Artie Lange avoids prison time after heroin bust

The Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Artie Lange has been spared a prison term for possessing heroin.

A judge on Friday ordered the comedian who has struggled with drug addiction to serve four years of probation. The Hoboken resident also must complete an outpatient drug treatment program.

The charge stemmed from a May 2017 traffic stop on the Garden State Parkway. Lange pleaded guilty in December, when Essex County prosecutors agreed to drop a 2016 cocaine possession charge.

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Prosecutors wanted the 50-year-old comedian sent to an inpatient treatment program. But Lange told the judge he preferred outpatient treatment because he needs to work.

Lange is a cast member in the HBO series Crashing. He also performed on the Fox sketch comedy series Mad TV and spent nearly a decade as a co-host on The Howard Stern Show.