Artie Lange’s rehab: ‘He wants it but has a lot of work to do’

Tommy "Tommy G" Garafola and I grew up together in Union City. He's now the marketing director of the Retreat Premier Addiction Treatment Center where Artie Lange spent 28 days in rehab. Garafola promised Lange that he would be there with him today when he went to court and sat next to him. Lange, after testing positive for cocaine, was ordered to apply for drug court.

For as long as I've known Garafola, going back to playing football at 17th Street Park when we were kids, he's always been a straight shooter, whether it's breaking Artie's chops on New Jersey 101.5, or breaking down what's happening to him now. We spoke after court.

"Artie has a lot of work to do to begin a recovered lifestyle. He can see it and he wants it but he has a lot of work to do. Hopefully, the humility he displayed in court will be a characteristic he begins to exhibit from deep within outside a courtroom or treatment center. That's where he will need it most. Let's hope and pray"

With people like City Of Angels founder Kevin Meara, who sees today as progress, and Garafola, as well as all us fans who are pulling and praying for him, Artie Lange is in good hands. Now it's up to him.