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Things are picking up for Boy George

Singer sentenced to garbage man duty as his community service

updated 4:36 p.m. ET June 27, 2006

NEW YORK - Boy George, garbage man.

The one-time Culture Club singer will do five days of court-ordered community service as an employee of the Department of Sanitation, a spokesman for the city agency confirmed Tuesday.

“He will be part of our team,” said sanitation spokesman Keith Mellis. “We won’t know exactly what he will be doing for several weeks, though.”

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The singer born George O’Dowd, who has struggled with drug problems for years, was ordered to do community service after pleading guilty in March to false reporting of an incident. He called police with a bogus report of a burglary at his lower Manhattan apartment last October, and the responding officers said they found cocaine inside.

O’Dowd, 45, became an ’80s icon with his androgynous appearance and vocals on hits like “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”

On Monday, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara threatened the singer with jail time if he failed to complete his five days with “New York’s Strongest” before Aug. 28.

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