As I reported this morning, the internet has been buzzing to locate ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ star Danielle Staub’s alleged mugshot from the out-of-print (but suddenly very much in demand) book called “Cop Without a Gun” by New Brunswick native Charles Kipp. Well, here it is courtesy of nj.com.

The book contains a mug shot of a woman named Beverly Merrill who looks exactly like Danielle Staub. The book is about a former con named Kevin Maher who becomes an informant for the New York Police Department and the FBI. Along the way Maher leaves his wife and stepson for the charms of stripper Beverly Merrill. That must be where the stripper and husband stealer rumors came from.

Beverly Merill, who by her own estimation had slept with about a thousand men by the time she settled down with the Maher, is described as “Brunette. Long, perfectly shaped legs poked out of her leather hot pants just as provocatively as her braless breasts strained against her low-cut blouse.” After she and Maher have “explosive sex,” he determines, “This is a good person. She has no morals, but she’s a good person.” But Beverly has a dark side who turns out to be a “coke whore” with a criminal past.  Moments after the couple meet at a Miami drug party, Maher is told that Merrill is out on $10,000 bail.

Apparently, she was partying with a drug dealer who had kidnapped a rich kid who owed him $25,000. The police busted them and charged Merrill with extortion, kidnapping and possession, but Maher, with his law enforcement connections, helped her work out a deal in which she pleaded guilty to extortion and she got five years’ probation

Maher, who is married, leaves his wife and marries Merrill when they settle in Elmwood Park and try to start a family. Merrill finds work dancing under the name “Danielle” at Satin Dolls in Hackensack and when Maher discovers Merrill is cheating on him, he leaves her. On one accession Maher confronts one of her boyfriends at the Bennigan’s in Saddle Brook, sticks a gun in his crotch, and makes him confess. According to the epilogue, Maher last saw her in 1992 dancing at a club called Shakers in Carlstadt.

So the big question, is Danielle Staub & Beverly Merrill the same person? The similarities with both women are obvious and the fact that her stripper name was “Danielle” makes me really question who she is. I guess we’ll have to wait until Tuesday but I am counting the days because something tells me this story isn’t even close to over yet.