Tatum O'Neal Busted on LES's Clinton Street

Actress Tatum O'Neal hasn't kept her battles with addiction a secret, but just when things in her life seem to be on the straight and narrow, the NY Post is reporting she got busted buying crack and cocaine on the Lower East Side. Seems the neighborhood still has its drug roots, the addicts just have Oscars on their mantles now.

Last year O'Neal landed a role on Rescue Me playing Denis Leary's alcoholic sister, and reportedly nailed down some other on-screen work as well; she credited her turn-around to leaving Los Angeles. So when she was caught just blocks from her Lower East Side luxury condo buying drugs at 7:30 p.m. last night, she told the officers "I'm researching a part - I'm doing this for a part."

"The source said detectives found a pipe on O'Neal, daughter of actor Ryan O'Neal. The pipe and screen were clean.

"Then she said she'd been clean for two years, and that she'd just came out today," the source said.

"Can't we just forget about this?" the sources said she begged detectives.

Hauled off from Clinton and Grand Streets to the Seventh Precinct, she was reportedly held overnight in custody and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, as her dealer was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance.

The now 44-year-old O'Neal first burst onto the scene in her Oscar-winning role in Paper Moon at just 10 years old, but was also being raised in a chaotic, drug-fueled atmosphere. After her divorce from John McEnroe in 1992, he received custody of their three children as O'Neal developed a heroin problem.

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By Jen Carlson in News on June 2, 2008 9:49 AM

Comments [rss]

schadenfreudian mensch

"Then she said, 'I'm researching a part - I'm doing this for a part' " as a junkie

She's been meticulous in getting the role down cold.

bclm

I've never understood why people get so freaked out by crack over cocaine-except for the fact that crack is what poor black people do, so it's terrible, and cocaine is what rich white people do, so it's OK. They're both evil drugs.

robingee

See, old timers? The LES is still old-school! Woo!

agphoto

This is very sad. she's really nice looking in that photo; not crack-worn looking at all!

Steven

"When the police approached, she asked them, 'You know who I am, right?' " one source told The Post.

Another "famous" person in Hollywood who thinks laws don't apply to them and then can whatever they feel like doing without worrying about the consequences.

maryba

She began work on Rescue Me way before last year.

sonyactivision

A lot of screwed up things are happening on "Clinton Street" these days.

bornbrednewyorker

I want to be bored and filthy rich so I can screw up my life too!

NYCSniper

@jaja007: Jaja, New York loves Tatum. Please save that kind of derogatory comment for Gawker.

VanessaNYC

Poor lady. Paper Moon is one of my favorite movies.

whantmoore

I am glad to see that she is at least supporting the local economy which can not be said for some of the people who move to the LES.

cucarachita

Well, maybe she should count herself lucky she never got a chance to fall off the wagon as far as the crack goes, anyway. Sad, though.

MFer

You've got to be kidding me!

JacqueMehoff

Good to hear the LES still hasn't changed that much.

next time, befriend some of the locals.

no different than a white collar professional buying some coke monthly to keep his contacts.