Mel Gibson completes probation on drunk-driving charge

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — A California judge congratulated star actor-director Mel Gibson for fulfilling the conditions of his probation, a year and a half after he was arrested for drunk-driving, when he blurted out anti-Semitic remarks.

"You're on your own now with the self-help groups, so this is the most difficult time for you," Judge Lawrence Mira told Gibson in a final hearing in Malibu, wishing the actor good luck and encouraging him to work with others to fight his alcoholism.

Gibson, 52, was arrested on July 28, 2006 while driving in the seaside town of Malibu north of Los Angeles with his blood-alcohol level one and a half times over the limit.

At the time of his arrest Gibson -- who was criticized for anti-Semitic portrayals in his 2004 Biblical film...