'Real Housewives' star was involved in kidnapping plot, drug deals and prostitution

Behind the reality TV glitz lies the heart and mind of a felon. “Real Housewives of New Jersey” Danielle Staub has a much more scandalous and criminal past than she’s admitted to on Bravo’s hit reality show, according to court documents.

Staub, 46, has only admitted to an arrest and to changing her name — after she was exposed in “Cop Without a Badge,” a 1995 book about her ex-husband that featured prominently on the show.

But according to explosive federal court records posted yesterday on thesmokinggun.com, she was far more deeply involved in a kidnapping plot, a $24,000 drug deal gone bad and an “escort service” than she admitted to on the show.

Danielle has always said her criminal record — which dates back to 1986 — were the mistakes of youth. But the details of the charges against her outlined on official papers are substantial.

Staub, then known as Beverly Ann Merrill — but using the alias Angela Minelli — was arrested along with Daniel Aguilar, the distributor of a Columbian drug family’s coke, whom she met while working for an escort service, according to the reports.

According to TheSmokingGun, Staub placed calls to a kidnapping victim’s father in which she threatened the hostage with bodily harm unless Dad ponied up.

The criminal complaint, dated June 24 1986 and filed in the U.S District Court in Miami, also accused Staub of cocaine possession with intent to distribute.

According to the Web site, it all went down like this:

Merrill was working as a drug courier for Aguilar when masked men attacked her and stole 1 kilo of cocaine she was supposedly delivering to a young customer.

The partners in crime were out about $24,000 worth of cocaine after the deal went awry. Trying to recoup their loss, they kidnapped the man they blamed for the deal’s failure, named in the complaint as Carmen Centolella.

Then Merill placed calls to Centolella’s father demanding $25,000 in ransom money and threatening to harm his son if he didn’t deliver.

Feds traced the calls and then arrested the duo, who were caught red-handed in a Miami apartment with six kilos of coke and $16,000 in cash.

She was indicted weeks later on eight felony counts, including extortion, cocaine possession, and narcotics conspiracy.

So, displaying the ruthless survival skills familiar with fans of the show, she flipped, agreeing to cooperate in full with prosecutors and the FBI.

That didn’t go over so well with her former partner, and subsequently Staub, who was then going under yet another assumed name, found herself on the receiving end of threatening calls.

“Angela, your life is at an end, honey,” said one male caller. Another warned “I saw you walking your dog – I wouldn’t take that kind of risk.”

In November 1986, she was sentenced to five years probation. Her co-conspirator Aguliar got 15 years in prison.