Joe Giudice is now free to "Rome" about the country… the country of Italy at least. "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star is headed there tonight, a report claims, and the stay could be permanent.
The reality TV star is in the process of fighting his deportation to Italy, but he's been miserable in ICE custody — so miserable, in fact, that he filed paperwork to willingly go to the European country to wait out his deportation case.
A judge granted him his wish, TMZ reported on Friday, and Joe is about to board a flight bound for Rome.
Joe's saga has been well-documented. While serving a 41-month prison sentence for fraud, a judge ordered that he be deported to his native Italy. Joe fought the decision but lost the appeal. He has since appealed again and is awaiting that decision. However, in September, Teresa Giudice's husband filed documents in court requesting his immediate release from an ICE detention center, saying he wanted to be home with his family while the legal process played out. He was denied the request. He then threw the court for a loop, indicating he wanted to wait out his deportation appeal in Italy, the same county to which he very well may be deported.
It's not known when a judge will rule on Joe's latest appeal to be allowed to stay in — or this case, return to — the United States.
Joe and his legal team had made no secret of the fact that he hated his ICE detention center, as his team called the facilities "inhumane." As for why Joe wants to go to Italy now, especially while fighting so hard to stay in the U.S., his decision is about money.
Joe noted in court documents that he wants to "begin working and contributing financially to his wife and four young children."
So long, New Jersey. Hello, new country.