With Special Car, County Gets Serious About DWIs

Putnam County is getting tough on intoxicated motorists.

Despite police on multiple levels arresting suspected drunks in record numbers across the county, Putnam's STOPDWI program has received a Special Traffic Options Program to Combat DWI grant that is being used to further rid area roads of the potential deadly drunk.

Putnam STOP-DWI Coordinator Gene Funicelli and the agency's administrator Naura Slavinsky welcomed representatives from a variety of police agencies as well as members of the District Attorney's staff to a meeting last week at the Probation Department to discuss a new STOP-DWI vehicle being used by each of the county's village and town police agencies. Funicelli explained that funds for the program's operation come from fines collected for DWI and related-type offenses.

Slavinsky said the main thrust of the county's STOP-DWI program was to increase awareness relating to the dangers of drinking and driving.

Last week the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported some startling statistics about drinking and driving: "A 12-ounce can of beer; a 5-ounce glass of wine; 1.5 ounces of 80 proof liquor and a 12-ounce wine cooler all contain the same amount of alcohol."

How much is too much? A female weighing 140 pounds will be deemed intoxicated if she consumes three drinks within an hour, while a man weighing 170 pounds will record a blood alcohol level of .08 percent if he consumes four drinks within the same 60 minutes.

While a blood alcohol level of .08 is grounds for DWI in New York State, Slavinsky said a level of .02 makes one's judgment impaired.

The new technology, called a plate reader, contained in the STOP-DWI car will identify to the officer through technology whether the driver of a particular car is operating his or her vehicle with a suspended or revoked license, and whether the vehicle itself is being operated with a revoked or suspended registration.

First Sgt. Paul Boscia of the Putnam Sheriff's Department reported an arrest last week in which a Putnam Valley motorist was arrested for the sixth time for DWI. Richard Dunphy, 44, was arrested by the Sheriff's Department following a traffic stop in Putnam Valley. Dunphy has four prior DWI convictions and one previous DWAI conviction on his driving record, yet the man was behind the wheel.

How can this happen?

District Attorney Adam Levy blamed the system: "Most jurors see a defendant coming into court well-dressed, represented by counsel, and say to themselves: 'This could be me!'" He said the current jury system often prohibits a prosecutor from introducing prior DWI convictions so the jury will never hear about the defendant's record. This ensures that the jury hearing the case will not convict or acquit based on the defendant's propensity but on the evidence presented for the specific incident."

Levy said decisions on whether or not prior arrests can be introduced at trial follow a complicated and complex series of pre-trial hearings.

Levy returned last week from Albany where he taught young prosecutors how to successfully prosecute DWI cases. The D.A., a former defense counsel who represented dozens of individuals charged with DWI, explained how to interview police officers, what to look for during field sobriety tests, and paperwork completion. "Prosecutors must get their feet wet by learning run-of-the-mill DWI cases as often as possible, so that when a vehicular homicide case comes along the prosecutor is prepared. Disposing cases by pleas doesn't do the young prosecutor any good, nor does it to the young men and women patrolling the streets of our communities and making arrests."

Lt. Michael Cazzarri of the Carmel Police Department called the new STOPDWI car a "great asset. It was operated around the clock for the past month and the numbers of arrests were amazing. This is a tremendous tool. Cars were being pulled over throughout Carmel and Mahopac each day. This has been a very positive endeavor."

Funicelli said each police department would get the car on a monthly basis.