Where would American Idol be without a little mystery, particularly when it comes to contestants' shady pasts?
A certain season 10 finalist, who has been impressing fans and judges in recent weeks with his stirring rendition of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke," also turns out to have a secret rap sheet.
Who is he?
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Why it's Stefano Langone!
E! News has confirmed that the aspiring popster has a bit of a bad boy in him after he was popped last year for driving under the influence.
Ironically, as it turns out, the bust came 12 months after Langone survived a near-fatal crash in which he was hit by a drunk driver.
The Idol wild card recently opened up to Star about how his life has changed since that earlier, May 28, 2009, head-on collision, which occurred in his native Washington and left him with a fractured pelvis, two broken arms, a bunch of metal plates in his body and deep scars, both physical and emotional.
"I woke up to a firefighter, and I'll never forget, he looked down at me and screamed to the EMTs, 'He's alive! He's alive!," Langone told the magazine.
Langone subsequently filed a civil suit against the driver, Jacob Sheppard, who served a year behind bars for vehicular assault.
But something the baby-faced singer neglected to mention: he himself was stopped almost a year later--on May 16, 2010--by a Washington State Patrol trooper for a DUI.
Per the police report obtained by E! News, the trooper pulled over Langone for speeding and changing lanes without signaling near Belltown, a popular waterfront neighborhood and nightspot where Langone had been partying with friends.
Smelling alcohol and noticing his eyes were "bloodshot, watery, droopy and [had] dilated pupils," the officer gave Langone a field sobriety test which the 22-year-old promptly flunked (he couldn't even recite his ABCs). Langone admitted he had one "beer several hours earlier," but insisted he was OK to drive.
Langone then voluntarily submitted to a Breathalyzer that registered a 0.098, above the state's 0.08 legal limit, and was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence. On the way to King County Jail, the trooper wrote in his report that the would-be pop star "was singing." Langone was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence and released eight hours later on $500 bail.
In a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty this past November to a reduced charge of negligent driving and received a suspended 90-day jail sentence, fined $863 and ordered to take a drug- and alcohol-education course. The judge also warned Langone to stay out of trouble for two years or risk being back behind bars.
But that's not the only rap on Langone. He was also cited for marijuana possession in 2008 by Kent police but the case was dismissed in court.
Let's hope Mr. Clean Cut has cleaned up his act and learned his lesson now that he's in the running to be the next American Idol.