Essex County Sheriff via Getty Images; Cindy Ord | Getty Images; Mary Cybulski | HBO

By Amy Kuperinsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Just days after an episode of the HBO series "Crashing" dealt with Artie Lange's history of drug addiction, the script converged with reality. Lange was scheduled to be sentenced on drug charges on Friday, Feb. 23 in state Superior Court in Essex County.

But Lange's lawyer now says that sentencing will be rescheduled. He says Lange has been in the hospital again in recent days for issues related to diabetes. (In October, the comedian had to miss a show in Ohio when he was hospitalized for blood sugar spikes.)

"Artie had to go back in the hospital this week because of his diabetes and I just told the court that," Frank Arleo, Lange's lawyer, told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. Arleo, of the law firm Arleo & Donohue in West Orange, said Lange recently texted him about the health issue. But Arleo also said Lange still needs to have a probation interview and have a sentencing report prepared.

Kathy Carter, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, confirmed that Lange would not be sentenced on Friday.

Don't Edit

So don't worry. But when a doctor says I'm in danger of a stroke unless I change everything I do I get insanely scared. I hate the hospital but they said if I don't go back they'd refuse to treat me. I will do this guys. I ain't ready to check out yet -- Artie Lange (@artiequitter) February 22, 2018

(Update) "I went in the hospital to get my blood sugar under control," Lange tweeted on Thursday, after the publication of this story. "I'm out to go to work. I missed too many days & I insisted. My blood pressure is way up. So I have to go back in tonight til it’s down. I'm payin for an unhealthy life. When the medication is right I will be fine."

After Lange left the hospital, he appeared Thursday on "The Artie & Anthony Show" on Compound Media, which he co-hosts with Anthony Cumia. He tweeted that he did not want to miss the show, but that a doctor had warned him he could be at risk for a stroke, so he was advised to return to the hospital for treatment.

His message to fans (and everyone else): "I ain't ready to check out yet."

Don't Edit

Excited to be on another season of #CrashingHBO! Tune in Sundays on @HBO! pic.twitter.com/PvQBBhgtdU -- Artie Lange (@artiequitter) February 21, 2018

Art imitates life, life imitates art

In December, Lange, 50, was arrested for missing a court date stemming from a May drug arrest. The comedian, who lives in Hoboken and grew up in Union Township, pleaded guilty to possession of 81 decks of heroin. After spending a short time in Essex County Jail, Lange entered drug rehab.

"The deal is he's going to get probation," Arleo said. "There probably will be drug treatment or testing." But Arleo, who said Lange is currently in an outpatient program for drug addiction, said any violation of a court order could result in jail time for the comedian.

On Jan. 12, after Lange emerged from rehab — Arleo said he spent about two weeks in a program — he tweeted that he was "Clean & Sober 32 days," a period that would've started on Dec. 12, the day he was arrested for not showing up in court.

During a tumultuous year in which Lange was arrested a total of three times, his "Crashing" co-star, Pete Holmes, stood by him. So did the show's executive producer, Judd Apatow. Both thought it was important to address the comedian's battle with addiction in the Feb. 18 episode of the show, now in its second season.

"I wish I could, back when a younger Artie did heroin for the first time in a f***ing hotel room on the road, I wish I could tackle that guy," Lange says in the episode. "I wish I could tackle him and stop him from doing it."

But just like his character in the show, Lange's future sobriety is still an open-ended question.

"Whether it's a successful probation or not will depend on Artie," Arleo said. "He's trying to get straight."

Don't Edit

Hey I got a quick message for u Ang. U ain't the man. U run for the man. I fear nothing. pic.twitter.com/Sdn4BgSQzz -- Artie Lange (@artiequitter) December 9, 2017

The arrest

Lange was arrested on Dec. 12 for failing to show up to court in connection with an arrest in May. The comedian, best known for his eight-year stint as a sidekick to Howard Stern on "The Howard Stern Show," spent several days in jail and pleaded guilty to possession of 81 decks of heroin before being released on Dec. 15.

It wasn't the first time Lange didn't show in court. After police arrested the comedian on drug charges in March 2017 near his home in Hoboken, he didn't make a June court date, either. When Hoboken Municipal Court issued a bench warrant for his arrest, he blamed the no-show on bad communication with his lawyer. (Arleo said that matter was resolved after Lange paid a fine, because the arrest involved "just a small amount of drugs.")

Lange's Dec. 12 arrest came just days after police officers in Hoboken came to check on Lange when a concerned party called authorities because of a photo (see tweet above) he posted on Twitter in which his nose appeared badly swollen.

"Everything isn't funny as the Great Hoboken Police just explained to me," Lange said in a follow-up tweet. "I'm so sorry I made those guys deal with unimportant crap. I'm fine. In a related issue how do u delete a tweet?"

Don't Edit

Mary Cybulski | HBO

Garden State Parkway incident

And what was the original incident that prompted Lange's arrest?

State Police arrested Lange on May 12 during a plainclothes surveillance operation after he was allegedly seen driving his Range Rover erratically near a McDonald's on the Garden State Parkway. Police said they found the comedian with a large bag of heroin on his lap. Lange was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

When police arrested him for not showing up to court, Lange pleaded guilty to possession of 81 decks — each deck is about 1 to 15 grams — of heroin.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Mary Cybulski | HBO

Another drug arrest

But the May arrest wasn't the first of 2017. Exactly two months earlier, on March 12, Lange was arrested after police responded to a report of someone trying to break into a car at the parking garage of his building at 14th Street in Hoboken.

Police said they found drugs — cocaine and heroin — and drug paraphernalia in Lange's possession and in his car.

"I swear this life is so crazy," he tweeted after the arrest. "I wish that scared me. Pls don't be me younger ppl. I care for u deeply!"

In the latest episode of "Crashing" — in which Lange plays a kind of mentor to Pete Holmes (at left in the above photo), who plays an amateur comedian — Holmes tries to help Lange get clean. When Lange relapses, he's utterly dismayed.

"What happened to turning it around?" he asks Lange. "We’re turning things around!"

"Turning it around — do you see who’s talking to you, man?" Lange says. "I bullsh*t people, that’s what I do. I’m not going to turn around, ever."

In real life, Lange's legal trouble did not start in 2017.

In 2009, after he crashed his car into another car in Toms River, where he used to own a home, Lange was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and careless driving (Lange, who had his driving privileges revoked for seven months, pleaded guilty, saying he had been taking prescription sleeping pills).

Don't Edit

Tony Kurdzuk | The Star-Ledger

Fans that have followed Lange's career are well acquainted with Lange's long fight with addiction — rehab and using are frequent topics in his stand-up sets — but they also know he's bounced back from some dangerous lows.

In 2010, Lange, who currently co-hosts "The Artie & Anthony Show" on Compound Media, was hospitalized for a suicide attempt after stabbing himself nine times, drinking bleach and slitting his wrists (he said that at the time, he wanted to feel "queasy" and go to sleep).

Howard Stern previously allowed Lange time off from the radio show to deal with his drug issues, but following Lange's hospitalization, he ultimately decided not to bring him back to the show.

In a 2017 interview with NJ Advance Media, Lange addressed his struggles with drug addiction, attributing the disintegration of his relationship with Stern to his drug habit.

"I was always a drug addict, but heroin didn't come in a big way until I had done the road too much and I overextended myself," he said, talking about going on tour as a stand-up comedian. "It was nothing but my fault. Howard tried to help me. I just did the road too much. The money was three times what I was making, and I got addicted to the money. And then I had to be nocturnal on the weekends and had to have paper route hours during the week. ... I became a full-blown junkie."

"They tell you in rehab you might lose some relationships that you cherish, and Howard is one of them," he said.

Don't Edit

Jennifer Brown | The Star-Ledger

Will he see jail time?

Though his lawyer says Lange' will get probation, Lange, pictured above at the studios of K-Rock in 2004 (then home to "The Howard Stern Show"), has a record of arrests. His association with drug abuse has become part and parcel of his persona as a comedian.

Brian McCauley, a criminal defense attorney at the Trenton firm Kamensky Cohen & Riechelson who worked as a prosecutor in Mercer County for 30 years, is a big fan of Lange. He has an autographed copy of the comedian's 2008 memoir, "Too Fat To Fish" in his basement. But he says Lange has to "walk a thin line" as a celebrity with the kind of reputation he has.

"Whatever he does, he's going to be scrutinized," he said of Lange. "If he's on social media joking about drug use, that’s not going to go over too well." Possibilities for penalties Lange may face include a drug treatment program, probation or probation with a split sentence — a year in county jail, for instance, he said. But in general, jail time for possession of heroin could mean anywhere from three to five years, McCauley said.

Don't Edit

John O'Boyle | The Star-Ledger

The fact that Lange has completed a stint in rehab could help, McCauley said, but 81 decks is "a lot of heroin," he said.

Lange missing his original court date is in line with what the lawyer has seen from heroin users.

"They tend to be extremely unreliable," McCauley said. "They miss appointments. It's not uncommon for people who have had drug problems. If the sentencing judge really wants to help this guy, jail may not really help him ... He's self-destructive by nature as an addict."

Alan Zegas, a lawyer in Summit, said that since Lange's charges for drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia are in the third degree (according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office), he likely won't see jail time.

Lange's celebrity, he said, should not matter.

"What does matter is the crime, the amount of drugs that he's in possession of and the amount of drugs he's pleading guilty to possessing," he said.

If Lange faced a second degree charge, the presumption would be that he would go to jail, Zegas said. In that case, he said, the minimum jail time would be five years.

Don't Edit

More Artie Lange

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

Don't Edit