A Dorchester man was released on personal recognizance - but ordered to attend AA meetings - at his arraignment today on a variety of charges for an incident in South Boston early Saturday in which he allegedly stole a car, fell into a drunken stupor at a traffic light, accelerated when two Boston cops woke him up, then offered them $10,000 to let him go, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.
Derek Froio, 29, was charged with OUI, receiving a stolen motor vehicle, negligent operation and attempting to bribe police officers, the DA's office reports. In addition to AA meetings, South Boston Municipal Court Judge Pamela Dashiell ordered Froio to submit to random alcohol tests. He is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Dec. 16.
The DA's office provided this account of what happened in Perkins Square:
Assistant District Attorney Jim Duffy said that on Saturday at about 1:57 a.m. Boston police responded to West Broadway in South Boston and were flagged down by an individual who said his vehicle had been stolen. The individual pointed to the vehicle, which was stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of East Broadway and West Broadway. Officers approached the vehicle and knocked on the window to alert the driver, Froio, who appeared non-responsive. Officers opened the door and instructed Froio to put the vehicle in park. Instead, Froio stepped on the gas, nearly striking the officers.
The vehicle travelled several feet before coming to a stop, at which time officers removed Froio from the vehicle and handcuffed him. Officers observed Froio to be unsteady on his feet, slurring his speech, smelling of alcohol, and having red and glossy eyes. After being placed under arrest, Froio became extremely agitated and said "[My] dad is going to kill [me]… how much is this going [to] cost, 10 Gs?"
Froio refused to take a breath analyzer test and resisted being fingerprinted. While being booked, Froio told officers that "I'll send you both $5,000 each to make this go away… I get there is a moral compass, but we all need money. That’s a vacation."
Innocent, etc.