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‘The Situation’ Reportedly Having ‘The Time Of His Life’ Playing Bingo In Federal Prison

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, made famous by "Jersey Shore," began serving an eight-month sentence for tax evasion in January.

By Sharon Lynn Pruitt
Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino seen attending MTV's 'Jersey Shore Family Vacation' premiere party

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino isn’t letting a little thing like being incarcerated get him down.

The 36-year-old reality TV star began serving his eight-month federal prison sentence for tax evasion in January and, according to his "Jersey Shore" co-star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, he’s already having “the time of his life.”

“It’s like he’s in a senior home. He’s playing Bingo, he’s helping people recover in jail,” she told E! News on Tuesday.

Sorrentino, who’s been open about his problems with prescription drug addiction in the past, celebrated three years of sobriety last year.

Polizzi went on to say that she and the other “Jersey Shore” cast members, all of whom are currently shooting season three of their reality show "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation," talk to Sorrentino on a regular basis, commenting, “We all talk to him through an email, so I talk to him like once a week.”

“He’s in the gym a lot, so he’s probably gonna come out ripped. You know, he’s not gonna be BDS anymore — Big Daddy Sitch — he’s gonna have his, probably, six-pack again,” she said. “But he’s doing — he’s doing good in there, which, thank God, because, you know, we were all nervous.”

“He’s helping other people out with sobriety. He loves bingo and all of his scrabble games, and he’s working out,” she continued. “And he loves the fan mail that he’s getting so, everyone, keep sending the fan mail because it takes up his time in there and he loves it.”

Sorrentino and his brother Marc Sorrentino were indicted in 2014 after allegedly making millions of dollars but failing to pay taxes on nearly $9 million of that income, according to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. The brothers were indicted again on similar charges in 2017; Sorrentino pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion, while his brother pleaded guilty to one count of aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return, PEOPLE reports.

Both were ordered to pay restitution and other fines, and Sorrentino was sentenced to eight months in prison, while his brother received 24.

Sorrentino reported to the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York on January 15 to begin his sentence and, in true reality star fashion, live-streamed the car ride to the facility.

“I’m just gonna handle this and put this behind me and move forward,” he said.

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