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Galluccio given ride home by police hours before crash

E-mail|Link|Comments () November 16, 2009 12:35 PM

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Cambridge police gave state Senator Anthony Galluccio a ride home early the morning of Oct. 4 when a gas station attendant called 911 and said he feared the lawmaker was "too intoxicated to drive," according to a police report made public today. Thirteen hours later Galluccio was behind the wheel and fleeing the scene of a crash after rear-ending a minivan and hurting a 13-year-old boy.

Senator Anthony Galluccio

Galluccio, a Democrat whose district includes part of Cambridge, has refused to say whether he had been drinking alcohol before hitting the minivan. The senator's office issued a statement this afternoon that said, "This is an ongoing legal process. Out of respect to all parties involved, I cannot comment until the process is completed."

Senate President Therese Murray said today in a statement that she was "very disappointed."

"The Senate will be prepared to act when there is a final disposition of his court case and all allegations," Murray said.

According to the police report, the gas station attendant on Concord Avenue called 911 at 4:39 a.m. "A male was being detained by a gas station employee because they felt he was too intoxicated to drive away," according to the report, which was written by Officer Michael Cherubino.

Cherubino and another officer responded to the gas station and recognized Galluccio, who was standing with a friend next to a Ford Taurus.

"We were approached by the other male who identified himself as [name deleted by police]," Cherubino wrote in the report. "This male stated that he was attempting to drive Mr. Galluccio home, but after several attempts, was unable to locate his residence on Sunset Road."

The friend asked the officers for help and handed over the keys to Galluccio's car. Galluccio climbed into the back seat of the marked police cruiser and the officers drove him home.

"Officer [Stephen] Kervick assisted Mr. Galluccio into his residence and returned his keys," the report states.

The senator left his car parked near the Basha Café, a Middle Eastern-themed nightclub on New Street that features belly dancers, according to the report and the nightspot’s website. Galluccio had spent the evening at the Basha Café, according to owner Daniel Markarian, but the nightclub closes at 1 a.m.

"I'm very strict because the liquor license is in my name," Markarian said today in an interview. "One o'clock, people are out the door."

Later that day on Garden Street in Cambridge, Galluccio hit the rear of the minivan with a family of four inside. The 42-year-old Cambridge senator hit the family's car at 5:30 p.m. with enough force that he left an imprint of his license plate on their van, which helped police track and cite him with leaving the scene of an accident.

"It was very poor judgment, and I have to accept responsibility for it," Galluccio, a former Cambridge mayor and city councilor, said in a 9-minute interview at his State House office last month after the crash.

Galluccio declined to answer numerous questions during that interview last month. He refused to say, for example, where he was coming from or where he was going. He has pleaded not guilty to leaving the scene after causing personal injury and causing property damage. The senator has had repeated driving problems, including at least two previous accidents involving alcohol.

The minivan was driven by Samuel Tager, whose 13-year-old son suffered minor injuries. The boy experienced numbness and has been treated as an outpatient, the father has said.

Andrea Estes and Andrew Ryan of the Globe staff contributed to this report.