Resigned Bridgewater Judge, Acquitted of Drunken Driving, Wants His Job Back

By Charles Toutant

New Jersey Law Journal

December 28, 2009

Stanley Rizzolo, who resigned as a Bridgewater municipal judge in August following his arrest on drunken-driving and other charges, hopes to return to the bench now that he's been acquitted of the most serious offenses.

On Dec. 23, after a four-day trial, Ocean County Superior Court Judge Ronald Hoffman found Rizzolo not guilty of drunken driving, refusing to take a breath test and reckless driving but guilty of careless driving. Rizzolo was fined $150 and assessed court costs.

His lawyer, Michael Pappa, says Rizzolo resigned due to the timing of his arrest, news accounts of which referenced Rizzolo's predecessor in Bridgewater municipal court, Richard Sasso, who quit following charges by a disciplinary panel that he presided in court while under the influence of alcohol and medication. The Supreme Court upheld the charges against Sasso and on June 2 banned him from the bench for life.

Rizzolo's arrest stirred up a "white hot" controversy, says Pappa, of Rudnick, Addonizio & Pappa in Hazlet. "He resigned his position because he thought it was the best thing for himself and for the town. He wanted to remove himself and the town from the spotlight. Had there not been that prior situation, he would not have resigned," he says.

Rizzolo was stopped on Aug. 22 in Lavallette. Police said he could not maintain a single lane on Route 35 and he smelled of alcohol. Rizzolo admits that he crossed the center line, but only because he was using a cell phone while driving, according to Pappa. He told an officer he had had "a couple of drinks."

When the officer asked Rizzolo to recite the alphabet, and then count backwards from 99 to 79, he passed both tests easily, says Pappa. But when he was asked to perform balance tests, he said he had back trouble and an ankle injury that would make it hard to pass. Then, when he was told he was under arrest and was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police car, he began to hyperventilate, says Pappa.

At the police station, Rizzolo agreed to take a breath test but when his hyperventilating continued, he was instead taken by ambulance to a hospital. He refused to give a blood sample, which is within his rights, Pappa says. A doctor, after concluding Rizzolo had suffered a panic attack, gave him a sedative.

In the absence of a breath test, police sought to convict Rizzolo based on the observations of his conduct by the three officers who were at the scene. They said Rizzolo was faking his hyperventilation, but the officers' testimony was full of inconsistencies, says Pappa.

"In my mind, it was not a strong case for D.W.I. or refusal," says Pappa.

Hoffman granted a defense motion to dismiss an obstruction-of-justice charge before trial. Hoffman also dismissed the noise violation at the end of the state's case. A charge of failing to maintain a lane was merged into the careless driving charge, Pappa says.

The municipal prosecutor who represented the state in Rizzolo's trial, Kim Pascarella, could not be reached. A phone listing in Pascarella's name has been disconnected.

Since his Aug. 30 resignation, Bridgewater has been left with only one judge, William Kelleher Jr. "I just hope whoever is in charge will do the right thing and step up to the plate and give him his judgeship back," Pappa says.

Bridgewater's solicitor, William Savo, was on vacation and could not be reached and its administrator, James Naples, did not return a call about the Rizzolo case.

Former Bridgewater judge cleared of DWI, other charges

From the Newark Star-Ledger

BRIDGEWATER - Four months after resigning in the wake of a drunken-driving arrest, a former Bridgewater municipal judge was cleared of all but one charge last week.

Stanley Rizzolo, who was arrested Aug. 22 in Lavallette, was found not guilty of DWI, refusal to take breath tests and reckless driving in Ocean County Superior Court on Wednesday.

Superior Court Judge Ronald Hoffman found Rizzolo guilty of careless driving.

Hoffman threw out three charges: obstruction of justice, failure to maintain his lane and violating a local loud and unusual noise ordinance.

"I'm grateful I was vindicated," Rizzolo said today when reached at his Somerville law practice.

Rizzolo, a 55-year-old Bridgewater resident, stepped down from the bench shortly after his arrest, citing that he didn't want the charges to burden the township.

But while Rizzolo said today he reached out to Bridgewater officials about regaining his job, it seems that won't happen.

Jim Naples, Bridgewater's business administrator, said he told Rizzolo the town is not filling the position because officials recently restructured the town's court system and are sticking with only one judge, not two.

Rizzolo said he was also hoping to become a municipal judge in surrounding towns before the arrest.

"I'm not sure that's going to happen," he said.

The incident started at 11:41 p.m. when Lavallette police stopped Rizzolo's car for swerving, Police Chief Colin Grant said. Rizzolo said his cell phone had rung, but the officer smelled alcohol on his breath and noticed his speech was slurred and his eyes were watery, Grant said.

Rizzolo passed two field sobriety tests but said he would have a problem performing a physical coordination test because he had a history of back problems and a recent ankle injury, police said.

After refusing to take a third test, Rizzolo claimed to have vertigo, repeatedly yelled that his head hurt, laid down in the back of a police car and was eventually taken to a nearby hospital via ambulance, police said.

Rizzolo declined to comment on case, referring those questions to his attorney.

Mike Pappa, Rizzolo's Hazlet-based attorney, said Rizzolo started to hyperventilate after being placed in the police car and was diagnosed with having a panic attack at the hospital.

"It all kind of makes sense because of the fear he felt that his whole career was passing in front of him during his arrest," Pappa said today.

Ozello's father called it "a miracle" that his son is able to walk today after suffering brain trauma, cracking six vertebrae, fracturing his skull in three places, and fracturing his sternum.

"In that respect when you look at it, when you look at the whole picture, you're thankful he's not in a wheelchair or dead," Frank Ozello Sr. said. "I mean, that's what it could havebeen, so we've become very religious. Who else can you thank?"

But the family continues struggling with how to move their lives forward and how to deal with recent setbacks to Frank Jr.'s recovery. The family is suing New Brunswick, charging the city failed to properly inspect the property at 68 Senior St. before the accident exposed several dangerous structural problems.

Among the violations were broken windows, damaged handrails and an outdoor stairway that was in danger of collapsing, city officials said. Inspectors also found the owner had removed ceiling joists to install a spiral staircase from the second floor to the attic, possibly compromising the home's integrity.

The suit also names as a defendant the landlord of the house, Jason Cyrus of Monroe, whom New Brunswick officials said once lived there but moved out and turned the house into a rental property without notifying the city. Bill Bray, a city spokesman, said Cyrus' false representation exempted the property from inspections every three years.

Bray said the house has been vacant since inspectors deemed it uninhabitable hours after the accident. He also said the city has taken no action on the property other than to padlock the house.

Cyrus could not be reached for comment. Ozello's lawyer said he has never been able to reach Cyrus, and that at least 10 letters had been sent to him to notify him about the lawsuit.

Ozello's lawyers also said the company that provided Cyrus' homeowner's insurance dropped him, and that Cyrus then filed for bankruptcy. It is unclear whether Cyrus has an attorney.

Working his way back

Ozello, a second-year student at Brookdale Community College in Monmouth County, remained for two weeks in the coma after the fall, leaving his family - and police - wondering if he would wake up. Once he did, he spent six weeks at the brain trauma unit at JFK Medical Center in Edison, then received outpatient therapy until May.

"I'm definitely thankful I'm all right," said Ozello, now 20.

Ozello had a seizure early last September, about a year after the accident, keeping him from reapplying for his driver's license. He had another seizure in early October, and doctors have increased his medication.

Other recent developments have concerned his family. Tests after the recent seizures showed increased amounts of abnormal brain activity around the injured area, his father said, adding that the family is awaiting the results from more exams.

"They can't give us any answers right now,"Frank Sr. said. "Basically he's increased the medicine, keeping his fingers crossed and hoping that''s effective."

Frank Jr., who otherwise has control of his body and senses, continues to recover. He runs four times a week at the Retro Fitness gym in Howell, works part-time at a Walgreens store, and takes a class on heating, ventilation and air conditioning two nights a week at a vocational school in Freehold.

But losing his driver's license has stymied Ozello Jr.'s return to normalcy. He can't return to Brookdale to resume a full course load, and the family is searching for a way to shuttle him from place to place.

He's still high-spirited, but very upset," Frank Sr. said. Especially when he was so close to getting back to school and getting back to normal."

Frank Sr. said ha has no idea what the future holds for his family. He hopes the lawsuit will draw attention to what he called a "disgrace" of an inspection system in New Brunswick.

A troubled history

Documents provided by Frank Jr.'s attorney, James Addonizio of Hazlet, show a pattern of disrepair long before Cyrus bought the property in September 2006.

City-issued inspection notices dating to October 2005 advise former owner Bharti Patel of several violations at the time: illegally using the basement as a sleeping area, unapproved renovations, damaged handrails and ceilings in need of painting.

The city issued temporary certificates of code compliance to the owner on Jan. 1, 2006, and Sept. 27, 2006, when the sale took place, between Patel and Cyrus on the conditions that the violations be addressed, according to Division of Inspections paperwork. A notice from the city Department of Administration indicates that the house passed inspection on April, 20, 2007.

A year and five months later later, after the accident, the city cited some two dozen violations on the Senior Street property. Aside from the structural problems, inspectors found the basement and attic were illegally converted into bedrooms for extra occupants, and that the home was without smoke detectors and carbon-monoxide alarms.

But Bray, the city spokesman, said the city's hands were tied. Cyrus showed a recent driver's license that listed his address as 68 Senior St. when he bought the property, but never notified the city when he moved out and started to rent the house.

With the city believing that Cyrus lived at the home, and with no tenants coming forward about the conditions, Bray said it was "difficult, if not impossible," for the city to have addressed any of the issues.

'We had no authority to make the routine inspections and we did not receive any complaints," Bray said. He later added, "Had someone picked up the phone and told us about the steps and the condition they were in, we would have taken action to have the situation rectified."

As they wait to see what comes of their lawsuit, the Ozello family still questions how the house was able to pass muster even before it changed hands.

"You go to an off-campus house, and you would think that they're inspecting them, they're doing the right thing," Ozello Sr. said. "But the house was so dilapidated and so bad, that I don't understand how this guy can close on a house."