'Real Housewives of NJ's' Joe Giudice asks to wait in Italy while he fights to stay in US

Joe Giudice, the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" celebrity from Montville, has asked the courts for an unusual request: Allow him to move to Italy even as he fights a permanent deportation out of the U.S.

The motion was filed Tuesday with a U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, days after Giudice was denied release from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in central Pennsylvania, said Jerard Gonzalez, one of Giudice's attorneys. Giudice has been in ICE custody since March.  

"It is rare, but this is a unique case,'' Gonzalez wrote to NorthJersey.com on Wednesday, adding that his client "has been housed in an ICE contract jail in Pennsylvania that is generally used for short stays, not months." 

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A spokesman for ICE's Philadelphia field office said that for security reasons, the agency does not discuss removal arrangements before deportations.

Giudice was moved to the Clinton County Correctional Facility in central Pennsylvania after he completed a 41-month jail sentence for mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud. The facility has an agreement with ICE to house its detainees. 

Giudice was born in Saronno, in northern Italy, and was 1 year old when he moved to the United States with his parents. He has lived in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident or green card holder but never applied for citizenship. Lawful permanent residents can lose their status if they commit a crime.

Last week, a judge denied Giudice's request that he be released from ICE custody on bond. 

An immigration court ruled in October that Giudice should be deported back to Italy upon the completion of his federal sentence. In April, the federal Board of Immigration Appeals denied his challenge of the order, which led his lawyers to file for a stay with the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. They are still awaiting a decision on a separate appeal. 

In 2013, Giudice and his wife, Teresa, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements on loan applications, and bankruptcy fraud. Prosecutors at the time alleged that the Giudices overstated their income when applying for loans, then concealed the wealth they earned from the hit television show in a bankruptcy filing. The indictment said they obtained millions in home-related loans between 2001 and 2008. 

The couple pleaded guilty in federal court in March 2014 to defrauding lenders of more than $5 million by submitting phony documents to get construction and bank loans, and to withholding assets and lying to bankruptcy officials. Joe Giudice also admitted that he failed to file a 2004 tax return.

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