Cops: (Pa Gov-elect) Rendell aide arrested for erratic driving, drugs (heroin possession)

Philly.com ^ | December 3, 2002 | By NICOLE WEISENSEE EGAN

[MeekOneGOP]

	Posted on Tue, Dec. 03, 2002
	Cops: Rendell aide arrested for erratic driving, drugs By NICOLE WEISENSEE EGAN weisenn@phillynews.com Charlie Breslin, a personal aide to Gov.-elect Ed Rendell, was arrested by Philadelphia police yesterday on suspicion of drug possession and reckless endangerment, police said last night. Breslin, 45, of Glenside, Montgomery County, was driving a black Lincoln Town Car on the grounds of the Veterans Administration Medical Center, at 39th Street and Woodland Avenue, about 11 a.m. yesterday when he jumped the curb and nearly ran over a VA cop, police said. The VA cop stopped Breslin and searched him, finding heroin, a needle and some Xanax in the car, officials said. The VA cop called Philadelphia police but was told no wagons were available to take Breslin to Police Headquarters at 8th and Race streets, where Breathalyzer tests are performed. About 3:30 p.m. the VA cops finally took Breslin to the Southwest Detective Division at 55th and Pine streets for processing, police said. By then it was too late to test him for any drugs or alcohol in his system, officials said. While it is not clear what Breslin was doing on the grounds of the VA hospital, he had a VA hospital ID card, officials said. Capt. Stephen Glenn said cops are recommending to the district attorney's office that Breslin be charged with reckless endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of drug possession. Glenn said Breslin likely will be arraigned today. Breslin has been with the Rendell gubernatorial campaign since last January. He is a personal aide to the governor-elect whose duties largely involved driving the candidate around and helping him with scheduling. While Breslin told cops he worked for Rendell, the Town Car was not registered to the campaign so cops at first feared it might be stolen. However, as of last night, someone from Harrisburg was supposed to pick up the vehicle, officials said. Ken Snyder, spokesman for Rendell's transition team, released a statement last night. "Charlie Breslin has been a loyal, dedicated and extremely effective aide to the Rendell for Governor campaign," the statement said. "This is a very regrettable situation. If in fact this turns out to be a drug issue, Charlie will obviously need rehabilitation therapy and we will support him to make sure he gets the treatment he needs." Breslin was expected to be held at Southwest Detectives last night, Glenn said. Staff writers Dave Davies and Catherine Lucey contributed to this report.

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© 2001 philly and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com

[MeekOneGOP]

Here ya go, thanks !

[Poohbah]

Bad boys, whatcha gonna do
whatcha gonna do when they come for you
Bad boys Bad Bad boys
whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

[lelio]

If in fact this turns out to be a drug issue, Charlie will obviously need rehabilitation therapy and we will support him to make sure he gets the treatment he needs.
What are the odds that if he were a normal citizen he would be thrown in jail first?

[MeekOneGOP]

Cops: (Pa Gov-elect) Rendell aide arrested
for erratic driving, drugs (heroin possession)

I'm using this to start a Pennsylvania Ping List. Please let me know if you want OFF. Thanks.

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Pennsylvania ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[republicanwizard]

Anyone who wants to come and slap a Pennsylvanians for electing this jerk, be my guest.

My arm is falling off from all this work. It is very tiring.

Looks like we have four years of a high-strung, emotionally unbalanced, liberal, wife-cheater ahead.

[republicanwizard]

Go ahead. Ping me.

[Bella]

This explains why he wore the dark glasses all the time.

[razorback-bert]

They work with a guy and fail to notice that he is an addict and claim they can run the state.

[republicanwizard]

It's Ed Rendell...

I despise him now. He outspent Fisher 3-1 to win this election. In 2006, we have to find someone with deep pockets to destroy Eddie. However, the PA media is our first target to destroy.

[oneday]

good post...here's an interesting follow-up from the Philly Inquirer:

Rendell aide has conviction record

By Thomas Fitzgerald, Barbara Boyer and Josh Goldstein
Inquirer Staff Writers

Charles Breslin, the personal aide who rarely left Gov.-elect Ed Rendell's side during the campaign, has a lengthy record of convictions on charges - including drugs and aggravated assault - that stretch back to 1977, Montgomery County court records show.

Breslin was arraigned early yesterday morning on misdemeanor heroin possession and reckless-endangerment charges, after federal police stopped him Monday for erratic driving on the grounds of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Philadelphia. He was released on his own recognizance.

Rendell said that he knew Breslin had drug problems but believed his friend had turned his life around. He said he was unaware of Breslin's criminal record and noted that the campaign did not conduct background checks on employees and consultants. Breslin never seemed impaired at work, Rendell said.

"Had I known about the record, I wouldn't have had him work for me, only because it would have been a political liability - because of all of you," Rendell told reporters assembled yesterday in Center City for a meeting of his advisory task force on the state's crisis in medical-malpractice insurance.

But more than anything, Rendell said, the case is a tragedy for Breslin. "If anybody out there thinks the worse of me, so be it, but I am not embarrassed to have had him work for me, and I would match his decency and integrity and the heart he has with almost anybody out there," Rendell said.
Because federal officers did not release Breslin to Philadelphia police within three hours, he was never tested to determine whether he had been driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, police said yesterday.
It took nearly five hours for federal police to process Breslin and turn him over to Philadelphia police after they pulled him over for driving erratically and found him in possession of six packets of heroin, 25 pills, and a syringe, police said.

By then it was too late to meet state requirements for testing a suspect to determine whether he had been driving under the influence of drugs, said Philadelphia Public Affairs Inspector William Colarulo.

Breslin, 45, of Glenside, worked for Rendell's campaign as a driver and also helped with fund-raising and organizing meetings. Breslin was paid $28,000 in consulting fees between November 2001 and Oct. 8, according to state campaign-finance records.

No one answered the door at Breslin's apartment on the 500 block of Edgehill Road.

In 1977 Breslin pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to aggravated assault, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in 1978 to possession of narcotics. In 1983 when he was facing another narcotics charge, the court ordered him to undergo treatment at a Horsham drug and alcohol clinic.

In 1986 he was arrested in Abington on a warrant charging him as a fugitive on credit-card fraud charges in Atlantic City. He pleaded guilty in 1993 to a charge of auto theft after failing to appear in court several times over seven years.

For two years beginning in May 1993, Breslin was under the supervision of Philadelphia probation authorities for a Montgomery County drunken-driving conviction, according to Philadelphia court records. He successfully completed the probation in 1995 and has had no other contact with the Philadelphia criminal-justice system, court records show.
"We forgive. We are a nation that gives people opportunities," Rendell said. "As long as he didn't hurt other people, and I have had no indication that he has... we should all hope for his rehabilitation and recovery, just like we do for everybody else."

Regarding the handling of Breslin's arrest, Colarulo, of Philadelphia Public Affairs, said: "Once Mr. Breslin was brought to Southwest Detectives, he was handled in the proper manner and by the book, and he was treated like any other prisoner."

He was detained about 11 a.m. after driving over a curb while entering hospital grounds and nearly hitting federal Officer Rafael Rios, who was checking identifications.
"The police officer was on the curb, and he jumped out of the way to avoid getting clipped by the car," said John Callahan, spokesman for the medical center.

Rios asked Breslin for his license, and Breslin appeared "disoriented," Callahan said. As he was pulling items out of his pockets, the officer saw a syringe. Several glassine packets of heroin were mixed among his belongings as well, Callahan said.

In addition to the heroin and syringe, police found 25 pills - 23 of them were Xanax, a prescription antianxiety drug. Callahan said that Breslin is a patient at the hospital who is regularly scheduled for doctor appointments there. Although he did not have an appointment Monday, Callahan said, Breslin had requested to see a doctor.
Rendell said Breslin was a military veteran who was receiving disability benefits for head injuries suffered during training, but he did not know details.

Federal officers handcuffed him and brought him into the medical center to be processed, Callahan said. Federal officers notified Philadelphia police and consulted with Pennsylvania State Police because he identified himself as an employee of Rendell's.

"He told them pretty quick who he worked for, and he was in possession of the governor's schedule," Callahan said.
Breslin told authorities he was supposed to pick up Rendell later in the day, Callahan said.

Federal officers had to confirm that the car, which was leased, had not been stolen, Callahan said. Breslin was allowed to see his doctor, and officers had to figure out which police agency would take jurisdiction.

"That's an emphatic no," Callahan said, responding to questions about whether Breslin had received preferential treatment. "Whether we could have processed him in less time or whether it should have taken more time, we can argue that another day."

Had Breslin been pulled over a block away from the medical center by Philadelphia officers, Philadelphia police directives require that a supervisor be called to the scene to determine whether a suspect should be tested for driving under the influence, Colarulo said.

If there is probable cause, such as driving erratically, the suspect is taken to the Police Headquarters in Center City to be tested. If the suspect refuses to submit to the test, driving privileges are suspended for a year.

Privileges are also suspended if a person is convicted of driving under the influence of drugs.

Until Breslin had been transported to Southwest Detectives, federal officials had not detailed the circumstances of his arrest to Philadelphia police, Colarulo said. By then, it was too late to test him for drugs, he said.

Around 5:30 a.m. yesterday, Breslin appeared via videoconferencing from Southwest Detectives before Bail Commissioner Patrick Stack at the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center, said District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Cathie Abookire.

Breslin was released on his own recognizance and told to hire a lawyer. He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 13. If convicted by a Municipal Court judge of both counts, he faces a maximum three years in prison.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Rendell aide has conviction record

It's ok, officer, I'm a democrat!

[Leisler]

Perfect state worker, nods off all the time.

[Pining_4_TX]

The Houston Chronicle article on this was tiny, and it never mentioned the governor's party. I'm sure it would have been a headline, had he been a Republican.

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL !

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks. You're on.....