Accountant Steals From ATWT Star!

Oakdale’s favorite attorney, Tamara Tunie (Jessica, AS THE WORLD TURNS), has found herself in the middle of a real-life nightmare. New York accountant Joseph Cilibrasi, who acted as the star’s business manager for over a decade, admitted on November 10 that he’d stolen over $1 million from Tunie, the Kansas City Symphony’s music director and other clients.

According to the Associated Press, Cilibrasi used the stolen money on lavish vacations, as well as to finance his own entertainment investments, including backing Broadway shows such as Legally Blonde: The Musical, Spring Awakening, and films including See You In September, which Tunie directed. Cilibrasi admitted in court that he secretly opened a credit card in Tunie’s name, obtained his own card on the account by falsely listing himself as her husband, and wrote checks to himself from her accounts without her permission. “I stole over $1.4 million from Ms. Tunie Generet by converting funds from her [business accounts] to my personal use,” he stated, using Tunie’s married name. (Her husband is jazz singer Gregory Generet.)

Cilibrasi is due for sentencing on January 4, and is facing from 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 years in prison.

Tunie — who continues to appear as medical examiner Melinda Warner on NBC’s LAW & ORDER: SVU and returns to soaps on Friday, November 18, with a gig on DAYS OF OUR LIVES — has yet to publicly comment on the situation.