BREAKING NEWS! EXCLUSIVE: COCAINE SECRET BEHIND CHRISTIE BRINKLEY DIVORCE

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Christie Brinkley‘s cheating husband was once arrested for drug-dealing, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.

Court documents obtained by The ENQUIRER reveal Peter Cook was busted in 1982 — 14 years before he married the “Uptown Girl.”

The shocking disclosure follows the supermodel’s separation from architect husband Cook, 47, after learning of his affair with his 19-year-old assistant Diana Bianchi, a story broken exclusively by The ENQUIRER on our web site July 15.

Now The ENQUIRER has discovered that Cook was 23 at the time of his arrest on November 10, 1982. He was busted for attempting to sell cocaine to an undercover cop.

The incident occurred at a Long Island, N.Y., highway rest stop.

A source familiar with the case said the incident occurred at the “East Bound” rest station at Exit 52 of the Long Island Expressway (L.I.E.).

Said the source: “The L.I.E. rest stop was said to be a meeting place for gay men seeking anonymous sex.

“To some degree, Peter’s lucky he was caught. Had he not been arrested, he may have continued selling drugs and ended up living a far different life than he’s had.”

A letter to the court, written by Cook’s attorney at the time, stated: “On November 10, 1982, Peter was arrested when he sold a quantity of cocaine to an undercover police officer. Peter spent that first night in jail and was released the next day on his own recognizance.

“On February 7, 1983, Peter waived indictment by a grand jury and pled guilty to one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree in full satisfaction of Suffolk County Information Number W-220-83.”

The letter further stated that the District Attorney recommended that Cook be sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation. While Cook’s sentence was reduced, he ended up serving two months in Suffolk County jail, beginning Sept. 12, 1983.

Another court document noted that Cook was convicted of “Criminal Sale of A Controlled Substance, Fifth Degree.” And it listed the date of sentence as April 14, 1983, in the Supreme Court, Suffolk County before “Justice McInerney.”

The source said influence from Cook’s wealthy family helped get the sentence reduced.

Said the source: “Cook’s attorney at the time wrote lengthy letters explaining Cooks’ family ties to old Southampton families and other East End connections.

“There were also letters written to Judge McInerney extolling Cook’s virtues — these came from his mother Jean and from Rev. E. Paul Army of St. Francis Xavier Church in New York City.

“As a result of these efforts by his attorneys, friends and family, on January 9, 1984, Peter’s sentenced was reduced to probation only, and the probation term itself was reduced from five years to something insignificant.”

A letter written by Cook’s attorney to the court said Cook was unemployed at the time of the arrest despite having been signed earlier that year as a Ford model.

Five years after the arrest, Cook started his own architectural firm in 1987. A staple on the Hamptons’ party circuit, he met Christie in 1996.

Later that year, the then 37-year-old proposed to Christie, who was 42 at the time. After becoming her fourth husband, the couple had a daughter, Sailor, now 8, and raised son Jack, 11, from her brief marriage to developer Richard Taubman.

Christie’s oldest daughter — Alexa, 20 — is from her marriage to Billy Joel.

Christie filed for separation from Cook on July 11 after learning he had an affair with his teenaged assistant, who is only two years out of high school and is an aspiring singer.

Cook met Bianchi, an attractive brunette, at a toy store last year when she was 18.

In what is expected to be a nasty $60 million divorce, Christie has hired Manhattan divorce attorney Eleanor Alter, who represented Mia Farrow in her ugly custody battle with Woody Allen in the early 90’s.