Russell Crowe pleads guilty

Crowe was given a conditional discharge by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Kathryn Freed and told he must avoid arrest for a year..

He could have faced up to one year in jail on the reduced charges.

In August, Crowe settled a civil lawsuit filed by Mercer Hotel employee, Nestor Estrada. In June Crowe assaulted Estrada with a telephone for being a shady queen. New Yorker magazine reported that Crowe was enraged because Estrada said "whatever" during a Crowe moment.

Crowe reportedly paid about $100,000 to settle the civil lawsuit. (that is way off from the rumored $11 million settelement).

At the time, a statement released by both parties said the Oscar-winning actor and the Mercer Hotel employee, had settled the case but offered few details.

"Both sides expressed satisfaction at the resolution," the joint statement said.