IDOT Safe Driving Official Pleads Guilty To DUI
WHEATON, Ill. (STMW) -- An Illinois Department of Transportation official pleaded guilty Wednesday in DuPage County to driving drunk and was ordered to pay fines and court costs totaling $2,405.
Carmen Iacullo — who has represented the state agency at safe-driving programs — also was put on one year of court supervision by DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan and must wear an ankle device to ensure that he doesn't drink any alcohol for six months, said his attorney, Sam Tornatore.
And, under state law, Iacullo loses his driver's license for six months.
Iacullo, 58, of Chicago, was driving in Wood Dale with his wife on a Saturday night — Nov. 20 — when he was pulled over by a police officer who cited him for drunk driving and improper lane usage. According to Tornatore, tests showed Iacullo's blood-alcohol level was 0.09 percent, above the 0.08 percent level considered evidence of drunk driving under Illinois law.
Iacullo was driving his own car, according to his lawyer.
Iacullo retired from the city of Chicago's Department of Transportation in 2004 and took a job as a regional operations manager with the state Department of Transportation. Between his state salary and his city pension, Iacullo's annual income is over $200,000.
Iacullo will serve a 30-day, unpaid suspension, as a disciplinary action, and also is being reassigned from an operations manager job with IDOT to another administrative post "with access to state vehicles prohibited," according to Guy Tridgell, a spokesman for the state agency.
"Any recurrence will result in immediate dismissal," Tridgell said. "The Illinois Department of Transportation takes these issues very seriously. Violations by any of its employees will not be tolerated."
