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The Rap on 'Survivor' Contestants

Wednesday, September 03, 2003

03:22 PM PT

The latest edition of the reality-TV police blotter involves several contestants from "Survivor: Pearl Islands."

Contestants Christa Hastie, Jon Dalton and Ryan Opray each have misdemeanor arrests in their pasts. In what may be a first, Hastie's arrest is actually disclosed on her CBS bio. The others were dug up by the sleuths at TheSmokingGun.com.

Hastie's arrest has a distinct most-embarrassing-moment vibe to it. While in college at the University of California-Irvine, the 24-year-old was charged with "disrupting an officer's ability to perform his duties," according to her personal information on the "Survivor" web site. She sat on the hood of her car as it was about to be towed and refused to move.

Dalton, 29, was arrested on a DUI charge in Los Angeles in February 2002. He was fined $510, sentenced to two days in jail and given three years' probation. Opray, 31, was charged with vandalism three years ago for damaging several yards with his truck. He pleaded no contest, made restitution to the homeowners and performed some community service.

A CBS spokeswoman tells Zap2it.com that the network was aware of the arrests. Contestants have the option of disclosing them.

The Smoking Gun also claims to have found several postings on drug-related Internet boards by both Hastie and "Pearl Islands" contestant Ryan Shoulders, a 23-year-old from Clarksville, Tenn. According to the site, Hastie made several posts to the alt.drugs newsgroup in the late 1990s asking about methamphetamines and other stimulants.

Shoulders, meanwhile, reportedly posted several times to the alt.drug.psychedelics group. The CBS spokeswoman dismisses the claims as mere speculation.

All would-be "Survivor" contestants have to pass drug tests before being allowed on the program.