Galluccio granted parole

On July 7, 2010, in Latest News, by The Somerville Times

Former state senator Anthony Galluccio will be released from prison July 14.

Former state senator to receive ‘supervised release’

By Tom Nash

Former state Sen. Anthony Galluccio will be released from jail July 14, following a decision by a member of the state parole board.

Parole board member Cesar Archilla wrote in his decision that Galluccio “expresses remorse” for the hit-and-run incident that set off his string of legal troubles and that he “would benefit from supervised release.”

The former state senator and Cambridge mayor was sentenced to one year in jail in January after he violated his probation for a hit and run car accident.

Galluccio’s sister, Lo Galluccio, said the family is looking forward to continuing work on his appeal of the probation violation conviction.

“Obviously we’re very happy that Anthony’s been paroled,” she said. “He really, really deserved it. Our hope is that some of the injustices done to him will be cleared up.”

Galluccio’s October 2009 accident, in which he rear-ended a minivan, injured a 13-year-old Cambridge boy. According to a police report, Galluccio had been driven home by police the same morning after a gas station attendant determined he was too drunk to drive.

The jail sentence resulted from a failed sobriety test administered three days after his initial six-months home confinement sentence. Galluccio initially claimed his toothpaste set off the testing device.

Galluccio resigned his state senate seat — which covers parts of Somerville and Cambridge — three days after he was sentenced to jail. A former staff member, Sal DiDomenico, was elected to replace him.

According to the terms of his parole, Galluccio will be required to attend alcoholics anonymous meetings at least three times a week and will be subject to alcohol-screening tests. The parole board decision said Galluccio has participated in alcohol abuse counseling while in jail.

Galluccio, 43, had been convicted of drunken driving charges twice before, in 1984 and 1997. Former Gov. Bill Weld pardoned him for the 1984 offense.

The parole board’s decision was Galluccio’s second attempt at an early release. In May, Archilla wrote that Galluccio’s release “remains a public safety concern.”

The attorney representing Galluccio in his appeal of his probation violation, Harvard professor Charles Ogletree, could not be reached for comment. The brief for the appeal can be found at www.justiceforgalluccio.com, a site his family members set up to advocate for the former senator.

Lo Galluccio said her brother “plans to continue working for the public,” although she said it was too early to tell whether he would run again for public office.

“I think he wants to get his feet on the ground,” she said. “He needs to do some things to get settled and just get his life back together.”