Hilton’s Prosecutor
The Los Angeles city prosecutor who condemned Paris Hilton’s early release from jail as celebrity favoritism is now under fire for special treatment given to his wife. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, had claimed special treatment for Hilton by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca because of her early release from jail. Delgadillo had chided Baca for freeing Hilton early into house arrest for unspecified medical problems.”If law enforcement officials are to enjoy the respect of those we are charged with protecting, we cannot tolerate a two-tiered jail system where the rich and powerful receive special treatment,” he said at the time. His office insisted on a 45-day sentence, which lawyers said was more time than most serve for similar offences. Now Delgadillo has admitted special treatment for his wife after a story appeared in the Los Angeles Times that she was wanted for arrest for nine years. The Times reported a warrant for Michelle Delgadillo was issued by a judge in 1998 after she failed to appear in court on charges of driving without insurance on a suspended license in an unregistered car. Originally charged under her maiden name, Michelle Delgadillo, was never detained during the nine ensuing years, though the court order for her arrest remained valid. Hours after the Times story broke, she appeared in court to plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of driving without a license, and the warrant was canceled.”She was sentenced to 12 months on probation and fined $431,” according to a spokesman for Delgadillo’s office. Delgadillo also admitted to reporters that his wife had been driving his city-owned vehicle on a suspended license when it was damaged in a 2004 accident and later repaired at taxpayer expense. He also acknowledged he drove for more than a year without automobile insurance required of all California drivers and that his wife was uninsured when she left the scene of another 2004 accident involving the couple’s personal car. At a City Hall news conference, Delgadillo called his own behavior a breach of “the public trust.” He and his wife issued statements saying they were “embarrassed” by the latest revelations, and Delgadillo said he had been unaware of his wife’s arrest warrant.
