Actor Joseph Gannascoli, who played Vito Spatafore on The Sopranos, was arrested June 18, 2010, in Tampa on a DUI charge. He was arrested at about 3:00 a.m. at 3629 West Kennedy Boulevard. Mr. Gannascoli was in town to promote his new cigar, The Cugine.
According to law enforcement, the Sopranos actor was pulled over because he made a wide right turn onto Kennedy Boulevard from Armenia Avenue, then began to weave, straddling lane markers as he drove down the road. Once Tampa Police pulled the vehicle over, the officer noted that Mr. Gannascoli had a distinct odor of alcoholic beverage about his breath and his eyes were watery and bloodshot. According to the officer, Mr. Gannascoli was unable to perform a field sobreity test and was transported to the jail where he provided a breath test sample of .111.
A Driving Under the Influence charge in Florida can carry serious consequenses such as high fines, increased insurance premiums, loss of driver's license, probation, and even jail time. If you find yourself in Mr. Gannascoli's position, you will need to hire an experienced Tampa DUI Attorney to make sure that your rights are protected and to possibly avoid some of the harsh penalties that a DUI conviction carries. Taking Mr. Gannascoli's case for example, a Tampa DUI attorney would examine several critical stages that occur in almost every DUI traffic stop.
1. Was the officer even justified to pull Mr. Gannascoli over in the first place? Specifically, was Mr. Gannascoli's driving pattern so erratic that it would lead to no explaination other than to suggest an impaired driver was behind the wheel?
2. Was the officer legally justified in having Mr. Gannascoli perform field sobriety exercises? Additionally, did the officer ask Mr. Gannascoli to perform the exercises or was he ordered to perform them?
3. Did the officer have enough probable cause to even arrest Mr. Gannascoli?
4. Was the breath test administered properly? Was the Implied Consent Law read correctly? Was the machine in working order? Did the officer manipulate the machine to obtain a higher reading?
The above are only SOME of the MANY areas that an experienced Tampa DUI attorney would examine to make sure Mr. Gannascoli recieved the best result possible.
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