Ron Book, who crashed his Lamborghini in a DUI case, walks
Powerhouse lobbyist Ron Book, who crashed his Lamborghini into another vehicle on Interstate 595 and refused to take a breath test, pleaded no contest Thursday to reckless driving — and will walk away without a criminal record.
But he’s still the target of a lawsuit over the crash at Nob Hill Road, Davie, in early 2019. The other vehicle in the crash rolled over, and the driver, Deryk Luis Rivera, is suing Book for an unspecified amount over $30,000.
Book, who lives in Plantation, is among the most powerful lobbyists in Tallahassee. His official client list includes AutoNation and the governments of Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and he is the father of State Senator Lauren Book.
Book is also a personal friend of Mike Satz, who was Broward State Attorney at the time of Book’s arrest. Because of that conflict of interest, Satz asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint a prosecutor from Collier County to handle the case.
Prosecutors originally charged Book, 67, with two counts of DUI (one with property damage) and one count of careless driving. All are misdemeanors.
Under a deal reached with prosecutors,
Book will not serve time in jail and he will emerge from the ordeal without a criminal record, a legal move known as “withhold of adjudication.” Withholds are not available in DUI cases, but they are not uncommon for first offenders in reckless-driving cases.
In this case, Book’s attorney said there was considerable doubt that his client was drunk at the accident scene. Book suffered from medical conditions that explained his inability to pass a field sobriety test, and he didn’t need to take a breath test because there was no reasonable cause to suspect he was drunk, said defense lawyer David Bogenschutz.
A trial date in the civil case has not been set.