TheSmokingGun.com has reported that "Big Brother 3" contestant Chiara was arrested in late-May for drunk driving. In fact, while the pending criminal case against contestant Chiara Berti was scheduled for arraignment last Friday morning (7/19) in Los Angeles Superior Court, the 25-year-old New York woman was ensconced with her fellow cast mates in the Big Brother house on the grounds of CBS's Studio City compound, just six-miles--and 13 minutes--from the Van Nuys courthouse where Berti's case was called at 9:35 AM.
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Her lawyer revealed that following Berti's arrest, a lawyer representing Big Brother expressed concern to him that the drunk driving case could "have interfered with her availability for the program." Ellison said that he assured the show's representative that the criminal matter would not be a hindrance since he would be able to appear in Berti's stead at court hearings. CBS officially announced the "Big Brother 3" cast on July 5. Berti's arraignment was originally set for June 20, but, at Ellison's request, was postponed a month . After conferring with the judge, Ellison has rescheduled Berti's arraignment for September 3 -- which may cause a problem if she makes it to the final stages of the "Big Brother 3" contest. The show is not scheduled to end until early-October, when the last remaining houseguest is awarded $500,000.
