Why would Danielle Staub sign on for a reality show when her shady past could be revealed? Did the producers find out about her criminal record and let the ladies in on the secret? Did they find out on their own, and did they have any qualms about exposing her long-ago misdeeds? These are some of the many questions I am asking myself today after the movie-worthy past of Danielle Staub aka Beverly Merrill begins to reveal itself.

After last weeks teaser clip of what was next to come on last night’s Real Housewives of New Jersey, the internet has been inundated with theories about Danielle Staub’s checkered past. On last nights episode Caroline and Dina Manzo dropped the book bombshell that a family member discovered a book, Cop Without a Badge, which alleges castmate Danielle Staub was arrested for extortion and involved with a kidnapping plot, drugs and stripping. Danielle didn’t deny the allegations on Tuesday’s episode, but she didn’t set the record straight either. Danielle opened up to her gay bff, Tommy, about the arrest telling him that she had been at a modeling shoot in Cozumel and stopped by her boyfriend’s 30-room house. She went on to deny knowing any wrongdoing saying she was a victim of circumstance and in the wrong place at the wrong time. Riiiiiiight.

Caroline Manzo spoke with People Magazine last night and confirmed this is NOT the end of the drama. Knowing what we know now makes me think what else could possibly be revealed. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Manzo is remaining tight-lipped about future episodes, but revealed to People magazine more about how her family found the book and all about that now-infamous scene at the dance studio.

The book: This is something that literally fell into our laps. We had no reason to believe that Danielle was somebody other than [who] she represented herself to be. And my niece did tell us about it. When something this explosive falls into your lap, for anyone to just dismiss it would be foolish. It’s beyond catty gossip. There are a lot of facets to this story that can affect us in a negative way.

Regarding Jacqueline and Danielle’s friendship: It seems to be the image that we don’t allow her to [know] outsiders and other friends. That’s so not true. However, Jacqueline looks at the world through rose-colored glasses. Something like this, you have to look at the situation and say, “I understand you want to give this person the benefit of the doubt, and I commend you for that. However, please, please look at this with your eyes wide open.” And that’s just what we did.

The dance studio incident: My son is not a boy. He’s a grown man. I certainly didn’t think that I needed to protect him — or that she would make an advance on him. I just thought [her dancing] was inappropriate. I’m not one of those overbearing mothers. I have seen many girls hug my son [or] look at my son in certain ways, and I never found that to be insulting and inappropriate. My remark may have been snide, and I’ll own up to that. But I was there and it was a little too much.

Meanwhile, Danielle said on her Bravo blog that for the record, she was not a prostitute and did not kidnap anyone: In this letter I will do my best to clear up a few important issues, and some rumors about me. However, I will not tell my whole story here, but I will on a different platform very soon. Number one – over two and a half decades ago I was arrested. I was just a child, with no guidance or parents to speak of, in an industry that was very fast paced. I got in with the wrong crowd, and was not completely aware of the serious nature of my surroundings. I did not kidnap anyone. I am not a prostitute. I was merely at the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time. I apologize for being vague, but this is all I can reveal at this time.

On Dina’s Bravo blog she claims that she didn’t want anyone to find out about the book: “We all agreed we didn’t want Danielle to know about the fact that we were aware of it. We all kind of agreed that we would take this information, keep it in the back of our minds and keep this woman in question at arms length. We had no idea if it was even true. Her ex-husband wrote this book and ex’s are ex’s for a reason.”

Dina said they encouraged Jacqueline to keep quiet. “I guess she had her reasons to tell Danielle and if that’s what she needed to do … what are you gonna do? She admitted that we didn’t want Danielle to know that we knew about it. That kind of confused me. I have to admit at the time, I felt betrayed. I didn’t want the drama.”

Yesterday, NBC’s “Today” show snagged the first interview with Danielle Staub since the book was revealed. At first, Staub would only say, “It’s out there and it will be addressed and I will definitely touch on the subjects that are crucially in need of touching on … when the time is right.” When pressed, she added, “Everybody has somebody in their past or present or that would like to say and embellish nasty things about them.”

The Miami Herald reported that in June 1986, a SWAT team was called out to rescue a man being held on a $25,000 ransom. The victim, Carmen Christopher Centolella, then 26, allegedly owed money to his captors, who kept him for two days and placed ransom calls to Centolella’s father in upstate New York. Police found 10 kilos of cocaine, $16,000 cash and homemade explosive devices in the house rented by one of the suspects. They also found one Beverly Ann Merrill, 23, who lived in the same Coconut Grove apartment complex as Centolella. According to the story, Merrill was arrested; according to “Cop Without a Badge,” she was charged with extortion, kidnapping and drug possession. But wait, there’s more! According to another story in the Herald three months later, Centolella was arrested on federal drug charges, along with one of his alleged captors. They were both charged with conspiracy to possess and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Maher, who met Merrill at a drug party in Miami, claims to have helped her bargain the charges down to extortion only, and she received five years’ probation. Merrill later changed her stripper name to Danielle, and there is little doubt in looking at her mugshot that she is the same woman as Danielle Staub.