MTV Defends Snooki After Report on Drunk Driving Death

MTV said Friday it did not know Jersey Shorestar Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi was involved in the alcohol-related death of a classmate when she was cast on the show.

"Snooki was 16 when she was charged with prohibited sale of alcohol," an MTV spokesperson said in a statement. "She fulfilled her community service and her record was ultimately cleared."

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Polizzi was charged with selling alcohol to minors in 2005 after she hosted a party at her family home in Marlboro, N.Y., in November of 2004, Radar reported Thursday. One of the party-goers, 18-year-old Michael Truncali, died in a car crash. Truncali had been drinking heavily at the party and died with a blood alcohol level of .18, Radar said.

Truncali ran into a tree and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to a report at the time from the local paper, The Daily Freeman. Marlboro Police Chief Stephen Fajifer told Radar that Polizzi cooperated with the investigation into Truncali's death.

"She came in willingly and spoke to us several times about the incident," he said.

An MTV spokesperson said the network was unaware of the incident when Polizzi was cast. "We were not aware of this incident because it occurred while Nicole was a minor," the spokesperson said.

Polizzi is expected to be part of the show's upcoming second season, set to air sometime this summer.