who masterminded the "Bling Ring" robberies was arrested Friday ... after the skin specialist to the stars charged in a murder-for-hire plot dropped a dime on him.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Dawn DaLuise was interviewed by cops after she was arrested for allegedly attempting to hire a member of the Detroit Lions to kill the owner of a rival skin shop. During the interrogation she sang like a canary.
Our sources say Dawn told cops she was being harassed online by a man named Edward Feinstein -- who she claims posted several fake online personal ads under her name.
According to sources ... Dawn told cops Feinstein's roommate was none other than Nick Prugo -- and said he recently violated parole by traveling out of state without permission.
Law enforcement sources tell us after Prugo's name came up -- officials investigated information and arrested him on the violation.
Prugo is NOT accused of any involvement in the murder-for-hire plot.
He remains in jail with no bail.
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Paris Hilton Wannabe Bling Ring Tried to Burgle Me!
Paris Hilton suffered a case of deja vu all over again when a pack of chicks snuck into her casa and tried to steal her stuff -- but rather than make off with millions like the "bling ring" ... these crooks failed miserably.
Sources tell TMZ ... the attempted snatch job went down when Paris threw herself a going away party at her Malibu beach house last weekend -- the send-off before she jetted to Ibiza.
We're told a group of random girls crashed the party, snuck into P's bedroom, and tried to jack bikinis, Paris Hilton handbags and framed pics. Not exactly primo swag.
Problem is ... we're told the banditos got spooked when someone spotted them, and while making their getaway ... they dropped all the loot.
A valet found the goods down the road from Paris' house and turned it all over to cops.
Paris' driver picked up the stuff. No police report was filed.
Not exactly Sofia Coppola material.
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Burglar Bunch Ringleader Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison
Rachel Lee -- the mastermind behind the infamous Burglar Bunch gang -- has been sentenced to 4 years in prison ... for raiding Audrina Patridge's Hollywood Hills home back in 2009.
21-year-old Lee pleaded no contest to one count of first degree residential burglary last month ... after she was accused of entering Patridge's home through an unlocked door on the night of the Academy Awards.
Lee was accused of taking around $43k worth of items from the home -- including Audrina's passport, various pieces of jewelry, a laptop and designer jeans.
4 other members of the gang are still awaiting trial for allegedly taking part in burglarizing the homes of Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan between Sept. 2008 and August 2009.
Another fun fact -- Lee was sentenced to precisely the same prison term Conrad Murray will get if the book is thrown at him.
Prison Party!
Burglar Bunch Reunites ... for Indictment
Nearly all the alleged members of the Burglar Bunch were back in court today -- after getting indicted by the L.A. County Grand Jury for a string of celebrity burglaries.
Nick Prugo, Rachel Lee, Diana Tamayo, Courtney Leigh Ames and Roy Lopez Jr. were all indicted on the following charges:
Prugo -- Seven counts of first-degree residential burglary, one count conspiracy
Lee -- Two counts of first-degree residential burglary, two counts receiving stolen property, one count conspiracy
Tamayo -- One count first-degree residential burglary, one count receiving stolen property, one count conspiracy
Ames -- One count first-degree residential burglary, two counts receiving stolen property, one count conspiracy
Lopez Jr. -- One count first-degree residential burglary, one count receiving stolen property, one count conspiracy
The group has already been charged by the D.A. with the various crimes against Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Megan Fox, Brian Austin Green, Audrina Patridge, and Rachel Bilson.
Sources say prosecutors were fed up with the objections by defense lawyers over the preliminary hearing, so the D.A. took the case to the Grand Jury. Now the case will go straight to trial, without a preliminary hearing.
They're all due back in court on August 12.
Meanwhile ... in a jail nearby ... Burglar Bunch member Alexis Neiers is currently serving her six-month sentence.
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'Pretty Wild' Star Heads into Court ... Then Jail
"Pretty Wild" star and Burglar Bunch member Alexis Neiers just walked into an L.A. court a free woman ... and will soon walk out an inmate of the L.A. County jail.
Neiers -- who pled no contest in May to the burglary of Orlando Bloom's home -- was sentenced to spend six months behind bars. Today, she is turning herself in to authorities to begin her sentence.
According to a detective's testimony back in December, Neiers admitted to being drunk the night of the burglary ... and said she threw up and peed in Orlando's bushes.
UPDATE 9:59 AM PT: The judge just ordered Alexis to spend 180 days behind bars -- as expected -- with 4 days credit. Her parents stood up and waved goodbye. Alexis will be heading to the women's jail in Lynwood, CA -- the same place Paris Hilton spent time behind bars in 2007.
UPDATE 9:15 AM PT: Alexis -- along with her mother and father -- are in court.
More Alexis Neiers
Burglar Bunch Suspected Leader -- I Didn't Do It
Burglar Bunch suspect Rachel Lee followed suit of the rest of her alleged cohorts -- and just pled not guilty in court to five felonies stemming from a string of celebrity home break-ins.
Lee -- who cops believe is the "master mind" of the group -- is charged with three counts of residential burglary and two counts of receiving stolen property and is accused of pilfering from Paris Hilton, Audrina Patridge and Lindsay Lohan's pads.
Five of the other alleged members of the Bunch -- Nick Prugo, Alexis Neiers, Diana Tamayo, Courtney Ames and Roy Lopez, Jr. -- face a total of 12 counts of felony first degree residential burglary.
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Burglar Bunch Suspects We Didn't Do It!
The Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch are really just a bunch of innocent kids ... or at least kids who have now officially pled not guilty.
Nick Prugo was in court today and pled not guilty to eight felony burglaries.
Diana Tamayo -- not guilty to two felony burglaries.
Courtney Ames and Roy Lopez Jr. -- not guilty to one felony burglary.
Bail for Prugo and Tamayo was set at $20,000 -- for Lopez and Ames it was $50,000.
The gang will have a courtroom reunion in January.
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The Dumbest Fashion Faux Pas Ever
It doesn't get much dumber than this -- one of the chicks arrested in the Burglar Bunch case rolled into court Friday wearing one of the very necklaces the gang is suspected of stealing from Lindsay Lohan.
Didn't take Sherlock Holmes to notice -- investigators immediately confiscated the necklace from Courtney Ames' neck because it looked just like the one stolen from Lindsay Lohan's home ... in fact, we already did a story about Courtney wearing the same exact necklace last week.
Ames had already told TMZ that she bought the rosary beads for five bucks at some shop, but today she told authorities the charm on the necklace was given to her by another member of the bunch -- i.e. it may have been stolen from someone at some point.
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Affidavit: Burglary Suspect Ratted on the Rest
A Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch suspect ratted out the other alleged members of the group, this according to a search warrant affidavit just released out of Las Vegas.
According to the document ... after Nick Prugo was arrested, he met with detectives and "provided a full confession and implicated several other suspects: Rachel Lee, Dianna Tomayo [sic], Alexis Neiers, Courtney Ames, Jonathan Ajar and a man only known as Roy."
In the doc, it says Prugo admitted to committing all of the burglaries and that Rachel Lee was with him during the burglaries of Audrina Patridge, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson and Paris Hilton.
Also, "Prugo stated that Lee was the driving force of the burglar crew and that her motivation was based in her desire to own the designer wardrobes of the Hollywood celebrities that she admired."
On the burglary of Paris' residence: "Prugo stated they entered Hilton's residence approximately three times, prior to the burglary in December 2008. That they removed cash, narcotics and thousands of dollars worth of jewelry to include family heirlooms."
On the burglary of Orlando's residence: "Prugo detailed how the crew removed several expensive wristwatches, artwork, men's and women's clothing from the location."
Burglar Bunch Suspect Turns Himself In
The Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch suspect who was wanted by the LAPD for 10 felonies has just turned himself in to authorities.
Jonathan "Johnny Dangerous" Ajar had been hiding out since cops executed a search warrant on his L.A. residence last month, which turned up a ton of drugs, guns and ammo.
After the search, Ajar was charged with six counts possession for sale of a controlled substance, three counts possession of a firearm by a felon and one count possession of ammunition.
As we first reported, Ajar was convicted in 2002 of one felony charge of intent to distribute 500 grams of cocaine.
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Burglar Bunch Nets Celebrity Treasure Trove
The Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch possessed more gold, diamonds and drugs than King Midas ... this according to cops who raided the homes of the defendants. We just got hold of the return on the search warrant, and it's impressive.
Here's just a partial list of what cops found -- pearl-style necklace, several rings with yellow metal and white stones, a ring with white metal and green stones, a ring with yellow metal and red stones, a ring with yellow metal and green and white stones, a Marc Jacobs purse, a Louis Vuitton purse, 2 Chanel purses, 1 Hermes purse, a Steve Madden shopping bag, a Blackberry Edge cell phone and an LG cell phone, 4 pairs of BCBG and Marc Fisher heels, a pair of True Religion pants (which are connected to Rachel Bilson), 2 bottles of Paris Hilton perfume, 2 bottles of Chanel perfume, an Apple laptop, Gucci eyeglasses, Chanel eyeshadow, a Chanel makeup brush, Dior mascara, a Mexican passport, and a Washington State driver's license.
As TMZ first reported earlier today, cops also found a huge stash of drugs -- including cocaine, mushrooms and ecstasy.
The search warrant return also turned up a 3-page list found at Ajar's home -- with a description of "diamonds in bag." It lists 10 separate bags, totaling 42.94 carats. The list also references dozens of pieces of expensive jewelry including a Cartier watch, a Mont Blanc watch, dozens of diamond, gold and silver rings, a diamond bracelet, and several necklaces.
Burglar Bunch -- No Strangers to Trouble
TMZ has learned several suspected members of the Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch have a serious history of breaking the law -- and their past violations could bite them in the ass if they're found guilty of stealing from the rich and famous.
Courtney Leigh Ames was arrested for battery back in 2008, after she allegedly fought a co-worker. She eventually plead guilty to disturbing the peace and was sentenced to 24 months of probation ... which means no burglaring.
Johnny Dangerous -- aka Jonathan Ajar -- was convicted of DUI earlier this year. He was sentenced to 36 months probation ... but on Sept. 30, he was arrested for drug possession. The drug arrest could violate the terms of his probation ... which also prohibits burglaring.
Finally, Alexis Neiers was arrested on suspicion of driving around with some pot in her car back in July. But Alexis missed her court date so a warrant was issued for her arrest. She is not on probation ... but burglaring is still a bad idea.
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Paris on Burglar Bunch: 'I Hate Them!'
Hate is a strong word -- but according to Paris Hilton, the word perfectly describes the way she feels about the members of the Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch who allegedly stole more than $2 million worth of her jewelry.
We got the iced up heiress last night at Mr. Chow, where she was spewing "hate" towards the merry band of jewelry snatchers.
Fellow target Audrina Patridge was out too, saying "They're going to have to face the consequences" -- which right now amounts to a helluva lot of felony charges.
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D.A. Charges Burglar Bunch
The L.A. County District Attorney has just charged five alleged members of the Hollywood Hills Burglar Bunch with various felonies.
Nick Prugo has been charged with felony first degree residential burglary of Audrina Patridge, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, Brian Austin Green, Megan Fox and L.A. businessman Nick Deleo.
Diana Tamayo has been charged with felony first degree residential burglary of Lindsay Lohan and Ashley Tisdale.
Courtney Ames has been charged with felony first degree residential burglary of Paris Hilton.
Roy Lopez, Jr. has been charged with felony first degree residential burglary of Paris Hilton.
Alexis Neiers, aka Alexis Taylor, has been charged with felony first degree residential burglary of Orlando Bloom.
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Burglar Bunch Boy Weeds Himself Out
Not only is Nick Prugo a convicted cocaine handler who may dabble in looting celebrity homes -- but he also smokes what appears to be weed ... and has a mean booty shake.
In webcam video obtained from a computer Nick Prugo used -- a comp cops believe was stolen -- the guy can be seen toking something from a pipe and seriously gettin' his belly-baring groove on to Ester Dean's "Drop It Low."
Pretty soon, the only thing up in smoke could be his freedom.
