The man who was filmed slapping Harvey Weinstein at an Arizona restaurant last week has his own colorful and criminal past.
Steve Salamone has found himself in the courtroom a number of times in the past seven years DailyMail.com has learned, including just four days before he made his friends film the moment he barely landed two backhanded pats on Weinstein as the disgraced mogul exited Elements at the Sanctuary on Camelback in Scottsdale.
He appeared in Scottsdale City Court on January 5 to be arraigned on charges of driving with a suspended license and failure to provide evidence of financial responsibility for his motor vehicle.
Salamone – who has held a number of jobs including window washer and part time personal trainer – is best known among Scottsdale locals, however, for an incident in 2012 though when he was charged with shoplifting and theft after he stole a bicycle from outside a Tommy Bahama store.
The slap: Steve Salamone (above) is the man who was caught on video slapping Harvey Weinstein at an Arizona restaurant last week
Whack-stein: The father, who in 2012 proclaimed himself a ‘rattlesnake whisperer,’ has a lengthy criminal record and served five years in prison for theft in the 90s
Tommy boy: Salamone was arrested for shoplifting and theft in 2012 after he stole a beach cruiser from outside a Tommy Bahama store (1997 mugshot left, 2012 right)
His grab and dash was a matter of much public interest due to a Fox 10 segment that had aired weeks prior in which Salamone, 46, dubbed himself the ‘rattlesnake whisperer’ after managing to capture one of the reptiles with his bare hands.
And it was not his first time being charged with theft and robbery, with a 1990 arrest landing him in jail for five years per Arizona prison records.
Salamone was released in July 1996 according to state records, and other than a 2010 citation for not wearing his life jacket on a boat appears to have stayed out of legal trouble for the next 15 years.
That all changed in 2012 though, with Scottsdale City Court records showing that Salamone was picked up by police after trying to sell the beach cruiser, with a member of the force responding to the ad he placed on CraigsList.
Salamone was looking to get $1,000 for the Bahamas bike on the website, despite the fact that it was listed as being valued at over $2,500 in the complaint.
When confronted by police, Salamone claimed that the bicycle had been given to him by an individual who owed him money for a window washing job and had agreed to let him take the money from the sale in exchange for his work.
Court records show that this claim fell apart when an eyewitness and store employee both identified Salamone as the thief.
He managed to work out a plea that saw him plead guilty to shoplifting and theft, both of which are Class 5 felonies in Arizona.
Salamone received three years of probation for the shoplifting and six months behind bars for the theft in his plea, with one condition of his probation being that he not leave the state without the approval of a parole officer.
He did however leave the state, and in October 2014 his probation was extended as a result.
All the wrong moves: He served six months in prison on that charge and three years probation, which was extended after he left the state without prior approval (2010 left, 2013 right)
Gellin’ like a felon: Salamone was indicted for driving with a suspended or revoked license on January 5, four days before the Weinstein incident
Supportive: He has an ex-wife and two children with two other women, one of whom has claimed he owes her $60,000 in child support (2014 left, 2016 right)
Salamone is no longer on probation or parole and Weinstein has not filed charges after the slapping stunt.
He is also on the hook for child support, with records showing he owes money to multiple women.
One claims the amount she is owed tops $60,000, but that amount could not be confirmed.
Salamone did not have any children with ex-wife Rosaide, whom he divorced in 2005, just one year after the pair became the owners of a $385,000 house in Corona, California according to property records.
It was the evening of January 9 when Salamone walked up to Weinstein as he was leaving Elements restaurant at the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort in Scottsdale, and claimed to have punched him twice.
Video of the incident – which a source told DailyMail.com was at one point being shopped around for $100,000 – showed a much different story, however, revealing that Weinstein was actually slapped in the face.
Salamone could be seen laughing while he hit Weinstein, who wore a black beanie hat and soiled grey shirt for his night out at the restaurant.