Crime & Safety
Serial Drunken Driver Returns to Court for Violating Probation
57-year-old man who was stripped of license for 17 OUI convictions and hasn't held a license for nearly 20 years reportedly violated his probation twice in past couple years by driving again.
Charles Stefanilo Jr. was permanently stripped of his driver's license eight years ago and hasn't really had one for nearly 20 years, but that hasn't stopped him from at times getting behind the wheel of a canteen truck he owns for his catering business.
Stefanilo, 57, who lists addresses in Peabody and Medford, will be back in court Jan. 27 to face charges in an accident from this past summer when he reportedly rear-ended a car with his canteen truck in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston.
The Salem News reports the reason Stefanilo hasn't held a license is because of 17 drunken driving convictions, the first one dating back to 1977. A number of repeated offenses between 1995 and 2004 kept his license in limbo until it was permanently revoked in 2005 after he pleaded guilty during his last OUI conviction.
The Salem News reports Stefanilo was sentenced to five years in jail with two years suspended. When he was released, he was given 25 years of probation upon condition he didn't drive. He then started up his business and hired drivers.
According to news reports, this is the second time he's ended up in court now for violating his probation by getting behind the wheel and he's yet to see any further jail time.
You can read more on the case in the Salem News here.
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