Vincent Margera, better known as "Don Vito" on MTV, scored a break in Jefferson County today where the same judge that sentenced him to ten years probation on his sex assault conviction handed down a two year probation sentence on charges he used cocaine. The sentences will run together and Margera is expected to return home to Pennsylvania to serve his probation.

He had been charged with 12 counts of violating bond conditions for using cocaine. Those charges, which carry a mandatory prison sentence, were dismissed as part of his guilty plea.[Judge M.J.] Melendez said she did not believe additional punishment or more probation conditions were necessary in the case. "Two felonies is plenty enough," she said.

The question now will be whether Margera can stick to the straight and narrow for ten years. Ask any treatment counselor and he or she will tell you relapse is common, almost universal, among drug offenders who have only gone through one bout of treatment.The frequency of relapse is a major reason it's so important to recognize drug dependency as an illness rather than simply punish it as a crime. Good luck to Mr. Margera. I doubt the next few years will be easy for him, but it sure beats being in Canon City.