Not again! Artie Lange arrested Tuesday for drug court violation

Troubled comedian Artie Lange — who recently has been working at a gas station while attending a recovery program — was arrested Tuesday for a violation of his probation, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

This is at least the second time this month that Lange has been arrested.

In the latest bust, Lange was taken into custody at 7:42 a.m. and sent to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark.

"The arrest was prompted by his failure to comply with the conditions imposed on him as part of Drug Court," a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said. She did not say where he was arrested or the nature of what led his being taken back into custody, citing confidentiality rules.

But the Essex County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that Lange was arrested at Freedom House, a halfway house in Clinton Township where he has been staying.

Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said that those who go through the drug program are given a set of instructions to follow by a judge. "If they don't follow them the court wants to see them again. Apparently he didn't finish up what was supposed to be done."

Lange will be re-evaluated by the court's team of representing law enforcement and doctors after his first appearance in court, according to Fontoura.

Fontoura said that Lange also had been arrested on May 12 after speeding into the Garden State Parkway rest stop in Bloomfield. Officers said they found Lange with a bag of heroin and a straw inside his Range Rover.

Fontoura said Lange's arrest Tuesday was unrelated to the rest stop incident.

Fontoura also said that Lange looked sober to him on Tuesday.

"He was coherent and wasn't causing any kind of a fuss," Fontoura said, adding that his only complaint about Lange was that he's using "resources that could better spent elsewhere."

Video surfaced in recent days of the former Howard Stern sidekick pumping gas at the Exxon station on Route 31 in Clinton Township as part of his rehab and bragged that without cocaine he had lost weight and was "111 days clean and sober."

The Hoboken comedian was sent to the Essex County jail in January after he tested positive for cocaine and morphine. As part of his drug rehabilitation program, Lange is working local jobs. He posted video of himself working on a garbage truck route in April.

Many entertainers have been cheering Lange on to overcome his addiction.

"Artie Lange is the most beloved comedian I've ever seen," New Jersey 101.5's Steve Trevelise wrote in February. "In the short time I've worked with him I've seen fans, comics, club owners and of course, friends profess their love for him. That's the thing about Artie, he makes you feel like you're his friend. He'll tell you he loves you and genuinely cares about you. It's the same for those who see him and follow him."

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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