Of all the reasons a Jersey Shore star could go to prison, few expected it would be because of tax evasion. Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino is serving out an eight-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville in New York. The 37-year-old MTV reality television star receives regular visits from his Jersey Shore castmates who didn't expect for the prison to be as "laid back" as it was.
Pauly D opened up about what life was like on the inside for his good friend Sorrentino. He expected to enter into a hardcore atmosphere like he's seen in the movies or on television, but it was drastically different. “I went to visit him and I thought they were going to basically strip-search me, but that wasn’t the case,” he told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live. “It was very laid-back. He’s happy, positive. He’s just so happy to get it over with and he just wants to come out. He sees [his wife] Lauren like, every week. He’s almost done.”
The prison is also a hotspot for familiar faces because while Pauly was checking in with Sorrentino, he spotted Fyre Festival fraudster Billy McFarland. "It was cool, he was with his family visiting,” Pauly said. “We were visiting Mike, his family was visiting him. I was like, ‘This is so weird.’ We were at picnic tables outside. There were no bars! You picture jail bars and cells and guys with guns. They could have taken my phone, but I had my phone on me and everything.”
The reality star previously shared that Sorrentino also plays Scrabble with George Garofano, the man responsible for hacking into and leaking actress Jennifer Lawrence's nude photos. McFarland is serving out a six-year sentence while Garofano was sentenced to eight months.