| For Immediate Release Case # 10WM04206
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Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
FORMER BELL CITY MANAGER SENTENCED FOR DRIVING WITH .28 BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL AND CRASHING INTO NEIGHBOR’S MAILBOX
WESTMINSTER – A former Bell city manager was convicted today of driving under the influence of alcohol with a .28 blood alcohol level and crashing into his neighbor’s mailbox. Robert Adrian Rizzo, 56, Huntington Beach, pleaded guilty to a court offer to one misdemeanor count each of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or more with a sentencing enhancement for having a blood alcohol level of .20 percent or more. He was sentenced to complete a 9-month first-offender alcohol awareness program and 10 days of community service.
At approximately 10:00 p.m. on March 6, 2010, then-Bell City Manager Rizzo was driving to his Huntington Beach home while under the influence of alcohol. Rizzo drove into his neighborhood through an alleyway, unintentionally passed his home, and crashed into his neighbor’s mailbox while attempting to enter his driveway. Witnesses called 911.
When contacted at the scene by Huntington Beach Police Department officers, Rizzo displayed objective signs of intoxication including blood shot and watery eyes, slurred speech, unstable balance, and emitted a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. Rizzo’s balance was so unsteady that officers stopped him from completing his field sobriety tests for his safety. Rizzo had a blood alcohol level of .28 percent, over three times the legal limit.
Deputy District Attorney Brock Zimmon of the Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted this case.
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