David Andreatta

Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A City Court judge has been accused of violating the terms of her probation and is scheduled to answer the charge in court Thursday, judicial officials said.

Judge Leticia Astacio of Rochester City Court was sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years of probation earlier this month for violating the conditions of her 2016 drunken-driving sentence. She also was required her to wear an ankle monitor that detects alcohol consumption and was released from jail July 13 after receiving credit for time served.

Paperwork alleging that Astacio violated her probation was filed late last week, said Justice Craig Doran of the New York Supreme Court, the region's chief administrative judge, confirming a published report Tuesday.

Astacio will appear before Judge Stephen Aronson of Canandaigua City Court, who has presided over most of her tumultuous case.

► July 13:New York judge leaves jail after serving 60% of sentence

► July 6:Judge sentenced to 60 days jail, 3 years probation



Astacio was charged in February 2016 with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated as she was on her way to work. A state trooper testified he found Astacio's sport-utility vehicle on the side of Interstate 490 with extensive front-end damage and both driver's side tires flat.

She was found guilty of drunken driving after a bench trial in August 2016.

Doran said he could not provide details of the supposed violation. Neither the prosecution nor Astacio's lawyer immediately returned messages left for them late Tuesday; however, court records allege that she violated the terms of her probation on the day she was released from jail and committed two additional violations in the days that followed.

► June 9:New York judge found guilty, ordered to stay jailed

► June 7:Off-again, on-again lawyer can't get N.Y. judge out of jail

On July 13, she initially failed to plug in the base unit for an ankle monitor that would detect alcohol in her system. During the next two days, the monitor detected that she had consumed alcohol, measuring a peak blood alcohol content of 0.127%, according to a report her probation officer filed last week.

The legal limit for driving in New York is 0.08%, and a reading of 0.127% causes slurred speech, poor coordination and a clear deterioration of reaction time and control, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Failure to activate her ankle monitor and her subsequent blood-alcohol readings both were probation violations.

Astacio told her probation officer that her foot cream containing alcohol triggered the reading, the documents show. The cream — Boscia foot peel that retails for $20 at Sephora — also violated her probation conditions, which state she cannot use or possess any products containing alcohol.

► June 6:Embattled N.Y. judge fires her lawyer via text from sister

► June 5:New York judge arrested, led from courthouse in handcuffs

The allegations made warnings that Aronson and her defense lawyer issued at her July 6 sentencing seem prescient.

After unsuccessfully attempting to bargain for a straight prison term with no probation, lawyer Mark Young indicated at the time that Astacio would not comply with probation.

"She is not willing to do probation," Young said. "She will violate probation the moment you put her on probation."

Aronson replied: "Then we will come back (to court)."

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