WCNYH
Maintenance Man's Registration Revoked For Cocaine And Marijuana Use And Multiple DWIs
April 18, 2017
Patrick Walsh, 34, of Woodside, New York, who has been a longshoreman working as a maintenance man since 2003, had his registration revoked by the Commission today following an administrative hearing.
The evidence at the hearing showed that between September and December 2015, Walsh used cocaine on multiple occasions and that he used marijuana in May 2015.
The Commission also established that in August 2013 at approximately 9:00 a.m. in Queens, New York, Walsh was driving in an intoxicated condition when he broadsided another vehicle causing extensive damage to both vehicles and that he walked away from the accident without exhibiting his license or insurance card. Walsh was arrested by NYPD officers approximately seven blocks away from the accident when a witness identified him as the driver. Walsh reeked of alcohol. He subsequently refused a Breathalyzer test. In Queens County Criminal Court, Walsh was later convicted of Driving While Impaired, a violation, and received a one-year conditional discharge with a 90-day suspension of his driver license.
The evidence showed that Walsh was again arrested in November 2014 in Sparta, New Jersey, for Driving While Intoxicated after a Sparta Police Department officer observed Walsh fail to stop for a stop sign. Upon stopping Walsh’s vehicle, the officer noticed alcohol on Walsh’s breath and Walsh failed the field sobriety tests. Walsh was again convicted of Driving While Intoxicated and his license was suspended for 90 days.
The Administrative Law Judge found that Walsh’s explanation for using cocaine as a means of self-medication following a different automobile accident was unconvincing and that his use of cocaine was “the product of choice rather than desperation.” Given Walsh’s substance abuse, the Court determined that Walsh’s presence at the piers or other waterfront terminals constitutes a danger to the public peace or safety and recommended revocation of his registration. After considering the entire record, the Commission unanimously ordered that Walsh’s longshoreman registration be revoked.
|