Sweeney in trouble AGAIN

CLIFTON PARK - Former Rep. John Sweeney had another brush with the law recently. Sweeney narrowly avoided being charged with theft of services after refusing to pay a cab fare for a ride from a strip club.

A law enforcement source tells NewsChannel 13 that the former congressman summoned a cab for himself and two friends while at a club in Clifton Park early on the morning of Dec. 27. When the cab arrived, Sweeney wasn't ready to go. So he asked the driver to bring two of his friends home and come back and get him.

The source says Sweeney still wasn't ready to leave when the taxi returned. The driver waited 45 minutes and then Sweeney got in the car and the driver brought him to his Clifton Park home.

The source says Sweeney refused to pay the $80-plus cab fare. The cab company called police. State troopers showed up at the Sweeney home, but he didn't answer the door. The source says troopers called Sweeney's attorney and asked that Sweeney come to the barracks to be formally charged.

However, according to the law enforcement source, Sweeney's family brought payment and "something for the driver" to the cab company. The company then notified state police that they wanted to withdraw the complaint.

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CLIFTON PARK, N.Y., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Former Rep. John Sweeney apologized after being charged with drunk driving in Clifton Park, N.Y., with allegedly twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

Sweeney was driving his 2004 BMW sedan when officers noticed him abruptly swerving out of the lane, the Albany Times-Union reported Monday.

Lt. Scott Coburn said officers smelled alcohol on Sweeney's breath and gave him a field sobriety test, which he allegedly failed.

A test of his blood-alcohol content showed 0.18 percent, more than twice New York's legal limit of 0.08 percent, police said.

Now, the 52-year-old Republican faces misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and aggravated DWI. The second charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail.

"I regret the occurrence," Sweeney said in a statement given to the New York Daily News. "I deeply apologize to my family and friends. I take full responsibility and I am hoping to work for a fair resolution."

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According to a New York State Police document unofficially obtained by the Times Union [pdf] Corporate Republican Congressman John Sweeney's wife told police last year that he was "knocking her around the house."

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Congressman John Sweeney (R-NY) went to a frat party. Drunk. And allowed a number of pictures to be taken. Which immediately showed up on the internet.

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Questions are hovering over John Sweeney's car crash on Vly Mountain Road like fruit flies over a stale glass of wine.

Let's ask a few of them. It was 9:50 p.m. Jan. 23 when Mr. Sweeney, our congressman, went off the right side of the road on a curve and took out a power pole, dumping live wires across the road. Donna English, who lives nearby, ran out to help and ended up standing uphill from the crash, turning back cars approaching the crash site.

From about 10 p.m. to nearly midnight, no state police officer came to help her or relieve her, she said, although another neighbor, Edward Lundberg, did carry up some flares. Then, she said, Mr. Lundberg told her he was going to get someone to help direct traffic.

Easton Fire Chief Steve Bott, who lives nearby, said Lundberg came to his house. Bott called the dispatcher. But when the dispatcher got in touch with state police, Bott said, state police said they had things covered.

Why did the state police allow Mrs. English to stand in the roadway directing traffic for nearly two hours? Is it customary for the state police to rely on neighbors to direct traffic at crash sites, at night and in the cold and when live wires are involved?

Why did the state police reject the help of the fire department? Trooper Kevin Saunders, who was on the scene, has said he did not conduct any field sobriety tests on Mr. Sweeney. But Chic Wilson, the owner of the Willard Mountain Ski Center, has said that Mr. Sweeney was in his bar that night and the bartender remembers him having one or two glasses of wine.

Did Trooper Saunders ask Mr. Sweeney if he'd been drinking? If Trooper Saunders did ask, why didn't he test Mr. Sweeney? I cannot imagine that any trooper, coming upon a one-car crash with no obvious cause, would be willing to take the word of a driver that he'd had just one or two drinks.

Originally, Trooper Saunders said he didn't call a supervisor from the scene. But then state police Captain Frank Pace said Trooper Saunders did call a supervisor from the scene. If he did make a call, what was he told about how to handle Congressman Sweeney?

Since that night, Mr. Sweeney has said nothing about the crash publicly. He has refused to take numerous phone calls from the press and has not issued a statement. Why hasn't he explained what happened?

Why have his spokesmen said repeatedly that the crash was no big deal? It was a big deal to the skiers stranded on the Willard Mountain chairlift when the power went out. It was a big deal to the homeowners and the farmers along the road who lost their power all night. And it was a big deal to Donna English, who stood in the cold for nearly two hours to make sure no one got hurt.

But I guess Mr. Sweeney's spokesmen aren't thinking about anyone else's inconvenience. I guess they're thinking only about Mr. Sweeney and how they can manage things so his reputation survives this crash along with his good health.

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BALLSTON SPA-- No jail time for the son of Republican Congressman John Sweeney despite him pleading guilty to felony second degree assault as the result of a fight which seriously injured the victim.

In a rare action, Fulton County Judge Richard Giardino reversed his earlier decision to sentence John J. Sweeney, 19, of Schaghticoke and John J. Manupella of Troy, also 19, to jail for a brutal assault of another teen last year that left the victim with long-term vision damage and recurring nightmares. He will also have to undergo reconstructive dental work after losing one tooth and having three other teeth chipped in the assault.

The pair had pleaded guilty to second degree assault last month in a plea bargain negotiated with the Montgomery County district attorney's office in exchange for a sentence of four months of weekends in jail or 45 consecutive days in jail plus probation and community service.

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Why isn't Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., being held accountable for his alleged role in starting the Miami mayhem that may have cost Al Gore the election?

Yeah, it's guys like this who passed judgment on Bill Clinton, and this is what we have to look forward to if Republicans regain power.