April 7, 2021- 10:21 p.m
MANSFIELD, NJ – Drunken driving charges against Lambertville Mayor David DelVecchio were dropped in Mansfield Municipal Court. DelVecchio, who was represented by Philip Faherty, Lambertville’s longtime municipal attorney and prosecutor, agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charges and admitted he drove recklessly and swerved out of his lane before police stopped him.
DelVecchio, 58, was arrested in Mansfield and charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and failure to maintain a lane during a traffic stop on Route 130 shortly after 1 a.m. “I’m relieved that the most important charges have been resolved,’’ DelVecchio said following the hearing.
Faherty said that the arrest reports indicated that DelVecchio was polite and cooperative throughout the arrest in pleading for minimum fines. Municipal Court Judge Dennis P. McInerney imposed a fine of $206 and $32 in court fees, which DelVecchio paid before leaving court.
DelVecchio failed the field sobriety tests administered by Mansfield Police at the time of the stop, but had no trace of alcohol during two Breathalyzer tests at police headquarters, according to Faherty. DelVecchio told officers he had been drinking earlier in the night, “but that was over the period of several hours,” Faherty said. Faherty, who was hired by DelVecchio privately, using his own money, said he could have set up a court date to argue against the reckless driving charge too, but in the interest of expediency he accepted the plea deal.
“As a mayor, I have taken a strong stand against drunk driving in my own community, and would not act in a way that is contrary with that belief,’’ DelVecchio said in a statement
