Staniszewski appears for hearing, expected to take plea
Washington City Councilman Matthew Staniszewski appeared in court Friday for a proceeding related to his drunken-driving arrest in August.
Assistant District Attorney Cassidy Gerstner and defense attorney Sean Logue conferred briefly with District Judge Ethan Ward, who forwarded the DUI charge to Washington County Court of Common Pleas. Logue told the court Staniszewski, 42, does not contest the charge.
Following the hearing, Logue said he expects to meet with members of the DA’s office in the coming weeks to discuss a plea agreement to resolve the case, which is being treated as a first offense.
He added his client already completed 31 days of inpatient rehab at DreamLife Recovery, an addiction treatment center in Westmoreland County.
Logue said Staniszewski is working to maintain his sobriety in an outpatient program and is attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to help himself stay clean.
“He’s been doing great,” Logue said.
Staniszewski is free on bail, which Ward set at $25,000 during an earlier hearing.
City police filed the DUI charge – and a summary count for open containers of liquor that were in his car – against Staniszewski after officers said they found him passed out in his vehicle on East Wheeling Street near Shaffer Avenue. It was about 1 p.m.
He was apparently intoxicated. He refused a blood test when police took him to Washington Hospital.
The case is Staniszewski’s first DUI since he pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2008. In that case, he received time in county jail and $3,025 in fines. He was allowed to be released to work and attend AA and council meetings during the jail sentence.
State law treats a first DUI in 10 years or more as a first offense.
Staniszewski was elected to his current four-year term on council in 2017.
Logue said his client owns up to what he did.
“Everything that we’ve done here … it’s all based on Matt’s orders to me, his lawyer, that we’re not contesting the charges,” Logue said. “We’re going to take responsibility, and that’s what we’ve done here today.”