Mob wife Alicia DiMichele faces sentence in Brooklyn

PHILLY-BASED "Mob Wives" star Alicia DiMichele will be sentenced in Brooklyn Federal Court today for embezzling funds from Big R Trucking, the company she once co-owned with hubs Edward "Tall Guy" Garofalo Jr., who was recently sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder and witness tampering.

According to court docs, DiMichele faces a $96,000 fine, $20,000 in restitution payments and up to six months in prison.

Although the $20,000 fine was agreed upon beforehand, DiMichele's attorney, John S. Wallenstein, called the restitution "both inappropriate and vastly excessive," writing that prosecutors came up with the figure because of DiMichele's participation on the VH1 reality show. According to the New York Daily News, DiMichele pockets around $8,000 per episode.

In addition to the show, DiMichele is the owner of Addiction Boutique, with locations on East Passyunk and in Cherry Hill.

DiMichele and fellow Philly girl Natalie Guercio have quickly become fan favorites on the Thursday-night show that brings in respectable ratings for VH1.

* Speaking of Guercio, she partied it up with celebrity boxing promoter Damon Feldman and rapper Ryan Banks at Lit Ultrabar (460 N. 2nd St.) over the holidays.

In other reality-show news, the ladies of the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" spent their holiday time at Revel in Atlantic City.

In between private burlesque lessons at nightclub Royal Jelly and dinner at Azure, the ladies had some time to duke it out, "Housewives"-style. I hear that Melissa Gorga and embattled breakout star Teresa Giudice teamed up against newbie twins Nicole and Teresa Napolitano and their buddy Amber Marchese, getting into a heated catfight on the casino floor, telling the "RHONJ" rookies that they had no history with reality-show family and no right to comment on their business.

Although Gorga and Giudice may often be at each other's throats, their shared enemies brought them together for at least one night.

Aw, that's the holiday spirit!

* The Roots' Dice Raw, a/k/a Karl Jenkins, dined at Davio's (111 S. 17th St.) on New Year's Eve with a special lady friend.

I hear Dice went all out for his dining partner, ordering the spring roll sampler and gnocchi appetizer, a spicy crab chowder, surf and turf and lobster a la carte with side of asparagus, and fava risotto, all topped off with cheesecake for dessert. Earlier in the week, Jenkins partied at Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.).

* Comedian Brittany Furlan, who rose to prominence on the social network Vine, was spotted chowing down at the King of Prussia Legal Seafoods (680 W. Dekalb Pike).

The Fox reality show "So You Think You Can Dance?" will hold auditions for its 11th season on Jan. 20 at the Merriam Theater (250 S. Broad St.). Dancers must be between 18 and 30 years old to audition. Registration starts at 8 a.m. Go to fox.com/dance for more info.

Laurada Byers, the widow of beloved Daily News columnist Russell Byers, is the 2014 honoree for Drexel University's Woman One program, a scholarship fund for women of color seeking to enter the medical field. Byers, who founded the Russell Byers Charter School in Center City among other good deeds, joins past honorees including 6ABC's Lisa Thomas-Laury, basketball star Dawn Staley and philanthropist Suzanne Roberts.

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