PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Richard A. Licht, Governor Chafee's director of administration, was taken into custody for suspicion of drunk driving by the Massachusetts State Police last week, then released after he passed a breathalyzer test, authorities said Tuesday.
LICHT
Licht was stopped at 10:20 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, on Route 128 in Westwood, Mass., where he and his wife, Cambridge District Court Judge Roanne Sragow, have a home.
The former lieutenant governor and lawyer, who joined Chafee's administration in 2011, was driving erratically, said state police spokesman David Procopio. Licht had slurred speech, glassy eyes and the odor of alcohol, and failed three of four tests that comprise a field sobriety test, Procopio said.
He was then taken to the Framingham barracks, where he made two phone calls seeking "legal advice," then passed a breathalyzer test with a blood alcohol level of .05, under the .08 legal threshold for being charged..
The police issued Licht a warning for a marked lanes violation for his erratic driving.
In a statement to The Journal, Licht called the warning appropriate, saying he was using his cell phone and not paying full attention to the road.
"The State Police officer asked me if I had been drinking and I told him that after leaving work, I had one drink with dinner," said Licht. "This was well within the legal limit. I voluntarily took both field sobriety and breathalyzer tests. The breathalyzer results established that I was not under the influence. This was a case of distracted driving, nothing more . . . I am grateful for this wakeup call that I should pay better attention while driving."
CORRECTION: The original posting of this item misspelled the last name of Mass. state police spokesman David Procopio.