How a Colorado Arrest Ended the Career of ‘Viva La Bam’ Star Don Vito

Fans of MTV’s wildly popular show Jackass were introduced to a colorful cast of characters, including Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera, and others. However, in 2003, a few of the Jackass stars would star in a new show centered around Margera called Viva La Bam, which would make a star out of the show’s namesake’s bumbling uncle Vincent, whom they referred to as Don Vito.

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For the three years that Don Vito appeared on the television series, he became a household name, but an incident that took place in Colorado would derail his career forever, and change the public’s opinion about the once-lovable uncle.

Don Vito Before the Colorado Groping Incident

Before appearing on his nephew’s show, Viva La Bam, Vincent “Don Vito” Margera struggled with his weight, often appearing in public riding a scooter, and was nearly blind in one eye.

On the show, Bam Margera would pick on his uncle, much like he had previously done with his parents, but Don Vito didn’t have the cool demeanor of Bam’s father Phil, but would instead get belligerent.

It was all of these factors that made Don Vito a loveable character on the show; however, that would all come crashing down in 2006.

Don Vito + the Colorado Groping Incident

On August 18, 2006, Vincent “Don Vito” Margera was arrested at the Colorado Mills Mall in Lakewood, Colorado, after he reportedly inappropriately touched two 12-year-old girls. His bail was set at $50,000, which he paid, and he was released.

Don Vito’s attorney, the same attorney who represented Kobe Bryant in an eerily similar Colorado case a couple of years earlier, blamed the incident on the star’s reputation for being "goofy, outrageous and vulgar" on the show.

However, Don Vito was eventually found guilty of two counts of sexual assault on a minor, was sentenced to 10 years' probation, had to register as a sex offender in Colorado and Pennsylvania, and was no longer allowed to appear on the show or in the public eye as his character whatsoever while on probation.

Read More: Two Sides to the Colorado Taco Vendor vs. Health Inspector Story

Don Vito passed away on November 15, 2015, at the age of 59.