andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Boy George started his community service this morning sweeping leaves and garbage off the sidewalks of New York.

Boy George, 45, real name George O’Dowd, was ordered to do five days of community service working for the Department of Sanitation, after he pleaded guilty to false robbery at his apartment in March.

Officers that responded to the burglary call allegedly found cocaine.

Boy George started his community service at 7 a.m. Monday morning, with a shovel, broom, plastic bags and gloves for picking up trash on New York streets. Boy George also substituted his wild outfits and make-up for an orange vest, dark capri pants, and shoes without socks.

While getting ready to do his community service, he was a bit irritated at the media surrounding him.

“You think you’re better than me?” he yelled. “Go home. Let me do my community service,” he said, according to CBS News. “This is supposed to be making me humble. Let me do this. I just want to do my job.”

When Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara took off the warrant on Boy George, Ferrara made it clear that there is no way out of community service.

Boy George accepted that he was going to do it but was thinking something different. Boy George was hoping he would be able to do such activities as: helping teenagers make a public service announcement, holding a fashion and makeup workshop, serving as a D.J. at HIV/AIDS benefit or doing telephone outreach. But it looks like picking up trash was the winner.

“He doesn’t show any kind of emotion about these things. He takes it in his stride,” Boy George’s manager Jeremy Pearce told reporters. “He doesn’t need to be humiliated. He’s a humble person.”

Former Culture Club singer Boy George has finally committed to fulfilling his community service sentence. He’ll be picking up trash on New York City streets for five days over the coming month.

New York’s Daily News reports that the specifics of the punishment were confirmed by sanitation department spokesperson Vito Turso.

“This is the epitome of community service,” said Turso. “It’s not like he’s going to be working in an air-conditioned office.”

Instead, the 45-year-old performer (real name: George O’Dowd) will be issued a broom, shovel, gloves and plastic bags to aid in the dirty work.

The community service sentence stems from charges laid against George last year for falsely reporting a robbery. In October, he phoned police with a fake break-in story. When officers arrived at George’s apartment to investigate, they found cocaine.

Though he pleaded guilty to the charges back in March, George has been uncooperative in completely his service until now. He had requested a non-public way to carry out the sentence.

A New York judge threatened Boy George with jail on Monday after the musician failed to complete a community service requirement.

The penalty was handed down in March when George (real name: George O’Dowd) admitted to falsely reporting a burglary to escape more serious charges of drug possession. He was sentenced to rake leaves, but didn’t fulfill the order because he wanted to do something less humiliating.

George’s defense lawyer Louis Freeman argued in court earlier this month that if the singer was forced to clean city streets or a park, “It would turn into a media circus.” Instead, he said George wanted to do work with an AIDS charity.

Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara saw things differently, though, and gave George until August 28 to complete the five days of community service.

“This is a simple matter,” said Ferrara to the 45-year-old singer. “Five days of community service. It’s up to you as to whether it will be an exercise in humiliation or an exercise in humility. Your choice.”

The charges came against George last fall when police responded to his report of a burglary and found 13 bags of cocaine in his apartment.

Police found 13 bags of cocaine at Boy George’s apartment last weekend after responding to a burglary report.

George, whose real name is George O’Dowd, called police last Friday claiming his New York apartment was burglarized.

Police found the plastic bags of cocaine sitting near a computer. Each weighed more than an eighth of an ounce.

George’s lawyer, Lou Freeman, said a small amount of drugs were found at George’s apartment but did not know who owned the cocaine.

“He’s a very social person. He has a lot of people over to his apartment,” Freeman said.

George, 44, faces one charge of drug possession and a charge of falsely reporting an incident. He has been ordered to attend a Manhattan court in December.

The former Culture Club singer faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

Boy George, real name George O’Dowd, returned to the UK, two days after being arrested on drug charges, and false report of a burglary in New York.

It happened when George, 44, called police to his apartment because of a burglary at 3:14 a.m. Friday. Police officers found a woman and George “stoned out of his gourd,” a source said, and 14 bags of cocaine lying on a table, reports the New York Daily News.com.

Over 3.5g of cocaine was allegedly found in his Manhattan apartment. If found guilty, George could be facing up to 15 years in prison and would almost likely be barred from entering the US.

George?s lawyer Lou Freeman defended George and stated that the drugs that were found did not belong to him.

?He doesn?t know where it came from. He?s had a lot of people in his house,? Freeman told the New York Post.

When arriving at Heathrow Airport yesterday, George refused to comment and stated, ?I am not speaking to anybody about it. Don?t ask me any questions because you aren?t going to get any answers,? reports BBC news.

He will return to the U.S for a court hearing on December 19.