Arrested Judge/'officer of court'/former prosecutor's Bag of Tricks

Lavallette police detail arrest of Bridgewater judge
Gannett - New Jersey by Kara L. Richardson - August 27, 2009

A judge for a Municipal Court in Somerset County, charged with drunken driving and accused of being belligerent to officers here, was taken to a hospital following his arrest Saturday, police said. Police on Thursday detailed the episode involving Bridgewater Municipal Court Judge Stanley F. Rizzolo, whom they said they stopped at 11:41 p.m. Saturday on Route 35 South near Brown Avenue because he was swerving. The incident escalated from a motor vehicle stop to multiple charges against the judge, including obstruction of justice, and a trip to the hospital for him, according to Police Chief Colin M. Grant. "If he knows the process, then just let the guys do their job. If he wasn't intoxicated, he would have been on his way," Grant said. Rizzolo is facing charges of driving under the influence, obstruction of justice, failure to maintain lane, reckless driving, refusal to submit a breath sample, and a violation of a municipal loud and unusual noise ordinance. He is scheduled to appear in Lavallette Municipal Court on Sept. 22. The judge declined to comment Thursday on the police report. Rizzolo said he is retaining an attorney and is awaiting an opportunity to prove his innocence in court. Rizzolo has served as a Bridgewater's Municipal Court judge for a year. He will remain on the Municipal Court bench in Bridgewater. However, he will not hear cases that conflict with his current charges, Township Administrator Jim Naples has said. According to Grant, based on information from Officer Andrew Baldino's report, Rizzolo's eyes were watery Saturday during the motor vehicle stop. His speech was slurred, and there was an odor of alcoholic beverages coming from him, according to Grant. Rizzolo told Baldino that he swerved because his cell phone rang, Grant said. Rizzolo said he was coming from the Surf Club in Ortley Beach and had consumed a few drinks earlier in the day, according to Grant. Grant said that struck him as odd because Rizzolo was headed south toward the Surf Club. Baldino asked Rizzolo to perform a few field sobriety tests, and the judge agreed. Rizzolo told the officer he was familiar with the tests because he had served as a municipal prosecutor. He passed both the alphabet test and the counting-backward test, Grant said.

Baldino asked Rizzolo if he had any physical ailments that would prevent him from performing the balance test. Rizzolo said he had a bad back, and that he had hurt his ankle that day. Baldino then asked Rizzolo to perform the Romberg balance test, where he would have had to stand with his feet together and tilt his head back with his eyes closed. Rizzolo said he could not do the test because he gets vertigo, according to Grant. Because Lavallette police officers are required to perform three field sobriety tests, Baldino then called Sgt. John Andrews, who is trained in the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, during which the sergeant would have observed Rizzolo's eye movements as he followed the path of an object. When Andrews arrived, Rizzolo explained that he already had passed the counting-backward test and the alphabet test. That, according to the report, is when Rizzolo became angry. "He was then refusing to listen and says it (the horizontal gaze nystagmus test) is not admissible in court, and under no circumstances is he going to take the test," Grant said. Rizzolo then became belligerent and began to shout profanities, according to Grant. Andrews then arrested Rizzolo on charges of obstruction of justice and suspicion of driving under the influence. According to the police report, while in the patrol car, Rizzolo said, "Get me out of here. My heart hurts!" Rizzolo slumped down in the back of the police car and would not respond to more questions in the vehicle, and two officers — Baldino and Officer Charlie Russell — had to carry him into police headquarters, Grant said. Police said Rizzolo refused to sign the Miranda rights form and demanded to talk with his attorney. According to Grant, he was "screaming that he's not supposed to be here, and all he wanted to do is go home." Rizzolo was asked if he had diabetes, which is a standard question during a driving-while-intoxicated arrest, Grant said. Rizzolo replied, "Yes." Rizzolo continued to say he was ill, and Grant said he started to gag. According to Grant, Baldino asked Rizzolo, "Are you sick?" Rizzolo said, "Yes, I have a reaction to false arrests."

Russell, trained as an emergency medical technician, then gave oxygen to Rizzolo. An ambulance took him to Community Medical Center in Toms River, Grant said. On the way, Rizzolo refused to answer questions about his medical history, Grant said. However, this time when the crew asked Rizzolo if he had diabetes, he said, "No," according to Grant. Russell and hospital staff had to restrain Rizzolo a few times as he attempted to leave the hospital, according to Grant. Rizzolo also refused to give a blood sample, Grant said. He was issued a summons for failure to submit a breath or blood sample and released to the care of the medical center staff, Grant said. "To me it's a case of we had one more test to conduct, and none of this would have been taken to what it was," Grant said. "For whatever reason, Mr. Rizzolo decided not to comply." Rizzolo has served as Bridgewater's Municipal Court judge for a year. He replaced Richard Sasso, who was charged with being inebriated while serving on the bench and other alcohol-related incidents. Sasso has been barred from holding any judicial office in the state.