Prosecutor defends drunk flying plea

FOND DU LAC, Wis., March 6 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin prosecutor said a drunken driver pleaded no contest to operating an aircraft with a prohibited blood alcohol content due to evidence problems.

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Daniel Kaminsky said Lawrence Schreiber of Muskego, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wisconsin, was allowed to enter the unusual plea despite his Mercedes-Benz not being an aircraft because there were problems with the scientific evidence, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday.

Kaminsky said problems with the blood test showing Schreiber's blood alcohol content to be 0.156 percent could have allowed defense attorneys to argue his blood alcohol content at the time he was pulled over in June was at or under the 0.08 percent limit.

He said allowing Schreiber to plead guilty to the aircraft offense would mean the conviction would show up as a prior if he receives another operating-while-intoxicated charge while being agreeable to the defense because it allowed him to avoid having his license suspended.

"I understand the public scratching their head," Kaminsky said. "But don't judge a book by the cover. The substance of the resolution is what counts."