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Bollea Gets 8 Months In Jail, Probation For Reckless Driving

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Nick Bollea pleaded no contest this afternoon to reckless driving.

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune
and STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 9, 2008

Updated: 05/09/2008 04:03 pm

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Michael McKinney

CLEARWATER – A judge sentenced Nick Bollea to five years probation and eight months in county jail after the 17-year-old pleaded no contest this afternoon to reckless driving.

His attorneys had asked Circuit Judge Philip J. Federico to spare the 17-year-old a state prison sentence.

"Something has to be done to show this is not acceptable," the judge said, in imposing the jail sentence.

The judge also ordered Bollea to serve 500 hours of community service, "working in some positive framework," but not speaking engagements. Federico also revoked his driver's license for three years.

He is not allowed to drink alcohol during his probation, and also to undergo an alcohol evaluation and treatment. He also must attend DUI and advanced driving school within a year.

Federico withheld adjudication of guilt after hearing pleas from the defendant and his family not to label him a felon. The family of his victim urged a finding of guilt.

He could have faced a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison, but the judge agreed to cap the sentence at a year in jail, followed by up to five years probation, as part of the plea negotiations in court.

Bollea, the 17-year-old son of former wrestler Hulk Hogan, entered a not-guilty plea after being charged in November in the Aug. 26 crash that critically injured his passenger, John Graziano, now 23.

Bollea apologized for the accident, saying he prayed for Graziano every day. "I love John to death," he said. "He is like my older brother and my best friend."

He said he's changed since the crash, and has raised $60,000 for a charity dedicated to research into brain trauma and to easing Graziano's medical costs. He said he's also tried to bring attention to safe driving and the importance of wearing seatbelts.

Dressed all in black, including a scarf on his head, Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, urged the judge not to make his son a convicted felon. His plea: Withhold adjudication.

"My son has really, deeply been affected by what occurred in this accident," Hogan said. "What I don't want to see happen is another tragedy. Nick is going to have to live with this experience the rest of his life."

He said the public misunderstands his son because his personality is not what was portrayed on the family's reality television show, which Hogan said was scripted. Hogan said his son would be sitting at his computer and show producers would ask him to throw water balloons. "Nick is a good person," Hogan said. "He's kind. He's gentle. He's compassionate."

Graziano's father pressed for jail time, saying, "This has gone on long enough and needs to be stopped."

Citing his son's service in the Marine Corps, Edward Graziano said, "What al-Qaida could not do to my son, Nick Bollea did in a matter of minutes. He destroyed my son's future. …This court must put a stop to Nick's repeated disregard to speeding laws."

Graziano's family members are asking for an adjudication of guilt and six months to a year in jail, Assistant State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser said. "We would go along with what their wish is in this case," the prosecutor said.

Rosenwasser noted that the defendant's father wrote the court, saying the crash was an accident. The prosecutor said he wanted Bollea to understand that was not the case. The prosecutor said Bollea made the choice to drive the way he did on a wet road. "I want him to understand that it's his fault. This crash was his fault and only his fault."

The prosecutor joined family members urging the judge to adjudicate Bollea guilty. He also asked for 500 hours of community service work and drug and alcohol evaluation and treatment.

Graziano family members said Bollea has not shown remorse or apologized for the crash. They said Bollea rode a skateboard and shot darts in the hospital while visiting their son there. They also cited Bollea's numerous past speeding citations, saying he failed to learn a lesson.

Bollea's defense attorney, Kevin Hayslett, asked the judge to withhold adjudication of guilt and revoke his driver's license for a year. During the hearing, Hulk Hogan sat behind his son in the courtroom, bowing his head against hands that were pressed together as though in prayer.

Graziano's guardian filed a lawsuit in March against Hulk Hogan and his family for injuries that left the Iraq war veteran in a semiconscious state.

Guardian Peter Musante is suing the famed former wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, as well as Bollea's estranged wife, Linda, who has filed for divorce. The suit also names Nick Bollea as a defendant.

Millions of dollars are needed to take care of Graziano, who resides at James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, said George Tragos, the attorney representing Graziano in the civil lawsuit.

TheGraziano family is in court to give the presiding judge their opinions.

If Bollea is adjudicated guilty, it could strengthen the civil suit, Tragos said.

The teen was driving a Toyota Supra when it smacked into a tree. The driver whom police say Bollea was racing, Danny Jacobs, 22, also is being sued.

Part of Graziano's frontal lobe had to be removed, but he responds to heat and touch, and there is eye movement. On occasion, he has breathed without a ventilator.

Before the wreck, Bollea — at the wheel of the Supra — and Jacobs — at the wheel of a Dodge Viper — were racing through downtown Clearwater, police say. The Supra, which came from the factory with 300 to 330 horsepower, had been modified to more than 400 horsepower, the suit states.

Jacobs pleaded no contest in February to a charge of reckless driving and was sentenced to probation.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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