New Haven Independent

Bainer, 49, was given a sobriety test at the scene and then agreed to go to police headquarters where he consented to taking a breathalyzer test, police said.

Lt. Geoffrey Morgan said the breathalyzer test showed that Bainer’s blood alcohol content was 0.279 or more than triple the 0.08 legal limit. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, to reach a .08 BAC level, a 170-pound man would have to drink approximately four drinks in one hour on an empty stomach.

The accident took place at about 6 p. m Friday. Bainer was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs and with failure to obey a control signal. There are two overhead signals at the intersection. Bainer lives at 71 Cedar St., just beyond the intersection. He maintains his law practice at his Cedar Street address.

Reached at his office today, Bainer said he would have no comment on his recent arrest. Nor would he discuss his service on the police commission, the policy making board for the police department. He served a three year term as commissioner, beginning on February 7,1989, according to town records.

Vincenza Constantinople, 60, who had the right of way, collided with Bainer’s Ford Mustang as she drove her Honda Civic on North Main Street, police said. The Branford Fire Department responded to the scene. She and a passenger were taken to Yale- New Haven Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. She was released the next day. Police had no information about the passenger.

Bainer refused medical attention and told police he was not injured. He was released on a $500 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court July 8. Driving a vehicle while drunk is a misdemeanor.

Bainer, a solo practitioner, has been an outspoken critic of the Founders Village housing project for many years, erecting signs on his lawn to protest the project, which abuts his land. He has also intervened in the case, which is expected to settle soon.

Four years ago a civil federal jury in U.S. District Court in Hartford found that Bainer and Leonard Fasano, an attorney with Fasano, Ippolito & Lee in New Haven and a sitting state senator, violated a racketeering statute (RICO) by fraudulently helping a client hide assets.

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