Russell Crowe pleads guilty in phone toss incident

NEW YORK (AP) _ Russell Crowe pleaded guilty Friday to third-degree assault, admitting to a judge that he threw a phone that hit a Manhattan hotel concierge in June. <br/><br/>Manhattan Criminal Court

Friday, November 18th 2005, 8:33 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Russell Crowe pleaded guilty Friday to third-degree assault, admitting to a judge that he threw a phone that hit a Manhattan hotel concierge in June.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Kathryn Freed sentenced the actor to a conditional discharge, which means he must not get arrested for one year. The judge also instructed Crowe to pay a $160 court surcharge, which defense attorney Gerald Lefcourt said would be paid immediately.

If he had been convicted of more serious charges initially filed against him _ assault and criminal possession of a weapon _ Crowe could have lost his right to work in the United States and might have faced seven years of prison time.

Crowe, 41, who won the Academy Award for best actor in 2001 for ``Gladiator,'' has also starred in such films as ``A Beautiful Mind'' and ``Cinderella Man.''

He was arrested after flying into a rage in June when he had trouble calling his wife in Australia from his room at the Mercer Hotel in Manhattan's SoHo district. Crowe, who stood still and erect, told the judge on Friday that he did throw the phone, striking the concierge.

On Aug. 25, Crowe said in a statement that he had reached a settlement with the concierge, Nestor Estrada. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

The actor also had publicly apologized on the ``Late Show with David Letterman'' shortly after the incident, saying it was ``possibly the most shameful situation that I've ever gotten myself in in my life, and I've done some pretty dumb things in my life.''