Actor Dennis Farina found himself on the wrong side of the law this past weekend. Most of you know him from his Law and Order days, when he played Joe Fontana, a New York Police Detective. The actor, who is starring right now in the Cameron Diaz-Ashton Kutcher comedy "What Happens in Vegas", was arrested on Sunday for carrying a loaded 22-caliber pistol through the TSA screening at LAX. He said that he had forgotten the pistol was in his briefcase. The problem isn't just that he had a loaded gun in his carry-on luggage, but it wasn't registered or licensed. That's why his charge was upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony. After posting 35-thousand dollars bail, the actor was released from the Van Nuys police station. What many don't know is that he is a former Chicago police officer of 19 years. You'd think he'd know the laws concerning guns a little better than that. Even though he played a cop for years, as a character who carried a gun, there were no scripts here...and obviously no way to escape the media spotlight.
Farina is just the latest celebrity to get caught in some real-life drama involving weapons at the airport. Others celebs who have been busted....Snoop Dogg for gun possession at John Wayne Airport in Orange County and Brandon Boyd, the lead singer of Incubus, who was caught carrying a switchblade at New York's La Guardia International Airport. Both of these guys pleaded guilty. As for Farina, he'll face a judge at the Airport Courthouse in a few weeks, to hear his official charge. I'm still wondering...how do you "forget" that you have a gun in your briefcase?
The actor did release this statement, "I apologize to anyone and everyone that I have caused any embarrassment or inconvenience to. It is my own stupidity to find myself in this embarrassing situation." He went on to say, "I'll be spending the next few days kicking my own ass. No one is more embarrassed than myself."
You can watch my full report by copying and pasting this link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-dennis-farina-080512-ht,0,1140746.story
