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Galluccio fails breathalyzer tests, blames toothpaste

E-mail|Link|Comments () December 22, 2009 09:13 PM

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

Senator Anthony D. Galluccio at a November court hearing

By Milton Valencia and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

State Senator Anthony D. Galluccio failed several breathalyzer tests today, a possible violation of his probation just four days after he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and began serving a 6-month sentence of home confinement.

But Galluccio immediately blamed the breathalyzer readings on his two toothpastes, saying they contained sorbitol that could generate false readings.

"While I knew that mouthwash or cold medicine would set the machine off, it did not occur to me that toothpaste would," he said in a statement. "I am fully committed to sobriety and continuing treatment, and remain focused on serving my constituents."

The sentence Galluccio received required that he abstain from alcohol during his two-year probation. If he's found to have violated those terms, the Cambridge Democrat faces up to a year in jail. He could appear in court as early as Wednesday for a detention hearing.

Galluccio uses a court-issued breathalyzer at home. Galluccio's probation officer wrote in a document filed today in Cambridge District Court that the "subject had several positive readings today."

But Galluccio said, "After discussing it with a physician, we have determined that is the result of my using two toothpastes -- Colgate Total Whitening and Sensodyne Toothpaste, both of which contain sorbitol."

Galluccio appeared briefly today in Cambridge District Court, the documents show. Interviewed outside the courthouse by WHDH-TV, he had a container of Sensodyne toothpaste in his hand.

The office of Senate President Therese Murray released a statement saying, “We expect Senator Galluccio to comply with the terms of his probation.”