'Sopranos' actor sentenced to anger management therapy

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"Sopranos" actor Vincent Pastore pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to assault a former girlfriend last spring. As part of the plea deal, Pastore will perform 70 hours of community service, attend six months of weekly anger management therapy and pay a $190 fine. If convicted at trial, he could have been sentenced to as much as a year in jail.

Pastore, 59, was accused of attacking Lisa Regina, 44, during an argument in the Little Italy neighborhood. Prosecutors said he punched her in the back of the head, grabbed her hair and forced her head down on a car's gear shift. When the judge asked Monday whether he attempted to strike Regina, Pastore replied, "Yes, I did."

The actor, a Navy veteran, said he wanted to serve his community service at a Veterans Administration hospital in the Bronx neighborhood where he was born. Pastore's attorney Dominic Barbara said his client has been receiving anger management therapy for 10 months.

Pastore is most noted for his role as gangster Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, who was killed early in the series as payback for snitching on the mob. He has appeared in three subsequent episodes in flashbacks and dreams.