Once again a celebrity steps over the line, feels the full force of the law and gets wiped off the TV map. In this case the perp is Dante Carver (34) of Softbank commercial fame. NHK say they will delete his appearances in already recorded episodes of the kids show “be Ponki Kids,” while other companies that Dante pitches for are reviewing the seriousness of the situation. In a statement the BS Fuji network described the case as “extremely regrettable.” The American actor’s offense? Doing an illegal U-turn and getting caught with an expired international driver’s license.
According to the Meguro police station in Tokyo yesterday, Dante was nabbed doing the naughty U-turn on Route 246 in Shibuya on July 2. They filed papers with prosecutors at the end of November because they found that his license, issued at the beginning of the year in the U.S., was invalid since he had not used it for the minimum three months in that country. Dante’s management agency issued a suitably groveling apology, while a Softbank spokesperson said the company had not had enough time to study the situation.
Popular young pro golfer Ishikawa Ryo (20) got caught for exactly the same offense in June and, after undergoing police questioning, held a press conference to publicly apologize.