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Fossella sentenced to five days in jail for DUI |
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By Jared Allen
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Posted: 12/08/08 05:04 PM [ET] |
Retiring Republican Rep. Vito Fossella (N.Y.) was sentenced on Monday to five days in jail for driving while under the influence of more than twice the legal limit of alcohol.
Fossella received the sentence from Alexandria, Va. Criminal Court Judge Becky Moore with only a handful of days left in his once-promising congressional career.
But the handing down of the sentence still did not end the seven-month saga that resulted in Fossella’s stunning admission that he had fathered a child out of wedlock.
Immediately following the sentencing, Fossella’s lawyers vowed to appeal the sentence and to attempt to delay his mandated Dec. 19 arrival at jail.
As they had during his eight-hour trial in October, Fossella’s lawyers argued on Monday that the Breathalyzer certificate that registered Fossella’s blood alcohol content (BAC) at 0.17 on the night of his May 1 arrest was unreliable.
The legal limit in Virginia is 0.08, with a mandatory five-day jail sentence for anyone convicted of driving with a BAC above 0.15.
Moore rejected Fosella’s lawyers’ argument for the second time on Monday, reaffirming her opinion when convicting him.
Fossella’s May 1 DUI arrest in Alexandria soon led to allegations that the Staten Island representative was headed to see his mistress, with whom he had fathered a child. Fossella admitted to the affair and later in May announced that he would not seek reelection.
In a trial that leaned heavily on the science behind Breathalyzers, Fossella did take the stand in his own defense, challenging the accusations of Alexandria police officers that he also failed field sobriety tests. |
