Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYU's "Pot Princess" Get Probation
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 10, 2004
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 10, 2004
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Julia Diaco, who was busted for selling drugs, including cocaine, as an NYU freshman earlier this year, received 18 months probation from a State Supreme Court Justice. The terms of her probation are that she must complete a 10-month residential treatment program at Clear View in Sandpoint, Idaho and then an 8-month vocational program. The ruling gives clues into what happens with offenders who get probation: If she completes the Clear View residential program, Diaco's guilty pleas ["criminal sale of a controlled substance (to an undercover officer) and criminal possession of a controlled substance (cocaine found in her dorm room when a search warrant was executed"] will be "converted to crimes that don't require jail time," then receiving 5 years probation. But if she violated the probation, she'll have to go to state prision. Let that be a lesson to you new NYU freshman: You can get caught if you deal to undercovers.
The Post has been loving the Julia Diaco story since the beginning. They dubbed her the "Pot Princess" and today's headline, "See Ya Tater, Pot Princess" certainly has a bit of fondness for the co-ed drug dealer. Today, the Post runs a photograph of Diaco going to court (left), looking quite polished and put together, and emphasizes that Diaco's family wealth played a part in her getting a sweet probation deal. A Legal Aid attorney tells the Post, "I would love for our clients to be offered the same deal. But Legal Aid wouldn't be representing a princess." Well, of course - money talks in this world. It's not right, but that's what happens. Diaco's lawyer says the probation at Clear View is not "the lap of luxury" and notes that while Diaco was selling a variety of drugs, Mary Jane was her biggest problem: "She had a very heavy marijuana habit. The morning began with marijuana, and the day ended with marijuana." Gothamist hopes that Diaco manages it through probation; she's the most high-profile bust of a college drug dealer we've heard of, and let's face it, they are a dime a dozen. We'd actually be interested in Law & Order: Class of 2009 where undercovers have to attend NYU, Columbia, Fordham, St. John's, Brooklyn College, Hunter, you name it - it's totally Law & Order meets 21 Jump Street.
Gothamist on the pot princess and other offenses at NYU
Tagged
brooklyn
brooklyn college
cocaine
college
court
crime
drugs
gothamist
headlines
Julia Diaco
Jump Street
law
legal aid
love
marijuana
mary jane
money
News: NYC
NYU
Pot Princess
state supreme court
supreme court
Supreme Court justice
the post
wealth
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:49 p.m. ET
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .