Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli have been pushed out of the exclusive Bel-Air Country Club — where top members were enraged their recent federal guilty pleas turned the establishment into a “place of refuge and comfort for known felons.”
The couple quit the club this month, TMZ reported, weeks after pleading guilty to bribing their daughters’ ways into the University of Southern California as part of a national college admissions scandal involving dozens of rich parents.
Their stepping down came amid a battle among members about how to handle the high-profile pair.
While the club’s Board of Directors unanimously voted to suspend the Loughlin-Giannullis, some members were incensed they weren’t kicked out indefinitely.
At least one prominent member, former Board President Michael Gallager, said he was resigning over the decision in a fiery letter, TMZ reported.
“BACC is a Club of gentlemen and gentlewomen. Gentlemen are not felons, and felons in turn are not gentlemen. You cannot be a member in good standing and guilty of a felony at the same time, it is a non sequitur,” Gallagher wrote.
He went on: “The board action, taken on behalf of the Club’s membership, now establishes our Club as a place of refuge and comfort for known felons . . . This matter is already well known in the golfing world, domestically and internationally, and our Club has become a laughingstock.”
Loughlin and Giannulli, who is reportedly an avid golfer, left voluntarily, not wanting to fuel the rift, according to the gossip site.
The drama unfolded after the 55-year-old former “Full House” actress agreed to serve two months in jail, pay a $150,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service in exchange for pleading guilty on May 22 to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.
Her fashion designer husband Giannulli, 56, pleaded guilty to the same charge, plus one count of honest services wire and mail fraud. He has agreed to serve five months behind bars, pay a $250,000 fine and do 250 hours of community service.