CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Soccer legend Diego Maradona did not have to die because he's the victim of "criminal idiocy" ... so claims his lawyer.

Attorney Matias Morla says it took upwards of a half-hour for an ambulance to arrive at Diego's Buenos Aires home Wednesday ... where he had suffered a heart attack.

Prosecutors appear to be looking into the lapse as well, although it's unclear why. There's been no allegation of foul play.

Diego, arguably the best soccer player that ever lived, underwent brain surgery earlier this month to remove a blood clot. It's unclear if the heart attack was in any way connected.

Sofia Vergara, Joe Manganiello and her son are seeking court-ordered protection from a man their friend claims is stalking them, and is potentially dangerous

Producer Luis Balaguer filed docs seeking a restraining order against a man named Rengifo Randazzo, who he claims is a mentally unstable stalker who was recently arrested for trespassing in Sofia's gated community.

Luis says the guy has a fixation on him, Sofia, her husband and her son, Manolo, and has repeatedly harassed them. According to the docs, Randazzo admitted he was stalking them when he got busted for trespassing.

Luis says Sofia and co. fear for their lives because the alleged stalker has a history of domestic violence arrests and others have gotten restraining orders against him.

Faizon Love claims he was scrubbed from a movie poster just because he's Black ... and now he's suing Universal over it.

The actor filed the lawsuit Wednesday, accusing the studio of racial discrimination for removing him from an overseas version of the "Couples Retreat" poster ... while leaving the rest of his white costars in it.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Faizon claims his name and image were erased from the poster when the movie was released outside of the U.S. He says Universal had no issues featuring Black actors in the film, but claims the studio decided to segregate white and Black talent when it came time to market to an international audience.

Faizon says he let the snub slide at first ... claiming the film's producer, Scott Stuber, promised him the overseas poster would be taken out of circulation and Universal Pictures chairman at that time, Adam Fogelson, promised he'd throw a few roles Faizon's way.

However, in the lawsuit, Faizon claims the poster without him is still being used and he never got those acting gigs he says he was promised

We reached out to Universal, which declined to comment.

Harvey Weinstein is getting the home movie treatment from behind bars -- having cameras record his every move so he doesn't go the way of Jeffrey Epstein ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... a correctional officer is assigned to follow Weinstein anytime he's on the move from within the state prison he's currently serving his sentence at -- which is Wende Correctional Facility in upstate NY.

Aside from the regular surveillance cameras that might be fixated on HW at any given time, we're told whichever guard is assigned to shadow him for the day has a camera on him at eye-level ... basically, he's being recorded damn-near round-the-clock.

It's unclear if it's a body cam or hand held camera -- prison officials tell us they can use both when monitoring an inmate's safety -- but in any case it's lights, camera, action all over again for Mr. Weinstein.

As for why ... the concerns followed Weinstein from Rikers to where is is currently -- prison officials are worried if they take their eyes off Weinstein things could quickly go awry.

More importantly, we're told state prison officials are doing this to tamp down any conspiracy theories that might arise if things go south -- not just that, they're looking to cover their butts  from criminal liability.

Our sources say the thinking is ... if there's a mountain of visual evidence at the ready, nobody can accuse them of screwing up like the Epstein guards allegedly did.

Weinstein is in frail health and there were concerns last week he may have had COVID, but he tested negative.

A large group of biz owners in Erie County, NY called the local authorities' bluff when they tried shutting down their get-together ... and sent Johnny Law packing.

This went down Friday night at a CrossFit gym called Athletes Unleashed in Orchard Park -- not too far away from Buffalo -- where upwards of 100 local businessmen and women congregated to discuss how to navigate the state's new COVID-19 guidelines ... which again are limiting hours, customers and access in NY.

While these folks were having their meeting -- with most people not wearing masks -- Erie County Sheriff's Deputies and Health Dept. officials made their way inside and attempted to disperse the crowd ... saying they were in violation of Gov. Cuomo's new 10-person-or-less rule for public gatherings.

What happened next is nothing short of shocking ... the crowd actually stood their ground and demanded the cops and county workers beat it -- which they did.

They were chased off in dramatic fashion, with the angry mob chanting "Get out!" and "We will not comply!" as they followed the Sheriff's deputies and others out into the parking lot and all the way back to their vehicles ... like dogs with their tail between their legs. It's cringe-worthy to see -- the cops pretty much folded.

Almost 3 weeks after Lori Loughlin surrendered to authorities to begin her prison sentence ... her hubby Mossimo Giannulli followed suit.

The "Full House" star's hubby reported to authorities Thursday at the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc, CA ... about 2 and a half hours north of L.A. He reported on the November 19 deadline set for him to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Mossimo turned himself in to authorities shortly after getting a new tough-guy look for prison ... opting to shave his head and sporting a gray beard. He took the new look out for a spin Monday in Bev Hills, though he was still wearing designer clothes and a fancy watch.

He definitely looked less like a rich father who committed a white-collar crime and more like a guy ready to start and finish a bar fight.

As we reported ... Mossimo pled guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud for his part in the college bribery scandal and 1 count of honest services wire and mail fraud. He was sentenced to 5 months in prison and has to pay a $250k fine and perform 250 hours of community service.

Lori started her stint behind bars back on October 30 when she reported to FCI Dublin in California to begin her 2-month sentence. She reported well ahead of her deadline.

Mossimo and Lori were adamant about fighting the charges but ultimately had a change of heart because they were facing multiple felonies and potentially decades behind bars.

A guy who wanted to chow down at an IHOP without a face covering wouldn't take "no mask, no service" for an answer -- because cops say he went to town on the staff with a knife.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... this wild incident went down Tuesday in Queens where surveillance video captured the horrifying scene. At first, you see the customer in the waiting area with another guy -- although, we're told there were at least 3 men who rolled in together.

Looks like a staffer's telling him to mask up, which seems to piss him off. He gets up to argue, and appears to leave the building -- but when the whole crew comes back, he's way more agitated.

The video shows the guy who allegedly refused to put on a mask storm back into the IHOP and charge past a table and other waiting customers ... apparently trying to get at someone off-camera.

While trying to get a hold of that person, the guy reaches over and grabs something from his friend -- cops say it was a knife -- and then chases some workers through the restaurant. Toward the end of the video, he actually swings at someone before booking it.

According to our sources, the man swung at a 40-year-old female employee and cut her arm, which required stitches.

Dr. Dre hasn't been acting like he's concerned about the coronavirus pandemic, so he shouldn't get special treatment in his divorce proceedings ... that's what his estranged wife thinks, anyway.

Nicole Young wants her ex to sit for a deposition, in-person, despite COVID-19 restrictions -- and according to new docs, obtained by TMZ, she's not buying his claim it has to be done remotely due to the virus.

Dre's stated he wants his depo done via Zoom to keep himself and others safe ... but in the docs, Nicole claims Dre has "freely entertained" multiple people at home and elsewhere ... and participated in several social functions "without implementing even the slightest amount of social distancing protocol."

Nicole claims Dre's been seen with musicians and techs without social distancing and "entering and exiting the homes of multiple women around the Los Angeles area."

As for why she's pushing the matter ... Dre's estranged wife believes an in-person depo is necessary to deter him from possibly being coached, and her legal team says they need to be able to see how he reacts to questioning.

Tory Lanez's legal team is back in court after he was charged for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, and just entered his plea ... not guilty.

Tory's attorney, Shawn Holley, appeared on his behalf Wednesday in L.A. County court to enter the plea in the case. Tory's yet to go to court himself -- his last appearance was over the phone.

As we've reported ... the L.A. County D.A.'s Office hit him with 1 count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and 1 count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The D.A. also alleges TL inflicted great bodily injury on MTS.

Tory's already posted $190,000 bond and been ordered to stay away from Megan ... and he's defended himself on social media by saying the charges are not a conviction.

The rapper/singer faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison, if convicted.

There's already been tons of drama surrounding the case ... with Megan claiming in a recent interview that Tory offered her money in exchange for her silence after he allegedly shot her in the foot. Tory's attorney has denied the accusation.

Megan also flat-out accused Tory of shooting her and then Tory dropped a new album seemingly professing his innocence, denying he shot her and suggesting she's a liar.

During Wednesday's hearing, the state said it's trying to decide whether they should go after Tory for possibly violating the protective order with his social media posts and song lyrics.

Cleveland Cavs player Kevin Porter Jr. allegedly punched a woman in the face and ripped off her wig during an altercation back in August ... but Porter's attorney says the claim is bogus.

The allegations are spelled out in police reports obtained by TMZ Sports ... which detail an August 16 incident involving Porter, his sister and two other women.

The 2 alleged victims told police things popped off when "words were exchanged" at an apartment complex in Downtown Cleveland ... and things escalated from there

One of the alleged victims told cops Porter's sister struck first -- punching one of the women in the face.

That's when, the women say, Kevin jumped in ...

"At this time, Mr. Porter threw his drink in the face of [an alleged victim] and then ripped the wig off her head and then punched her in the left side of her face causing slight swelling visible at the time of this report," the police report says.

Cops say they spoke with a witness who saw the whole incident and backed up the two women ... claiming the Porters were the aggressors.

In fact, the witness says she saw Kevin Porter with one of the women's "weave in his hand when he then punched [one of the women] in the face causing her to [fall] into the refrigerator."

When cops arrived, they noted both of the women who allegedly fought with the Porters had visible injuries.

The woman who was allegedly struck by the NBA player had a swollen left cheek, cops say. The other woman had a broken fingernail and a small lump on her forehead.

Both women opted to NOT receive medical treatment at the time of the incident.

Cops say they told the two women to contact the city prosecutor's office if they wanted to press charges. So far, neither Porter nor his sister have been charged with a crime.

Porter's attorney, Alex Spiro, issued a statement adamantly denying the allegations -- saying, "There is no truth to this allegation which is why the allegation has led nowhere."

20-year-old Porter has other legal issues ... he was arrested Sunday following an early morning crash in Ohio.

After the wreck, cops say they found a loaded handgun and what appeared to be weed inside the vehicle. He is facing multiple charges including felony improper handling of a firearm inside a motor vehicle and misdemeanor 1st-degree drug abuse -- along with other traffic citations.

Porter pled not guilty to the misdemeanor charges -- and entered a no plea on the felony.

15-year-old Quawan Charles appears to have most likely died from drowning -- the family's independent autopsy results now reaffirm that, but they still don't know the how behind his death.

The findings are in from American Forensics -- the agency that did a separate autopsy on Quawan's body -- and according to the report, obtained by TMZ, the experts discovered evidence of a possible drowning ... which they note the first autopsy also concluded.

They also say that the initial autopsy -- conducted by the coroner's office in Iberia Parish, LA -- was thorough. The independent autopsy also mentions no sign of trauma or natural disease, and that the body was undergoing decompositional changes upon arrival. With all that said, the jury's still out on Quawan's exact cause of death and the manner of death.

The autopsy says a final report is pending toxicology and histology results, as well as other investigative information as it becomes available.

For now, both examinations seem to jibe with what cops told Quawan's family ... that he probably drowned. Both autopsies found water was in his lungs, but the family wasn't buying the drowning theory because of the damage to his face -- which they compared to what to Emmett Till's 1955 lynching.

On that front ... Quawan's family attorney, Ronald Haley, tells us investigators believe the teen's face was gnawed on by wild animals in the sugar cane field where his body was found. However, we're told the family is NOT buying that explanation ... they still suspect foul play, and Haley also says cops are currently investigating this as a homicide.

You'll recall, Haley and other family members were adamantly opposed to the narrative of Quawan's death being accidental ... telling us last week there were too many holes in the police's story to justify that response. That, and just looking at him made them believe he was killed.

In any case, Haley now tells us he's troubled by the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office's slow response in finding Quawan in the first place -- noting it took them a total of 4 days just to ping his phone on Nov. 2 ... which led them to his body the next day. He'd been reported missing on Oct. 30.

Benny the Butcher is the latest rapper to suffer a gunshot wound below the belt this week -- this time, it happened out in Houston during what sounds like an attempted robbery.

Houston PD tells TMZ ... the New York rapper was in town Saturday and visiting a local Walmart with a couple friends in tow. While they were in their car in the lot, we're told a car with 5 guys inside pulled up next to them and whipped out guns ... demanding their chains.

Apparently, Benny and co. were moving too slow for the alleged robbers' liking ... and cops say one of the 5 fired a round into Benny's leg, which caused the crooks to flee. We're told Benny and his friends booked it too, but eventually pulled over and called the police.

Benny was taken to a hospital for treatment -- his condition is unknown at this time. Cops say the men who attempted to rob him are also still at large, and an investigation is underway.

You'll recall ... Boosie was also shot in the leg in the Lone Star state just a few hours away that same day. Somewhat different circumstances there, but same result ... he was left with a bullet hole in his leg as well. We've heard Boosie's gonna be alright, however.

We've reached out to Benny's rep for further comment ... so far, no word back.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested this weekend on a weapons charge -- something the team says it'll handle internally.

Porter Jr. was picked by cops in Mahoning County Sunday morning and booked for improperly handling a firearm in a vehicle. No other information about what led up to the arrest has been released, but the guy was taken to jail and posed for this mug shot.

In a statement released shortly thereafter, the Cavs said they would address this in-house. A spokesperson says, "We are aware of the situation involving Kevin Porter Jr. and are in the process of gathering information. We have spoken with Kevin and will continue to address this privately with him as the related process evolves."

'Good Bones' star Karen Laine's home is the perfect place to drop one's pants and leave a mark -- at least that's what a brash burglar thinks ... since they've already done it twice.

The HGTV home renovator had her Indianapolis home burglarized recently, which made for the third time her house had been broken into and the 2nd time someone left behind a piece of crap as a f*** you -- that's what Karen's saying anyway, according to local media.

She told FOX59, "It's sort of an epithet to say I poop on you." Laine told another outlet that she thinks this is personal, because whoever deuced has done so twice now in the same place (the garage) where she says there's an obvious bathroom right there for the using.

As for what was taken -- Laine says her hubby's bike got jacked, her purse and some other stuff. Fortunately, Laine is a former prosecutor ... so as soon as she noticed her credit cards being used, she jumped on the case and started hitting places up for surveillance video.

Cops are looped in too, obviously, and she feels like they'll be able to catch the crook soon -- especially since they're apparently going to test the caca for DNA.

The guy who allegedly sucker punched Rick Moranis is now in police custody -- and his criminal charge is being pushed into a serious category because of Rick's age.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... NYPD officers arrested 35-year-old Marquis Ventura this weekend in connection to the attack that left Moranis knocked on his ass in Manhattan while walking through some scaffolding in the Upper West Side last month.

We're told Ventura was booked on a felony assault charge -- which applies since Rick is technically a senior citizen ... basically, if you attack someone who's 65 years old or above, any assault charge that would follow is upgraded. Believe it or not, Rick's sitting pretty at a ripe 67.

You'll recall ... the sucker punch was completely random and unprovoked when it happened. Moranis was walking by a man in a surveillance video that captured the incident -- and out of nowhere, he swung on the actor ... which made him topple to the ground.

Moranis went to the hospital for some pain in his head, neck and hip -- but later said he was okay. Still, ,it pissed off A LOT of folks in Hollywood -- including one Chris Evans, who said the culprit must be apprehended.

Boosie Badazz has a bullet hole in his leg after coming under gunfire during a trip to Dallas ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Boosie was shot at in Dallas Saturday, after rolling through town in what we're told was a sprinter van near a strip mall called Big T's Plaza. Yesterday evening, he stopped by another venue to pay his respects to recently murdered Dallas rapper Mo3 -- who was a friend and collaborator of his.

At some point, somebody opened fire on the vehicle and one of the bullets struck Boosie in the leg. We're told the shooters booked it, and Boosie and co. made their way to a hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound below the knee.

Our Boosie sources say he is doing okay ... his injury seems to be non-life-threatening.

Someone posted video of the Big T parking lot where the action supposedly went down, claiming Boosie was NOT shot -- but we've been told otherwise ... Boosie is, in fact, a patient being treated for his wounds. According to this purported witness though, there were multiple vehicles involved -- at least three of them.

Dallas PD tells us ... officers responded to reports of an armed encounter Saturday, where the callers stated someone had been shot but then fled in a private vehicle. We're told when the cops showed up at the scene, there was nobody around and no signs of a crime being committed.

We should note, the shooting comes just days after rapper Mo3 was shot dead in the same city on a freeway. Word is Mo3 had been feuding with a fellow rapper, but it's unclear if there's any connection between that and his slaying.

Cops haven't arrested a suspect yet in Mo's death case quite yet. It's unclear if there is any connection between his fatal shooting and Boosie's incident.