Politics in DWI Sentencing?
Paul Monachino was a sergeant in the East Rochester Police Department on June 14, 2011. After an evening celebrating the appointment of the new police chief, while in his personal car, he caused a motor vehicle accident and was arrested for DWI.
In December, 2011, Susan Walsh was the director of the Greater Rochester International Airport. After an evening of drinking, while driving her county vehicle, she caused a motor vehicle accident and was arrested for DWI.
Monachino and Walsh both resigned their jobs.
Monachino plead guilty and received a sentence of six months in jail with five years probation.
Walsh plead guilty and received a sentence of 100 hours of community service, a $750 fine, and will have an interlocking device installed on her vehicle for a year.
The circumstances of both offenses are virtually identical. One offender receives the maximum sentence and the other receives a slap on the wrist. Why?
Walsh has powerful political connections in Monroe County. Monachino does not. Did politics play a part in the differences in sentencing?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 at 10:43 am and is filed under Crime and Punishment, Politics, Local, Original writing, Politics, Original writing, Reporting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
