LOS ANGELES : Writer Sentenced for Selling Fake Star Stories to Tabloids

A writer was sentenced Monday to five months in federal prison for selling false stories about celebrities to tabloid newspapers--articles the judge said the publishers wanted to print.

U.S. District Judge James Ideman handed down the sentence to former Globe correspondent Tony Castro. Castro, 45, and his wife, Renee, 31, pleaded guilty to 21 counts of mail fraud and tax violations for using fictitious sources to sell information and stories about various Hollywood celebrities to the Globe, National Enquirer and Star newspapers.

For four years, the Castros sold false or misleading stories and information to the tabloids on such celebrities as Clint Eastwood, Madonna, Earvin (Magic) Johnson and Elizabeth Taylor. The case gained national attention last month when Eastwood testified that he felt victimized by Castro because of a story published about him in the Globe in January, 1990.