Simone WilsonUpdated after the jump: Romero and her questionable hubby get 15 weekends in jail.
Update: Romero admitted to lying about her marriage to immigration officials, but not to the $5,000 sham marriage itself.
Finally — a half-confession!
Twenty-eight-year-old Westwood resident and model-actress Fernanda Romero (or, more dramatically, Maria Fernanda Romero Martinez) has been denying her marriage to 28-year-old L.A. man Kent Ross was a sham ever since a bitter ex-boyfriend turned her in last March.
The snitch's name was Markus Klinko, a celebrity photographer with frightening cheekbones [yay for public figures who don't know how to privatize their Facebook photos!] and a bankruptcy problem. Romero insisted he was “vindictive” and “obsessed” — enough to send her “venomous emails” including “pornographic photographs of himself having sex with a model from a Nike photo shoot that had also featured Ms. Romero.”
Yikes. But apparently, bitter or not, he may have been onto something, because both Romero and Ross pled guilty to lying to immigration officials in a concessionary “package deal” today in L.A. federal court.
In September, the jury decided the case of the loveless green marriage had become too heated/hostile to handle. (That's back when the “couple's” attorney was claiming they were “head over heels in love” when they tied the knot and all the rest of Romero's exes started getting involved.)
But after what appear to have been a few months of persuasion, looks like her and Ross finally decided to meet prosecutors halfway.
It could earn them some pity in front of the judge; still, at worst, their consequences could be up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fees.
According to City News Service, “prosecutors claim the pair were living in separate homes and dating other people when they tied the knot.”
Romero's actually on the B+ side of Hollywood's B List, if only for being the hottest illegal immigrant this side of Korea Town: Her IMDB resume includes (terrible) Jessica Alba film “The Eye'' and (terrible) Mexican soap opera “Eternamente Tuya.” (Did we mention she's hot? As hell? And is it just us, or does being on the wrong side of the law sort of make her hotter?)
As for Ross, he's a self-described pizza-parlor manager and member of the (terrible) band
Electric Uh-Oh. 'Nuff said.
Anyway. If you want to be a stalker (at worst, maybe she'll marry you for citizenship?), Romero will be in L.A. court this April 25. Hooray for hot chicks in handcuffs!
Just because we can:
Update: City News Service has the judge's verdict: Romero and Ross will spend “15 consecutive weekends in jail and five years on supervised release.”
Plus 1,000 hours of community service, and whatever separate immigration
charges Romero might still have coming.
Some honeymoon.
Originally posted January 28 at 5:15 p.m.
[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]
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