17-year-old Robert Iler, co-star of the wonderful The Sopranos, pleads guilty to the misdemeanor of petty larceny for stealing $40 from two kids on a New York sidewalk last year.

Two unintentionally ironic things about this AP story:

1. All Iler was ever guilty of was petty larceny, but because they could, the DA's office had charged him with second-degree robbery and threatened him with up to 15 years in prison. If he hadn't had a good lawyer, that's probably what he would have gotten. Instead, he gets three years probation, probably the right sentence.
2. Despite this being on the front page of CNN.com and clearly US national news, the story says, without a trace of irony, "Iler was granted youthful offender status, and his record will be sealed." That's supposed to keep people from knowing about the offense after he completes his probation -- like that's going to happen.