Filming for the Jersey Shore Family Vacation reunion show is officially underway, with one original cast member noticeably absent.
The cast was spotted having lunch in Miami, with Deena Nicole Cortese, Jenni “JWOWW” Farley, Paul “Pauly D” Delvecchio, Vinny Guadagnino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi all in attendance. But according to PEOPLE, there was no sign of Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, who pled guilty to one count tax evasion Friday.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Despite Sorrentino’s absence, the cast seemed in good spirits as they shared a meal and drinks together on Miami’s famous Ocean Drive in Miami Beach.
Sorrentino, 36, entered the expected guilty plea in a New Jersey federal court at a hearing Friday morning, as first reported by TMZ. He was accompanied by his girlfriend, Lauren Pesce and pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. His brother Michael, 38, pleaded guilty to Count 5, which charges him with aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return.
According to TMZ, he is facing up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine โ but the judge did approve him to travel to Miami, where he will join his Jersey Shore castmates.
Sorrentino posted an Instagram photo Saturday revealing he is on his way to Miami.
The two brothers were initially indicted in September 2014 for tax offenses and conspiring to defraud the United States after allegedly failing to properly pay taxes on $8.9 million in income from 2010 to 2012. In April 2017, both men were indicted on additional charges including tax evasion, structuring and falsifying records. Initially, they pled not guilty to all charges.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Sorrentino said that he was “trying to take these experiences that are coming my way and make them a positive.” At the time, Sorrentino asserted that the allegations “do not portray me accurately,” but added, “That’s all I can say for now.”
Farley, agreed with Sorrentino’s claims that he’d changed, telling PEOPLE that she couldn’t wait for viewers to see what a “different human being” he had become.
“Mike was ‘The Situation’ on the show, and he was arrogant and he was cocky and he was very full of himself,” Farley said, “and it was very hard to accept that person as a friend.”
She adds she wanted to come back together for him because he was sober and clean.
“He’s a different human being now. And he’s so positive, he’s so supportive of all of us โ I’m like if there’s anyone who deserves this show to come back, it’s [Mike] because I want everyone to see this side of Mike,” she said.