Dems call for inquiry into DWI plea

DA, councilwoman stonewall on questions over DWI-turned-speeding ticket

By Neale Gulley Niagara Gazette

LOCKPORT — The Democratic leader of the Niagara County Legislature is calling for an investigation into the county’s Republican district attorney following allegations he cut an unusually lenient deal to the daughter of a political ally who had been arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Calling it a “black eye on Niagara County,” Minority Leader Dennis Virtuoso, D-Niagara Falls, called on District Attorney Michael Violante to explain why he offered Sara Donovan — daughter of NT Councilwoman Nancy Donovan — a plea deal to two traffic tickets following her DWI arrest July 11. Donovan hit two parked cars while on her way home from a bar on Webster Street, registering a 0.13 percent blood alcohol content on blood, breath and urine tests.

Violante and Nancy Donovan were both separately approached in person by reporters prior to Tuesday night’s Legislature meeting and both declined to answer questions about the situation.

Sara Donovan, 23, was charged by NT police with DWI following the accident, but at a court appearance Thursday, she was allowed to plead guilty to two non-alcohol-related traffic infractions — a deal that two DWI experts have told the News is highly unusual, given strict laws governing DWI sentencing in New York state. She was ordered to pay a $280 fine and attend a DWI Victim Impact Panel session.

The judge in the case has said he sanctioned the plea offer because a DWI conviction would have cost Donovan her job as a certified public accountant, a punishment he thought was too harsh for the crime.

“(Donovan) had a 0.13 blood (alcohol) level, almost double the legal limit; she hit two parked cars and now it’s two (traffic) tickets?” Virtuoso asked from the floor of the Legislature. “No classes? No license suspension? Nothing? I want to know what the reason for that was. If I don’t like the answers, I’ll call for a (county) Board of Inquiry — or I’ll go to the Attorney General if I have to.”

Nancy Donovan, who attended the regularly scheduled NT Common Council work session, was approached by reporters prior to the gathering and declined comment.

“I have no involvement and that’s why I have no comment,” she said when approached by reporters as she entered North Tonawanda City Hall on Tuesday evening for a regularly scheduled council work session. “I would hope you’d respect my family’s privacy.”

Violante, who was approached last week by Sara Donovan's lawyer Henry Wojtaszek seeking the plea deal, was confronted by a reporter at his office in the Niagara County Courthouse in Lockport.

While initially pleasant, his demeanor quickly changed when he was asked about his handling of the case. Of the questions, Violante said “I’m not answering them,” and walked away.

Ted Brenner, Violante’s deputy district attorney whose hand-written note authorized the plea, also declined to comment.

Donovan, Violante and Wojtaszek are all have deep ties to the Republican Party in Niagara County. Donovan is a long-time GOP lawmaker in North Tonawanda. Violante ran unopposed for the DA’s office with the blessing of Wojtaszek, who at the time was the Niagara County Republican Committee chairman.

North Tonawanda police have said they are sure Sara Donovan was driving the gray Saturn involved in the accident and that her blood-alcohol content was measured properly and well over the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Yet no explanation has been offered by Violante's office as to why they took the exceptional step of sparing Donovan from having to plead guilty to an alcohol-related crime, which is standard procedure for the vast majority of DWI-related cases in New York. Such a guilty plea would have carried a larger fine and several related consequences, including a temporarily restricted or revoked driver's license.

Wojtaszek, Donovan's lawyer and the former Republican party boss, said on Friday he believed the sentence for his client was justified, but declined to say why.

Virtuoso demanded to know why normal protocol wasn't followed in Donovan's case.

“It’s highly irregular to deviate from the DWI section of Vehicle & Traffic law, especially when the driver ... hit two cars. ... It’s unheard of ... If there’s a reason, make it public.”

Asked following Tuesday's meeting whether he agreed with Virtuoso’s call for an investigation, Legislature Chairman William Ross, C-Wheatfield, said he wasn't sure whether it would be appropriate for the body to involve itself in the matter.”

“I’ll have to think that through,” Ross said. “(Violante) is an elected official; it’s up to him, not the chairman of the Legislature,” whether he wants to answer the questions.

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