Washington Sheriff in hot water?

[Frenchy]

http://www.wpxi.com/news/16550474/detail.html

Washington Sheriff Charged With DUI


POSTED: 2:29 pm EDT June 9, 2008
UPDATED: 3:16 pm EDT June 9, 2008

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Washington County Sheriff Samuel Romano was arrested Wednesday and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
Romano, 43, was arrested in Tucker County, W.Va., after the department received a telephone call about a possible drunken driver.
Romano failed several field sobriety tests before he was given an Intoximeter test, police said. The sheriff blew a .231 percent blood alcohol level.
In West Virginia, intoxication is presumed at .08 percent.

Copyright 2008 by Wpxi.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Posted under fair use

[PisnNapalm]

Whoops!!

.231 BAC? He should have been unconscious. sheesh.

[danp]

Well that's not good for him....

[mpi]

seems to be a common problem with PA sheriffs.

[lildobe]

Originally Posted by PisnNapalm

Whoops!!

.231 BAC? He should have been unconscious. sheesh.

Not quite... Most people don't loose consciousness till above 0.300; and above 0.400, you'll probably die.

[mikepro8]

actually, .40% is possible... we had a guy come to the courthouse years ago with a .41 walking around the building trying to give someone a 100 dollar bill to pay his fine.

They sent him up to Probaiton. He was on probation.

It takes severe alcoholics years to build up that sort of tolerance, but I have seen it a few times in the past decade.

[WhiteFeather]

Looks like he just missed getting jail time with WV law change.

Note the removal process at end of article


http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/...-romano-arrest

Romano arrested for DUI in W.Va.
By Barbara S. Miller
Staff writer

bmiller@observer-reporter.com

A sightseeing trip last week to Elkins, W.Va, ended with Washington County Sheriff Samuel Romano's arrest for drunken driving. When word of the arrest spread Monday, Romano issued a written apology to citizens of the county.

Romano, 43, of Canton Township, spent the night in Tygart Valley Regional Jail in Belington, Randolph County, and was released Thursday morning on his own recognizance.

Tucker County Sheriff Tom Felton said the communications center in Parsons received a phone call Wednesday about a possible drunken driver.

A sheriff's deputy pulled over a black, four-door 2006 Mercedes-Benz on Route 72 at 5:15 p.m. in Hambleton, about three miles from Parsons, the county seat.

Felton identified Romano as the driver of the car registered to Angela Conner of Pennsylvania. There was a passenger in the car, but Felton said he did not have the person's identity.

A written statement Romano released Monday afternoon said he was "on vacation in Elkins, W.Va., with my fiancée. I made a poor error in judgment by having a few beers while sightseeing."

Jim D'Alessandro, chief deputy sheriff, said Romano's fiancée's name is Angie.

The deputy administered field sobriety tests to Romano, who failed them, Felton said. An Intoximeter test of Romano produced a 0.231 percent blood-alcohol content reading, nearly three times the legal limit. In West Virginia, intoxication is presumed at a blood-alcohol content of 0.08, the same as in Pennsylvania.

Romano also was issued a citation for driving left of the center line.

"The deputy told me personally he was very cooperative," Felton said. The deputy determined Romano was the Washington County sheriff, but Felton said he didn't know exactly how the topic came up.

Romano was incarcerated at 7:10 p.m. Wednesday at the Tygart Valley lockup, which serves several counties.

Clad in orange prison garb similar to garments issued at Washington County Jail, where Romano, as sheriff, is a member of the prison board, he was photographed. His mug shot appeared on the state regional jail authority's Web site during the time in which he was incarcerated.

Chris Bailey, who works at the jail authority's headquarters in Charleston, W.Va., said Romano was separated from the rest of the prisoners in accordance with standard policy when law enforcement officers are arrested.

"Because of his position, they were attempting to keep him segregated from the general population," Bailey said.

West Virginia law requires that a person who is arrested be arraigned within 24 hours. Tucker County Magistrate Riley Barb arraigned Romano by video teleconference.

"It gives them a chance to sober up," Barb said of those charged with alcohol-related offenses. "We want to make sure they understand."

Romano did not identify himself as a county sheriff during his video arraignment. Barb, however, described Romano's answers as "yes sir, no sir, totally respectful and straight to the point."

He entered no plea, but Barb said a plea hearing probably will not be scheduled for about three weeks. Barb released Romano on his own recognizance, and Romano left the regional jail at 9:30 a.m.

A misdemeanor offense of drunken driving is handled in West Virginia at the magisterial level, Barb explained. If Romano pleads guilty to the charge, the magistrate can immediately sentence him. If Romano enters a plea of not guilty, a magistrate can empanel a jury or proceed with a bench trial, depending on the defendant's preference.

A change in West Virginia law, which took effect Sunday, waived mandatory jail time, but Romano's arrest was made under the previous law, which requires a jail sentence of 24 hours to 90 days and a fine of $100 to $500.

After two calls to Romano at the Washington County sheriff's office were not returned, he issued a statement Monday afternoon:

"By no means do I feel that I am above the law in this or any other matter, nor did I ask for or was treated as such. ... I realize the severity of this matter and by no means do I take this lightly. This will not affect my performance as your sheriff, and I assure you this will not happen again.

"I would like to take this time to offer a sincere heartfelt apology to the citizens of this county. ... I sincerely regret my personal actions and take full responsibility. ... I intend to use this as an example for others that no one is above the law."

Tucker County, the third-smallest county in West Virginia with a population of 7,300, is south of the Cheat Lake area. The Cheat River runs through the county, which is mountainous, densely forested and the home of Canaan Valley and Blackwater Falls state parks. It is also the home of Kingsford Products Co., a 50-year maker of charcoal briquets.

Romano, a Democrat, was nominated in the spring of 2005, besting Chief Deputy Sheriff Bill Bryker of North Franklin Township and Canonsburg Police Chief R.T. Bell. In the general election, he defeated Republican Ralph McCullough of Carroll Township for a four-year term. The position pays $63,440.

Romano had been a deputy sheriff for 15 years before running for the top job. He graduated from Trinity High School and concentrated on criminal justice at Michigan State University. He competed as a wrestler at both the high school and collegiate levels.

As sheriff, Romano is in charge of more than 30 deputies plus office staff.

Washington County Commission Chairman Larry Maggi, who also is in charge of the prison board, declined to comment Monday on Romano's arrest. Maggi is a former Washington County sheriff and retired state trooper.

The fourth-class county code says sheriffs and other elected officials can be removed from office only by impeachment or by the governor "upon conviction of misbehavior in office, or of any infamous crime in accordance with the Constitution of this Commonwealth."

Staff writer Michael Jones contributed to this story.

Copyright Observer Publishing Co.

[mojo]

It's a shame that this happened. I know Sammy very well, and he is definitely a great guy ... Very easy going and very Pro-Gun.

[peter15317]

Mojo, can you give us some examples of why you believe Sheriff Romano is "very pro gun"? I'm not doubting you, but I have not heard either way about him on this issue.

Actually, although I'm sure it is very painful for him personally, I would be stunned if he were removed by the Governor. First, he's in the same political party as Rendell, second he's very popular locally, and third, by Washington County standards, this was pretty mild.

When I moved here we had a Sheriff who allegedly owned many of the illegal poker machines placed in various bars and sold deputy jobs to applicants. He committed suicide the morning he was to testify before a grand jury. The next Sheriff was one of the deputies who allegedly bought a job from him. Another deputy who was on disability leave, collecting county money, for supposedly hurting his back so severely he couldnt work, was caught dancing as a male stripper at the same time. Yet another deputy was fired for allegedly stealing money from someone who entered the courthouse, as the victim's purse was being searched.

Our one time county solicitor did a couple of years in a federal penitentiary for billing the county for hundreds of thousands of dollars of work he never did. The recently defeated District Attorney is the subject of an FBI investigation and a federal grand jury, for institutional rape and other sundry felonies. The guy who was district magistrate in my town went to jail for suggesting a young woman with a pending DUI could "work things out" with no conviction in exchange for sexual favors. Another district magistrate in the southern part of the county was convicted of running an illegal gambling operation and using his office to protect it.

Next to them, a friendly elected official with one DUI barely gets noticed in the long run. I'm not excusing what he did, I think he was 100% wrong, but I just cant see Gov. Rendell removing him from office. The rest of the county officials, as I understand it, have no authority over him in this matter, since he was elected by the people.

[peter15317]

I forgot to add that there is also a Washington city councilman who was convicted of several DUIs last year, one of which was drug related (as in illegal drugs). He refused to resign and currently resides in the county jail, although he is allowed to come out of jail for council and other government meetings that he has to attend.