In a recent ruling, a Westchester County village court judge dismissed a drunken-driving charge against Lawrence Garvey, the longtime chairman of the Rockland County Republican Party, after determining that the traffic stop leading to his arrest was unjustified.
Garvey, who has led the Rockland County Republican Committee for a decade, was initially arrested on December 3 following a traffic stop on Interstate 287 in Elmsford. State troopers reported that Garvey failed all field sobriety tests and refused multiple requests to undergo tests to measure his blood-alcohol level. The trooper who pulled over Garvey’s Audi SUV cited a broken tail light as the reason for the stop. During the interaction, the trooper noted Garvey’s slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and the smell of alcohol.
Despite these observations, Garvey refused a roadside breathalyzer and twice declined blood tests after his arrest, according to police reports. However, Garvey’s defense argued in court that the stop was improper. His attorney pointed out that, although the vehicle had a broken tail light, the brake and turn signals were fully functional, meeting the legal requirement for tail lights.
Village Justice Alphonse Naclerio sided with the defense, ruling that the broken tail light did not provide sufficient probable cause for the traffic stop. As a result, the DWI charge, as well as two tickets for the brake light, were dismissed on October 9.
“This case should never have been brought in the first place, and I’m glad the court agreed and cleared my name,” Garvey said in a statement following the decision.
According to the arrest report, Garvey was returning from an event at the time of the stop, which coincided with a campaign fundraiser for Rep. Mike Lawler, a fellow Rockland Republican. The fundraiser, held earlier that day in Bronxville, was attended by prominent GOP figures, including House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Garvey has served as chairman of the Rockland GOP since 2014 and is seeking re-election this year amid ongoing legal disputes with fellow Republicans.
Omg he got a DWI and he doesn’t get charged with it the system is sick
So no favoritism under the law, right? I don’t need to ask what party Naclerio belongs to, do I? Would any of us have had our case dismissed? I think not. And people wonder why we have lost all respect for our institutions.
Of course having a broken tail light on a vehicle IS grounds to stop the driver and when it was apparent that Garvey was drunk the trooper was within his rights to ticket him. Obviously the guy was driving drunk and it is outrageous that Naclerio decided the way he did. – shades of “I could shoot someone on 5th Ave and get away with it”. That justice should immediately be removed from the Court and disbarred. This was blatant preferential treatment of a drunk who could have killed innocent people.