The NYPD detective accused of drinking and driving in an incident that killed 67-year-old Bronx grandmother Drane Nikac in October 2009 will receive his pension, regardless of whether he is convicted of a felony in the case. The Post reports that Kevin Spellman, a 24-year-veteran of the department retired in April, and will collect around $49,000 a year. more ›

The former Bronx Assistant District Attorney who was charged with a DWI after an accident on the Major Deegan Expressway pleaded guilty to drunk driving this morning—and got off with no jail time as a result. Jennifer Troiano, who was allegedly "treated like a queen" and given preferential treatment after the accident, was fired from her job Jan. 13, and she was apologetic in court today: "I accept responsibility for my actions," she told the judge. "It was my distinct honor to serve the people of Bronx County as an assistant district attorney. Finally, I am deeply sorry for what I have done and harm I've caused others." more ›

A fund-raising party in East New York for slain NYPD officer Peter Figoski's family ended with an officer crashing his service vehicle in what appears to be a drunk driving incident. According to DNAinfo, 31-year-old Christopher Morris was on-duty when he was arrested for DUI and refusing to take a Breathalyzer test around 5 a.m. this morning. “He got pretty bombed early in the evening, when the party started," a source tells the Daily News. Morris was allegedly put on desk duty at the 75h Precinct after his colleagues realized he was so intoxicated, but the paper states he "somehow drove a marked cruiser back to the fundraiser a short time later." more ›

Seven people were injured in a multi-car accident in Harlem early this morning. According to police, the incident occurred at Madison Avenue and 130th Street around 5:15 a.m. this morning. Two drivers were taken into custody at the scene with DUI's. "I heard noises around 5:30am," witness Richard Dawson, who was staying at his grandmother's house near the scene, told DNAInfo. "My grandma called the fire department right away." more ›

New York Public Library president Anthony Marx is not going to be driving again for awhile. Marx pleaded guilty today to driving while intoxicated back in November. No more sloppy Sunday afternoon drives for Marx! more ›

An investigator for the city's Business Integrity Commission was charged with DUI early this morning after his Camry collided with a minivan in a high-speed crash under the FDR. Witnesses tell the Post that 29-year-old Jesse Strauss was going at least 100 mph down South Street around 4:45 a.m. when he hit a minivan as it was turning onto Clinton Street. "I heard two blowing horns and tires screeching simultaneously, then I heard a huge smash," another witness tells the Daily News. Sanitation workers helped Strauss flee from the wreckage despite a broken leg, and the driver of the minivan was in stable condition at Bellevue. more ›

New York Public Library president Anthony Marx was charged with DWI, DUI and operating a motor vehicle while impaired after "he sideswiped a parked vehicle with a... car registered to the library," yesterday afternoon, Metropolis reports. Police say that Anthony Marx had a blood alcohol level of 0.19, which is more than twice the 0.08 legal limit. more ›

Many celebrity progeny *COUGH TheodoraRichards COUGH* use their parents' wealth and connections to secure preferential treatment. Such is life. So it was somewhat refreshing to read Julie Pacino openly talk about her recent DUI with humility: "I never want it to happen again," she tells the Post. "I was always raised with perspective, and my mom always kept me in check and made sure that I never felt entitled or that I deserved anything because of something my father did." more ›

Friends and colleagues of the NYPD officer who busted Bronx ADA Jennifer Troiano for DUI last August claim that he was unfairly punished for making the arrest. In January, Elliot Zinstein, one of a handful of Orthodox Jews on the force, was transferred from the 44th precinct in the Bronx to the 94th precinct in Greenpoint because according to his superiors "the neighborhood needed more Jewish cops." more ›

Thanks to the city's illuminating ticket-fixing probe, more details are emerging from a DUI arrest of an NYPD officer last Thanksgiving, as his colleagues allegedly tried to quash the incident, the Daily News reports. Cops found Anthony Rodriguez slumped over the wheel of his illegally parked car in the Bronx with "five open beer bottles" in the car with him. Rodriguez told the arresting officers "I'm a cop. I want a delegate," and refused to submit to a Breathalyzer test. That evening, a sergeant and a union delegate "made calls to borough patrol cops to try and erase" the charge but because Rodriguez was "physically threatening" during the arrest, they refused. more ›

Parade arrangements are still forthcoming, but this we do know: a Manhattan jury acquitted former QB Chris Simms of driving under the influence of marijuana after under two hours of deliberation, DNA Info reports. After shockingly not deploying the "Rasta Defense," Simms had his friend testify earlier today that he was actually The Smoker, and not Simms. Clearly, the system works; which is what Simms is conveying with this hand gesture. more ›

Earlier today, a tour bus overturned on the southbound New England Thruway, killing 13 people. Yesterday afternoon, another bus avoided such a tragedy, when a bus driver of a NY-Baltimore BoltBus was arrested for allegedly driving drunk. more ›

Rolanda Watts, who was once a WNBC and WABC reporter and anchor and later hosted her own talk show, was arrested yesterday morning in Los Angeles for suspicion of DUI. TMZ reports, "Watts was busted at 1:30 AM in Hollywood and was booked into jail in Van Nuys at 4:07 AM. She is currently being held on $15,000 bail." more ›

If you learn nothing else from this story of a retired chief fire marshal allegedly drunkenly crashing into an unmarked NYPD car in Queens, it's that asking "Is there any way out of this?" probably counts as some thing that can and will be used against you. Retired chief Louis Garcia was arrested on December 22nd for speeding through a stop sign at 147th Street and Sixth Avenue in Queens and crashing into an unmarked NYPD car being driven by Officer Michael Kerrigan, hurting both Kerrigan and his passenger. He reportedly asked cops, "Is that a city car? Is there any way out of this?" The short answer is no. more ›

Former Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz was acquitted today of a DUI manslaughter charge, stemming from the 2007 car collision which left one woman dead. Leyritz was found guilty of a lesser misdemeanor DUI charge, for which he faces six months in prison. On Dec. 28, 2007, after celebrating his birthday club-hopping in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Leyritz was in a car crash with 30-year-old Ann Veitch. Blood alcohol tests showed that both Veitch and Leyritz, who denied responsibility for the crash back in 2008, were under the influence. Leyritz settled the civil suit earlier this year, and will pay $1,000 a month for 100 months to Veitch's family. more ›

Okay, so Robert Carroll didn't tip over a 500 gallon cup of milk, but the 23-year-old Staten Island resident did drive the wrong way on Route 440 in Perth Amboy, towards the Outerbridge Crossing, colliding with a milk tractor-trailer earlier this morning. According to MyFoxNY, "The mangled tractor-trailer and burned car could be seen blocking all but one lane of northbound Route 440," and the tractor-trailer's driver was taken to the hospital. Carroll was charged with DUI and hazmat crews had to clean up the milk. more ›

After being arrested for DUI in Franklin Lakes, NJ on Wednesday, former Mets and Yankees pitcher Dwight Gooden spoke to reporters yesterday but didn't want to talk about the arrest, "When the time is right I will…but now's not the right time, sorry." But his agent is definitely talking. more ›

A jury found Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV not guilty of driving while intoxicated, but convicted the uptown politician of the traffic violation of driving while impaired—a lesser offense that can carry up to 15 days in jail. The judge gave the Powell a $300 fine and rejected a prosecutor's request to outfit the lawmaker's car with a device that would keep it from starting if it detected alcohol. "What happened to me is what's probably happened to most, if not, all young men of color in this country," Powell, 47, told the Post. "When cops lie, anybody can be guilty." more ›

The attorney representing Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV says video of his client taking sobriety tests proves that the uptown political scion is not guilty of drunk driving charges. "The video is the best evidence here," said lawyer Stacey Richman during closing arguments, according to the Post. "You tell me if he's swaying ... Look at the tape." more ›

Two years after he was pulled over on DWI charges for weaving in his lane and tapping his brakes on the West Side Highway, Adam Clayton Powell IV's trial is finally getting started. Authorities played a tape of the Harlem political scion inside Manhattan's 28th Precinct after his March 2008 arrrest that shows Powell repeatedly changing his mind about taking a second breathalyzer test, then appearing to pass several sobriety tests in which officers asked him to touch his nose, balance on one leg, and walk a straight line. more ›

Last month Lt. Timothy McCarthy, a 28-year NYPD veteran assigned to the Brooklyn North Task Force, was quietly charged with five misdemeanors, including driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident. The NYPD didn't any release information about the arrest, but one tabloid caught wind of it this week, and filed a vague report on this latest episode of NYPD Blotto. more ›

A drunken hit-and-run driver was a dead duck by the time police found him, slumped unconscious over the wheel of his Chevy minivan in Dyker Heights. After striking a pedestrian in his 50’s as he was crossing the street, 24-year-old Luis Cuamai attempted to flee the scene, but crashed into a parked car two blocks away and knocked himself out. According to the News, cops found him around 3:30 p.m. yesterday and charged him with drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident, among other things. As for the victim, "He was lying in the middle of the street with blood pouring out of his head," said one witness. Despite that grim report, he is now at Lutheran Medical Center where doctors say he should survive. more ›

An off-duty cop is facing DWI charges after he crashed his vehicle into a parked car last night in Woodside, Queens. Officer Matthew Woods—who is assigned to the narcotics bureau—was under the influence when he lost control of his car on 65th Place between Woodside Avenue and Queens Boulevard, a police spokesman told the Daily News. There were no injuries in the crash, and if history is any indication, he'll likely be able to plead down to lesser charges. more ›

All of the 55 NYPD cops charged with drunk driving since 1999 pleaded down to non-felony charges and almost every single one of them remained on the force. Although the NYPD can fire any cop "who causes serious physical injury to another person while operating a motor vehicle and is determined to be unfit for duty due to the consumption of alcohol," a Daily News investigation reveals that officers accused of drunk driving often keep their jobs after pleading guilty to lesser offenses like driving while impaired or disorderly conduct. more ›

In 2008, police accused state Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV of drunk driving when he was spotted driving erratically on the West Side Highway. But after two years—and multiple delays—his trial still hasn't begun, raising questions about whether his case has been adjourned repeatedly because of his political clout as the son of a famed Harlem lawmaker. "It certainly has all of the bells and whistles of 'Hmm,'" defense lawyer Mark Cohen told the Times. "I would think that the typical client who is not attending to, quote unquote, state business does not get the courtesy to put his sink in or perhaps go to a trade show." more ›

The off-duty Jersey City cop who killed a woman and injured her boyfriend while driving drunk has been sentenced to 3.5 to 10.5 years in prison. "There's not a day that goes by that I wish I could trade my life for the victim's," said Martin Abreu, 26. "Everyday I live this. I'm going to live it for the rest of my life." more ›

A Queens Chinese deliveryman is dead after being struck on his scooter yesterday by the drunk driver of an SUV. After hitting Jiangiu Chen, the motorist Richard Conreras allegedly sped off, and dragged the man briefly. Cops found the 28-year-old driver—who was previously arrested for DWI in September—on Greenpoint and Bradley avenues near his home. "I know I hit someone. I was in a vehicle accident, and I’m on my way home," he said at his arraignment today. more ›

A Queens man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing a car and hitting and killing two pedestrians when he was drunk and on pills. Kenneth Guyear pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter yesterday in the deaths of Robert Ogle, 16, and Alex Paul, 20, who were killed in Middle Village in February, according to the Post. The judge sentenced Guyear to the maximum prison term for the offense after he confessed to having five or six drinks and consuming two Xanax pills before stealing a car that was idling in front of a deli and striking the victims. Guyear — as well as the man whose car was stolen and the parents who allowed the underage victims to drink at their home before the incident — still face a civil suit from Ogle's parents. more ›

A Queens mother is suing the city because her daughter was killed by a drug-addled driver when she was supposed to be in foster care. Algerlin Willis announced on Wednesday that she intends to file a $10 million suit against the Administration for Children's Services and Little Flower Children's Services of New York for the October death of her 15-year-old daughter, Katherine, who perished when a woman who had smoked crack, used heroin, and drank alcohol earlier in the day drove a van full of foster children into oncoming traffic. more ›