Tatum O’Neal busted for buying crack and possession of cocaine

Academy Award-winning actress Tatum O’Neal, was busted Sunday for buying crack and possession of cocaine on the lower East Side, according to The New York Post.

The 44-year-old daughter of actor Ryan O’Neal was arrested after she was spotted handing money to a street dealer just three blocks from where she lives on East Broadway, police said.

A stunned O’Neal initially told cops she was “doing research for a part,” a police source said. But the cops weren’t buying it. After the police searched her they found two bags of drugs – one with crack, one with regular cocaine – and an unused crack pipe, and O’Neal  quickly changed her story, sources said.

The teary-eyed actress pleaded as she asked cops to give her a break

“I’ve been clean for a long time. Today was the first time I was relapsing, but you guys saved me! Can you let me go?”

Tatum has had major problems with heroin and other drugs in the past, and chronicled her recovery from addiction in a shocking 2004 memoir.