“Too Fat to Fish” author Artie Lange isn’t completely off the hook for his March arrest — but at least he’s dangling from a smaller hook.
The charges against the “Howard Stern Show” personality stemming from his arrest last month have been reduced, an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap on Wednesday.
Lange originally faced two charges of possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), as well as a disorderly persons offense.
However, the two possession charges have now been downgraded to a different type of disorderly persons offense. Lange’s case has been remanded to Hoboken Municipal Court in Hoboken, New Jersey.
According to TMZ, Lange was arrested in the parking garage of his Hoboken apartment complex in March.
TMZ reported that Lange had “several bags of drugs” (specifically, heroin and cocaine) in his possession. He was released after being booked on three charges, which the site did not identify.
Lange acknowledged the arrest on Twitter, tweeting, “Hey guys. I was arrested. I’m doing great. Physically too! I’m in St. Louis & will be on stage this weekend at The Funnybone! Love u all!.”
He added, “FYI The Hoboken Cops treated me so great. Great people. Professional. I thank them for that Now a lawyer tells me what to do!”
Lange, who recently appeared in an episode of HBO’s “Crashing” that dramatized his efforts to stay sober, also suggested that he might be dropped from the show due to the arrest, though that did not turn out to be the case.
In a statement issued March 23, HBO said the comedian, who has detailed his struggles with substance abuse in the past, had not been cut loose from the series.
“HBO has not fired Artie Lange,” a statement from HBO said. “‘Crashing’ has completed production for Season 1 and has been recently renewed for a second season.”
“Scripts for season two have not yet been written,” the statement continued.