The Real Housewives of NJ: Who is the "real" Danielle Staub? Former husband and boyfriend speak out

Danielle Staub              Photo: Star Ledger                                                                     COP WITHOUT A GUN Beverly Merrill's mug shot from 'Cop Without a Badge.' Promos for 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' -- and eyes that work -- might lead one to believe that Merrill is Danielle Staub.           

In recent episodes of “The real Housewives of NJ,” cast member Danielle Staub has stirred up much controversy. She has admitted on the show that she does have a contrite past, but how much do her fellow housewives really know about her?

Danielle prides herself on being one of the first women in New Jersey (and 14th person in the country) to have a Black American Express Card and her history of celebrity hook-ups is one for the record books.
 

Her ex-husband Kevin Maher, who now lives in California and works as a private detective, is a former felon who turned informant. He is also one of the subjects of "Cop Without a Badge," which details Danielle Staub's previous life as a supposed “coke-sniffing stripper with an extortion conviction.”

Kevin Maher stated, "She's very smart, and when she wants something, she's one of the most determined women in the world," "But she's also a pathological liar. I believe she's been psychologically scarred since childhood, and when you live that kind of life, you have to be a liar."

"New Jersey’s Star-Ledger obtained a copy of the out-of-print book, and revealed its contents, which expose Staub, 46, as a woman named Beverly Merrill, a one-time stripper with a criminal past.

According to the newspaper’s account of the book, Merrill met the subject of "Cop Without a Badge", a felon-turned-FBI informant named Kevin Maher, at a drug party in Miami in the ’80s. Their meeting came after she was released on $10,000 bail following an arrest on charges she was involved in the alleged kidnapping of a man who owed her drug dealer friend money. As a result, Merrill and her dealer friend were caught by police and charged with extortion, kidnapping and possession after they failed to collect a ransom from their victim’s father.” –People

Maher also stated that Staub actually put her boyfriend and an accomplice away, and that he's worried they might come looking for her. "She locked up two people," he said. "That was part of the deal."

“The guy she locked up was a high-level drug dealer from Medellín," Maher said. "Now he's out. What do you think he's gonna do when he sees her face on TV and knows exactly where she lives? She's got to be out of her ******* mind." She probably is. But Bravo is not, and Maher says the network should have known that, given Staub's past, letting her pursue her own aggrandizement on their air might have consequences: "How culpable is Bravo going to be when this woman gets killed?" It's a strange argument coming from an informant who put plenty of people in jail and went on to participate in a book about his exploits, but he would know.
 

“I was never a prostitute. Never,” Staub says in the new issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday — adding that her ex-husband’s “recollection of me is completely absurd.”

Maher also claims that Danielle has boasted of having slept with 1,000 men, she says, “I do enjoy a healthy sex life, but with one partner [at a time].”

In an interview with PEOPLE, Danielle claims she suffered a history of sexual abuse at a young age, and “got in with the wrong crowd” as a teen. She also claims that Maher “brutalized and terrorized” her during their short marriage. (Maher denies those claims, but admits to PEOPLE, “I did hit her. I’m not proud of it.”)

Most recently Danielle’s ex-boyfriend, Steve Zalewski, 27 (who Danielle broke up with on the June 9, 2009, episode of “The Real Housewives of NJ”) has stated he is considering releasing a sex tape to the public.
Steve stated, “Not only does she want to have sex all the time, but she loves the thrill of doing it in public places, where she might get caught," According to Zalewski, other favored locations included the patio of her N.J. home, in cars at a police firing range and even a crowded park.

Steve also claims Danielle borrowed money from him and has failed to pay him back. I’m definitely weighing my options as far as selling them and getting them out there. She cost me so much money, why shouldn’t I make a few dollars,” he stated.

Danielle also recently joined the cast of the “Today Show” on June 16, 2009; the first time a former stripper charged with kidnapping and extortion turned reality star has co-hosted this, or any, morning show. It was all part of “Housewife” week, and it provided an excellent teaser for the finale of the Jersey branch of Bravo’s "Real Housewives" franchise, which aired on June 16, 2009 and recaps June 18, 2009. (NBC is also the parent company of Bravo).
 

Danielle and Jacqueline on TV Guide

Sources: Bravo, NJ.com - NJ Star Ledger, People, The Today Show 

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