The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Will the real Danielle please stand up?

There is an unwritten rule, it seems, for producing reality TV. You must find at least one clinically deranged person and throw them in with the other eccentric personalities and hijinx will ensue. This season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, the formula definitely delivered. Ten fold.

Danielle Staub was at one time known as Beverly Merrill according to the infamous book "Cop Without a Badge" written by her creeptastic felon turned informant ex-whatever Kevin Maher. In the out of print (probably for good reason) tell all book, Staub is described as "a good person. She had no morals, but she was a good person." OK. Thanks or clearing that up for us there killer. He goes on to say that at the time that he met the long legged stripper, she had by her own estimation slept with at least 1,000 men. Girlfriend works hard for the money. But it probably isn't as scandalous as the New Jersey housewives made it sound with their accusations.

According to the book, Beverly Merrill (aka Danielle) was partying with a drug dealer who had evidently kidnapped a rich kid who owed him money for drugs. The police busted the drug dealer who allegedly starved and beat the kid before calling his father for ransom and Danielle was just "in the wrong place at the wrong time". Because she was involved with the creeptastic felon turned informant author of "the book" at the time, he was able to use his legal connections to help her work out a deal for five years probation.

Now, the housewives make you think that Danielle is involved in some kind of Columbian cartel, kidnapping, drug dealing, operation. It clearly isn't as serious as all that. Sounds like some bad judgment coupled with intoxication and a little of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Having said that, Danielle would have you believe that she is a blameless victim and that clearly isn't true either. This was a woman who was obviously using drugs and not in her right mind but the decisions remain hers and so too should some of the blame. You could respect her more if she just owned up and said "I made a terrible mistake" but she doesn't. She says that she was "taken advantage of" or "unlucky" and she repeatedly refers to the events detailed in the book as having happened "to her". Sorry honey. It doesn't work that way. You're going to have to own up to some of that.

So in the long run Danielle probably isn't as venomous and evil as her housewife peers make her out to be, but she also isn't as innocent as the portrait she is trying to paint of herself either. This is clearly a case of there being two sides to every story and the truth laying somewhere in between.