Northampton

He's not saying Sno Kone Joe bullied him to the bottle.

Phillip Hollister does admit, however, that he had "three or maybe four" drinks in 30 minutes before he got behind the wheel of his two-ton Mr. Ding-A-Ling ice cream truck Friday night and nearly barreled head-on into a Fulton County Sheriff's deputy.

"I was vending ice cream at the fireworks, and when it got done I went to a bar to have a few drinks," Hollister said. "I wish I didn't do it. And I don't recommend it."

Hollister, 53, was fired shortly after his driving while intoxicated arrest. But in his five-month stint as a Mr. Ding-A-Ling driver he managed to garner a remarkable amount of news coverage.

Hollister is the same driver who complained to Gloversville police that a rival Sno Kone Joe truck had been tailing him around the city, shouting to him that they "own this town" and trying to pry his customers away with promises of free ice cream.

The fallout from the turf war became a punch line on national news and talk shows as the Sno Kone Joe drivers were arrested on harassment charges, were refused a permit by the city and then petitioned to get that permit back.

The case wound up in state Supreme Court, where it dragged on for four weeks, eating up 30 hours of court time and thousands of taxpayer dollars. Sno Kone Joe eventually lost.

Now, neither Hollister nor the Sno Kone Joe drivers will be selling Bomb Pops or Fudgsicles on the streets of Gloversville anytime soon. Hollister is scheduled to answer to his DWI charge in Northampton Town Court on Aug. 15.

At 12:10 a.m. Saturday, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office say Hollister nearly collided with a deputy's cruiser on Route 123. He allegedly had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 percent at the time of his arrest, nearly twice the 0.08 percent legal limit.

Hollister had vended ice cream all night at a fireworks show in Northville. He said he didn't drink while dishing out sugary treats but decided to "have a few cocktails" after the show wrapped up.

The owner of Mr. Ding-A-Ling, Brian Collis, said he ran a background check before hiring Hollister.

"He had a clean (driving) record," Collis said. "Not a speeding ticket, nothing."

Collis said another driver would soon taking Hollister's route, which covers parts of Fulton and Montgomery counties.

"We're getting the truck back right now," Collis said Wednesday afternoon.

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As for Sno Kone Joe, Gloversville Mayor Dayton King said the charges against Hollister won't change his mind about barring Mr. Ding-A-Ling's competition from the city. Complaints against Sno Kone Joe's drivers, Joshua Malatino and Amanda Scott, had been mounting for years from other Mr. Ding-A-Ling drivers and another vendor, Mr. Pop Pop. Malatino and Scott still have criminal charges pending against them and are due in Gloversville City Court July 29.

"It's not like Phil Hollister was the only one making complaints," King said. The mayor said he was disappointed to learn about Hollister's arrest. "He's out there with a 4,000-pound ice cream truck playing Russian roulette."

Hollister was not one of the more than half-dozen witnesses who testified during the city's lengthy court case against Sno Kone Joe. Sno Kone Joe's lawyers did, however, show a video where they said Hollister could be seen dancing to Sno Kone Joe's music and giving its drivers the finger in front of young children.

Hollister said he isn't sure what he's going to do now that he's lost his job. He's looking to get into home remodeling. "I could really use some work," Hollister said.

bfitzgerald@timesunion.com • 518-454-5414 • @BFitzgeraldTU