Jenni “JWoww” Farley is thanking police after her ex-boyfriend, Thomas Lippolis, was arrested for allegedly trying to extort the Jersey Shore star for money.
Lippolis, whom fans of the MTV reality show will remember from the first season of Jersey Shore, was arrested Wednesday after Farley reported him for allegedly attempting to extort $25,000 from her “in exchange for not divulging secrets to the media” about her, according to an Instagram post by the Toms River Police Department.
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Police continued that Farley claimed that Lippolis, whom she “had dated for close to a year approximately 10 years ago,” got information “through her publicist who had initially received a phone call from Lippolis demanding the money.”
After Lippolis was arrested, Farley told Entertainment Tonight she was grateful for police investigating her report in a timely manner.
“I would like to applaud the Toms River Police and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office for their professionalism, expedited response time and unwavering attention to detail that resulted in an immediate arrest after I was the target of a serious crime,” she said. “I feel fortunate to have the support of law enforcement of this caliber by my side, which has thankfully kept me and my children safe from those who have sought to victimize me.”
“While I am unable to comment any further in light of the ongoing investigation, I offer to you that I will share more once this matter is concluded, but in the meantime ask that you please respect the private nature of these legal matters so that the authorities may properly conduct their business operations,” she added.
Farley is also going through the legal system with her estranged husband, Roger Mathews, from whom she filed a temporary restraining order last week amid their ongoing divorce.
In a statement on her Instagram following the order being granted, Farley’s rep shared a statement: “While Jenni has refrained from making any public statements relating to her impending divorce, in light of recent events we have decided to make an official statement. Certain events transpired last night which lead [sic] Jenni to involve the authorities, as she felt it was in her best interests, and the best interests of her children to do so. Any statements and social media posts depicting anything to the contrary are entirely false, misleading and intentionally designed to cast Jenni in a negative light.”
Rogers, meanwhile, put out a series of Instagram videos explaining his side of the story.
“She’s made my children pawns in this — literally made them pawns, something I would never do to her, ever,” he said in one video. “I have no choice but to just be honest and open. I got nothing to lose, I got nothing to hide. You’re gonna see about our divorce on Jersey Shore, you know why? Because my wife told me — my ex-wife told me — when we were in counseling that she’s negotiating a side-deal. I think she said she wanted $70,000 … to talk about our divorce on the upcoming season. Everything is about money with her. All I want is time with my children, that’s all I want.”
“My ex cannot control her emotions in front of our children and literally turns my child against me,” he continued. “My daughter, the look in her eyes. … Because her mother can’t wait until they go to sleep to have a disagreement. She has to do it in front of them … the misunderstanding she had towards her dad, and hitting me in the butt because I upset her mother, because her mother can’t control her emotions.”
Photo credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
