Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa Pleads Guilty to DUI
The manager of the 2006 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, 28-year veteran Tony La Russa, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence from an incident in Florida during last year's spring training, in which police found him asleep at a traffic light with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.093.
This blog earlier reported that La Russa filed a request for a trial by jury. Rather than appear in court, La Russa filed a plea agreement to the misdemeanor charge of DUI.
In a statement he released through his lawyer, La Russa appeared penitent for his actions: "I accept full responsibility for my conduct, and assure everyone that I have learned a very valuable lesson and that this will never occur again."
As part of the plea agreement, La Russa will be put on probation for six months, pay a fine of $678.50, attend a DUI school and complete 50 hours of community service.
Ironically, La Russa passed the bar exam in Florida after he graduated from law school. I guess that legal training gave him insight into the plea agreement process, which saved him from six months in jail.