OUR VIEW: DA very much owes an explanation

Editorials

July 29, 2010

Anonymous The Tonawanda News The Tonawanda News Thu Jul 29, 2010, 11:23 PM EDT

— — So Niagara County District Attorney Michael Violante believes he owes no explanation whatsoever to the public over his handling of the Sara Donovan DWI case.

Without putting too fine a point on it, the district attorney is full of crap.

Sara Donovan was let off on a DWI charge even though she hit two parked cars and was, beyond any doubt, drunk.

Sara Donovan is the daughter of a Republican NT councilwoman. Her lawyer, Henry Wojtaszek, was the former head of the Republican party here. Violante, also a Republican, ran unopposed for the open DA seat because Wojtaszek gave Violante his blessing.

If that sounds too cozy, it’s because it is.

If that sounds too cozy, perhaps Mr. Violante owes us an explanation. To say he doesn’t is damaging to the justice system in our community.

In his statement on the matter, which was dripping with the arrogance of someone who believes his decisions to be beyond scrutiny, Mr. Violante chastised the media for allowing questions over the Donovan case to “overshadow the hard work and dedication of this office and all of the positive work done in the hundreds of cases handled on a daily basis.”

A point of logic we might suggest the district attorney consider: The easiest way to make a question go away is to answer it.

Residents in North Tonawanda and across the county have expressed a fair outrage over the case. No one likes to think that average residents are subjected to harsher punishments than the people who have an in with those in power.

There is one simple reality that underlines this entire case: Prosecutors said the 23-year-old Donovan would have had her budding career as an accountant nipped had she pleaded guilty to an alcohol-related driving charge. When Violante authorized a deal that knocked her charges down to traffic tickets, he gave a deal to one person that virtually no one else in the same situation has gotten before.

Driving while intoxicated is a serious offense, even if it’s your first (as it was for Donovan). It carries serious penalties under the law and it comes with even more serious consequences to one’s personal life.

Every day across New York state, good people make this mistake — and they almost always face the consequences. Every day across New York state, good people lose good jobs because they make this mistake.

So why, Mr. District Attorney, shouldn’t Sara Donovan have been one of them?

Yes, sir, you very much owe us an explanation.

We’re waiting.

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