Probate judge who served time for DUI seeking reelection
A probate judge who served a short sentence in state prison earlier this year and has been barred from practicing law since last year is clambering for reelection.
In spite of Peter Mariano’s flagrant criminal misconduct — and despite a statement from the governor’s campaign that Mariano should not be a candidate — the disgraced judge is seeking a sixth term in a district comprised of Beacon Falls, Middlebury, Naugatuck and Prospect. The campaign is a test for the voters as well as the two candidates.
Mariano was arrested and charged last year three times for drunken driving and twice for driving with a suspended license. The videos of Mariano’s arrests revealed a jarring portrait of a judge who, drunk or sober, allegedly tried to use his connections and position in the community to avoid arrest. Mariano failed to intimidate police with repeated reminders to Naugatuck officers that he is a judge and knows their bosses.
Republican delegates rejected
Mariano and endorsed state Rep. Rosa Rebimbas, a Naugatuck Republican. She defeated Mariano in an August primary by a wide margin.
Mariano’s bid continues. Democrats in the district nominated Mariano as their candidate a few days after he completed an unusually brief jail sentence. Mariano had been a Republican. Shortly after losing the primary, he changed his voter registration and became a Democrat.
Not every Democrat welcomes Mariano to their team. Jake Lewis, Gov. Ned Lamont’s campaign spokesman wrote in an email on behalf of the Greenwich Democrat, “Judge Mariano
has served the people of the Valley for decades. While he continues to work on getting well, he should focus his energy there rather than serve another term as Probate Judge.”
In this partisan age, that’s as close to a rebuke as one candidate delivers to another candidate of his party.
Mariano gave up his right to practice law last year before his string of arrests. A hearing is set for Oct. 26 to decide if he gets it back.
In the meantime, Mariano has a campaign to run and a criminal record to apply lipstick to. In a letter to voters applying for absentee ballots, Mariano refers to his arrests as “my personal issues regarding alcoholism over a 30-day period 1 ½ years ago. I sought inpatient treatment for my addiction and I have pled to a first DUI conviction, and have been sober for over a year.”
Mariano omits more than he includes. He pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless endangerment. His sentence includes 18 months of probation — and the possibility of returning to prison if he were to violate its conditions. His sentence was four days in prison.
The Naugatuck Valley practices a tough brand of politics.
Rebimbas was not surprised when screenshots purporting to be records of her husband’s arrest in Rutherford County, Tennessee, appeared on social media. Her spouse, Ever Linares, was ensnared in a crime in Tennessee as a victim when his identity was stolen by a distant relative who was arrested in Tennessee more than a decade ago.
Back then, Linares learned of the impersonation when local police contacted him about an arrest warrant for someone with his name, according to Rebimbas. Photo identity documents — driver’s license and passport — and emails resolved the confusion and revealed the additional crime. Rebimbas did not hesitate to provide copies of documents this past week.
Despite Rebimbas’s proof that the story about her husband is false, bitter Mariano supporters are apparently spreading it to divert voters from the damning truth about Mariano. One charmer begins a comment on the false post, “I hope you tear her [Rebimbas] apart” and concludes with “God Bless you Pete.”
I watched hours of police video recordings of officers coping with Mariano’s criminal behavior. Drunks are never charming, amusing or innocuous in the crunch. They are drunk. In some videos, Mariano could not put one foot in front of the other or dial a phone in the local lockup, but he could summon the names of the Naugatuck police chief or his deputy to toss at a young officer trying to do his job and get the menace off the road.
Voters in the district’s four towns will decide between rewarding bad behavior by reelecting Mariano and standing with the police who resisted Mariano’s selfish intimidation. It seems like an obvious choice.