Staff reports

Police said he was driving 70 mph in a posted 55 mph zone%2C and had a BAC of .13 percent

He was stopped at 11%3A30 p.m. Wednesday near the Clinton Avenue exit on I-490

Redon offered his resignation to the mayor%2C but Warren declined

Deputy Mayor Leonard Redon is on personal leave after being ticketed late Wednesday for speeding and drunken driving on Interstate 490 in the city.

State Police stopped Redon at 11:30 p.m. near the Clinton Avenue exit. He was driving 70 mph in a posted 55 mph zone and had a blood-alcohol content of .13 percent, troopers said. A driver is considered legally intoxicated with a BAC of .08.

Redon, 62, recently was diagnosed with diabetes, and city officials suggested that contributed to the incident. He notified Mayor Lovely Warren of the arrest at 1 a.m. Thursday and later offered his resignation, but she declined. He is seeking counseling, the city said, and is expected to return to work next week.

The matter revived criticisms of an administration that seemingly had moved beyond a series of early setbacks — and added to the list of local, high-ranking officials cited for driving while intoxicated. That list includes Susan Walsh, who resigned as director of the Greater Rochester International Airport in the wake of her 2012 arrest, and Spencer Ash, a former city attorney who pleaded to a lesser charge last year and was later selected by Warren as the city's No. 2 economic development official.

"While I am very disappointed in this turn of events and the deputy mayor's lapse in judgment, I have accepted his apology," Warren said in a statement. "Leonard Redon is a valued member of my team who is doing good work on behalf of the people of Rochester. I know he is sincerely regretful for the embarrassment he has caused for the city, for me and for himself and will take steps to assure that it never happens again."

The deputy mayor was headed home in his personal vehicle from an unspecified personal event, according to the city.

He is identified in the State Police news release as living in Pittsford, but the city and voter registration records put his home address on North Plymouth Avenue, downtown near City Hall. The deputy mayor is required to live in the city.

Redon was given appearance tickets, driven home by an unidentified third party, and is to be arraigned in City Court on April 8. Reached by phone, Redon declined to comment.

In Monroe County and most other area jurisdictions, it is common for suspected drunken drivers to receive an appearance ticket rather than spend the night in jail, said lawyer Todd Wisner, who exclusively handles drunk driving cases, defending on average more than 120 clients a year. The opposite is true in Ontario County, he said, and odds are 50-50 in Wayne County.

Redon has no previous arrests for DWI or DUI, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Given that, it is unlikely he would face incarceration, if found guilty, Wisner said, but he is likely to have his license suspended when arraigned next month. He then could apply for a conditional license.

As for having diabetes, Wisner said it is rarely used as a defense but having diabetes can skew a breath test reading by about .06 percentage points (meaning .08 could become .14). And alcohol can, in certain circumstances and with some diabetics, trigger a condition with symptoms including slurred speech, dizziness and disorientation.

But all that is a highly scientific, medical and, in some ways, speculative. Wisner questioned even raising the matter at this stage. Unanswered was when Redon was diagnosed, what type of diabetes he has, and what his physical condition was at the time of arrest.

"Just having diabetes does not mean you have a shield to the charges," Wisner said, also noting that people can be arrested at less than .08 and reach that mark with a single mixed drink.

Experts from Rochester General Health System, Unity Health System and UR Medicine were not available to talk about the effect of alcohol on diabetes.

City spokeswoman Chris Christopher, while hesitant to go into detail on the medical issue, said, "What I understand, and what I have been told, is diabetes and alcohol is not a good mix. ... It affected what he could consume. Now he knows differently."

Warren met with Redon on Thursday morning, skipping a scheduled appearance at a 10 a.m. groundbreaking for a garden project in High Falls. News of the arrest broke shortly after 11 a.m., and the city called a news conference for noon. Warren did not attend, instead sending Christopher, who explained the mayor had a private meeting outside of City Hall at the time.

The city statement, released earlier in the day, read in part: "After speaking with the Deputy Mayor and learning of his newly diagnosed medical condition which may have affected his decision-making, they jointly concluded that he should take several of his allotted personal days to seek counseling from his personal physician," the statement said.

Redon is a holdover from Mayor Thomas Richards' administration. Richards appointed him to the position in July 2011. He had previously served as Paychex, Inc. vice president of western operations.

As deputy mayor, Redon assists the mayor in day-to-day operations and has direct oversight of all city departments except for police, the library and recreation and youth services.

BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/sharproc

Includes reporting by staff writer Patti Singer