Celebrity Gossip from Hollywood World News

Anne Hathaway's ex Raffaello Follieri pled guilty yesterday to fraud after he pretended to be a CFO for the Vatican and bilked investors out of money. Today, he began repaying the government as part of his plea bargain and - wait a minute - who's that guy in the purple hat? He looks familiar and possibly dying. Why it's Republican presidential candidate John McCain! Ha ha ha, what in the hell? The Nation explains:

The photograph substantiates reports that in late August, 2006, McCain celebrated his 70th birthday aboard a yacht, the Celine Ashley, rented by A-list con man Raffaello Follieri and his then-movie star girlfriend Anne Hathaway.... McCain is shown boarding the yacht ramp towards the smiling Follieri and Hathaway. Just ahead of McCain and shaking hands with Follieri appears to be Rick Davis--McCain's top aide and now co-manager of his campaign, who accompanied him on the trip and advised the government of Montenegro. A few months after McCain's yacht party, Follieri strengthened his ties to McCain's orbit by retaining Rick Davis's well-connected Washington lobbying firm, Davis Manafort, and offering Davis both an investment deal and help in securing the Catholic vote for McCain's presidential bid.

For the record, my sources inform me there's absolutely nothing scandalous going on here at all, folks. John McCain just loves him some Princess Diaries. Not a fan of the sequel though. Upsets his angina. Thanks to Ben for recognizing this site is a haven of intellectual debate - and jokes about my penis. Frankly, I don't see how you can have one without the other.

There are said to be nude photos of Anne Hathaway among the effects seized by the FBI in their raid of her boyfriend’s hidden storage space. Hathaway’s boyfriend of four years, Raffaello Follieri, was arrested late last month on federal charges of money laundering and fraud after an elaborate scheme in which he bilked investors out of millions. He claimed to be the CFO of the Vatican and told investors he could get Catholic land in the US at bargain basement prices. Follieri hired church officials to accompany him to meetings and bribed Vatican employees to help him pull off the scheme. Hathaway broke it off with Follieri after his arrest and he is said to be desperate to try and get back in touch with her. Hathaway’s effects, including her personal diaries, were among the items confiscated by the FBI in their search for evidence in the case against Follieri. Now it seems that nude photos of the actress taken by her ex were also found. Her brother was seen trying to retrieve items from the storage which the FBI had raided the day before, and it’s possible he was looking specifically for those pictures.

The Enquirer has learned exclusively that her ex-lover Raffaello Follieri took naked photos of the actress. Follieri was arrested June 24 and charged with 11 counts of fraud and money laundering… In additional to the naked photos he took of Anne, 25, he also prized a sizzling photo of her in black fishnet stockings, a garter belt and bustier that totally exposed her top. Follieri, 30, supposedly paid a very famous photographer to take that steamy shot. The Enquirer learned that just recently, Anne’s brother Michael tried to gain access to a hidden storage room in the Bronx where Follieri had storied some of his and Anne’s belongings after he moved out of his apartment. “Michael went to the storage facility, but was told he was a day late. The day before (July 15), FBI agents had removed numerous documents, photos and what were believed to be Anne’s diaries from the storage room…. Michael was told that he could not get into the room or take anything out.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, August 11, 2008] Follieri is now in NY’s Metropolitan Correctional Center and the Enquirer notes that he has been unable to raise bail, which has been set at $21 million. He is an obvious flight risk considering the depths of his lies and his ties to Italy. Hathaway appeared topless in Brokeback Mountain, so it’s not like her image will be ruined if these are average nude photos and they get out. Maybe the FBI will keep them safe though and she doesn’t have much to worry about. Anne Hathaway is shown promoting Get Smart with the cast in London on 7/10/08. Credit: WENN

When going through ex-boyfriend Raffaelo Follieri’s $37,000 a month apartment in Trump Tower, the FBI happened across the diaries that belong to Anne Hathaway. A lot of stories floating around assert that Anne was either just cooperating with the FBI or assisting them in capturing Follieri. Either way, it was definitely a good thing that she cut all ties with that con artist. I feel bad for her, though. A breakup with a man you’ve been with for four years has to hurt. I have to wonder what information her diaries contain. I hope that she didn’t break the law or lie for that loser.

There is speculation that Anne Hathaway’s cooperated with the FBI prior to her troubled boyfriend’s arrest.  Raffaello Follieri was arrested for an alleged $6 million con job, where he allegedly fleeced real estate investors by posing as an agent of the Vatican so he could live in a posh Fifth Ave. pad and jet around the globe. The 29-year-old Italian businessman, is charged wire-fraud and money-laundering charges that could put him in jail for 20 years. The 18-page indictment charges Follieri boasted of meeting Pope Benedict and of being tapped as the Vatican’s No. 1 man on U.S. real estate deals. It also says he used his unidentified investor’s money to hire a pair of monsignors who helped pump up his credentials as a church wheeler-dealer. Follieri, a fixture at Hathaway’s side for more then three-years, remains locked up on $21 million bail. According to the NY Daily News a friend of the jailed Follieri suspects the starlet spoke with the FBI shortly before they arrested him. “It makes sense,” the friend said. “She’s referred to as his former girlfriend in the indictment even though her spokesman never confirmed they broke up.” Hathaway, who is not identified by name in the criminal complaint, split with Follieri shortly before his arrest last week. “I think that in return for her cooperation, the feds held off on arresting Follieri until she was out of the country,” the friend said.  Hathaway’s camp has declined to comment on Follieri’s legal troubles.  

Anne Hathaway’s boyfriend Raffaello Follieri seems like he may very well be a totally skeevy jerk. Rumors about his terrible money mismanagement have been circulating for years, and he was sued several years ago by L.A. billionaire Ron Burkle, who claimed Follieri mismanaged funds meant for his charitable foundation and instead used the money to finance his lavish lifestyle with Hathaway. Follieri settled the lawsuit earlier this year, and was then arrested for writing a bad check – for $215,000. Now that he’s gotten that little issue taken care of, New York’s Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating the children’s charity Follieri runs – for a plethora of financial misdeeds.

Cuomo’s investigators in recent weeks served subpoenas seeking financial documents from the Follieri Foundation, which is headed by Hathaway’s beau, 29-year-old Italian businessman Raffaello Follieri, the AG’s office confirmed yesterday. Cuomo’s office refused to reveal why it was eyeing the Manhattan-based charity, which says its programs include vaccinating Third World children. Confirmation of the probe came after Cuomo’s office was asked whether it was aware that the foundation might have failed to file tax-disclosure forms required of nonprofit groups. A check of an online database that collects the “990″ IRS forms showed that the Follieri Foundation is required to file the form, yet has never done so. Hathaway, who also starred in “The Princess Diaries,” served on the foundation’s board until at least last year, when she traveled to Central America with Follieri for a charity-funded vaccination program. “She was on the board, but is no longer,” Hathaway’s spokesman said. “I don’t remember exactly when she ceased to be a board member.” Asked whether Hathaway, 25, knew about the probe and its focus, he said, “Since she is no longer associated with the foundation, why would you expect her to be familiar with all of this?” Follieri’s spokeswoman, Melanie Bonvicino, said, “Raffaello Follieri and his attorney, Cyrus Vance [Jr.], have been cooperating fully with the Attorney General’s Office to satisfy their routine inquiry. Furthermore, Mr. Follieri looks forward to concluding this matter in a timely and expeditious manner . . . so that he may continue to fulfill his ongoing philanthropic endeavors worldwide.”

[From the New York Post] Given Follieri’s excessively long record of financial misdeeds, it seems perfectly likely that he’s done something illegal with his charitable foundation. He always manages to buy himself out of his troubles, which is odd because you’d think that if he had that money, he should have just done the right thing in the first place. Which makes it seem like he’s not simply bad at managing money and/or making some dumb financial choices or mistakes. It seems like he’s trying to swindle people. Follieri and Hathaway have been dating since 2004, and there are no signs that she’s wising up to this guy. Here’s Anne Hathaway and Raffaello Follieri at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on March 13th. Images thanks to Splash.

Anne Hathaway and Steve Carrell star in the soon to be released Get Smart and now is about the time they give a few funny anecdotes to promote the movie. Usually if there’s a sex or makeout scene in the movie actors talk about how nervous they were beforehand or the bad breath they had. Anne Hathaway has a different story. One much more gross.

“There was a health scare last year and a certain contact solution, I won’t say the name of it but it was the one that I use — gave you conjunctivitis,” Hathaway explained to Pop Tarts while promoting her latest stint as Agent 99. “I also had a sinus infection at the same time. So I had to go up to Steve, my eye is red, puffy and dripping green — I’m just like snotty and I’m just like … ‘Come here!’” It wasn’t until after their intimate lip-lock that Hathaway discovered she had the highly contagious eye illness and had to make the dreaded call later that night to the film’s producer, Alex Gartner. “I said you might want to call Steve and let him know I had pink eye and my tears kind of got in my mouth, so he might want to worry about that,” she said.

If I was Steve Carrell, I wouldn’t have mind. I’d be pretty excited actually. By the time I was through with Anne, I would have cleared the phlegm from her throat with my tongue. Come to think of it, that’s probably why I never got a callback for that one gig. The tongue thing might have been too much for a Wendy’s commercial. I’m just too edgy I guess. If you’re wondering, Anne Hathaway was filming Bride Wars which explains her healthy orange glow.