Nick Hogan Gives Up Solitaire
Nick Hogan’s got himself some company.
Two days after a judge denied his request to be transferred out of solitary confinement, Hulk Hogan’s son, who’s serving time for a DUI crash that seriously injured his friend, was moved into a communal cell after a routine assessment of the ever-in-flux jail population, according to a spokeswoman for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Hogan, whose real last name is Bollea, was cooling his heels in an isolated maximum-security cell because, at 17 years of age, he was considered too young to live among the jail’s general population.
Attorney Kevin Hayslett argued in a motion filed Friday that his client was undergoing “cruel and unusual punishment” that didn’t fit the crime by being housed in those conditions. He requested Hogan either be granted house arrest until his 18th birthday or at least moved out of the concrete block he’d been calling home to be with other nonviolent inmates.
A judge refused a transfer but, according to the jail rep, a spot for Hogan opened up following a review of current housing assignments. The teen is now sharing space with three other juvenile offenders.
Hogan, who will turn 18 on July 27, was sentenced in an adult court to eight months behind bars after pleading no contest to reckless driving involving serious bodily injury.
Still in Solitary, Nick Hogan Phones in Lawsuit
Nick Hogan does not want to be singled out by Florida’s Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department. Except when he does.
The Hulkster’s son, currently serving an eight-month sentence for felony reckless driving stemming from a crash that left his friend in critical condition, has filed a civil suit against the department for releasing recordings of his private phone conversations.
News of the suit surfaced on the same day a judge denied the younger Hogan’s request to be removed from solitary confinement because it’s causing him “unbearable anxiety.”
Hmm. Perhaps that’s why it’s called punishment.
Officials said the 17-year-old, whose real name is Nick Bollea, was originally separated from other inmates because he is, until his July 27 birthday, a minor. This, despite him being convicted in adult court.
The rejection and subsequent alone time shouldn’t smart the teen too much, however, as he seems to prize his privacy above all else.
Attorneys for Bollea have filed a civil suit against the Sheriff’s Office for what they claim is a violation of his privacy rights, after the office released a series of phone conversations between the jailbird, his wrestler father and his mother.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Marianne Pasha told News that the family had fairand frequentwarning their calls were being recorded.
“During the phone calls, there is a recording that comes on reminding callers that their call is being recorded,” she said. “All calls from the jail are collect calls and all persons involved in the calls are advised that the call is being taped.”
However, the Bolleas should feel free to go at it now.
“We cannot comment on this case because there is now litigation pending,” Pasha said. “And we will also not be able to release any more calls while this litigation is pending.”
Bollea’s attorneys, meanwhile, also claim the Sheriff’s Department allowed a news crew to film him against his wishes during a family visit. His attorneys claim that none of the releases should have been allowed, as none of the communiqués could be considered “public record.”
“It’s unfortunate that we are required to file a lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office to compel them to follow the law and respect the privacy rights of a juvenile and his family,” attorney David Houston said. “A judge’s order should not be required to stop the Sheriff’s Office from putting Nick, his family and their most intimate thoughts on public display.”
Attorney Morris “Sandy” Weinberg agreed, adding that “Nick only asks that he be treated no differently than the other inmates at the Pinellas County Jail. Instead, the Sheriff’s Office has singled him out by the unprecedented release to the media of his personal calls with his family and the intrusion into his family visitations by the media.”
In the series of recordings released to the media, Bollea complains about the size of his cell, calls friend John Graziano, currently in critical condition as a result of the accident for which Bollea is serving time, a “negative person,” and also asks his father to secure a deal for him to appear in a reality show once he’s released from jail.
In response, Kim Kohn, one of the attorneys representing Graziano, tells News, “We are not both not surprised by the filing of the motion nor the judge’s decision to deny the motion.”