Stillwater councilwoman charged with DWI in Clifton Park

STILLWATER — Stillwater Town Councilwoman Lisa A. Bruno has been removed from Stillwater’s Police Commission following her arrest on a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge Monday night, Town Supervisor Edward Kinowski said.

Bruno remains on the Town Board, and continues to serve as chairwoman of the town Republican Committee — both positions she has held since 2008. It is her second arrest within a year; she was arrested last summer on a charge of serving alcohol to minors at her home in Stillwater.

“Based on any further adjudication, I’ve removed her from her Police Commission position,” Kinowski said. “Beyond that, it’s a private matter. Our town does not condone this type of thing by any elected official, but that said, it’s a charge, not an adjudication.”

The three-member Police Commission oversees the Stillwater town Police Department, which was not involved in the arrest.

Bruno, 43, was charged with DWI in the Country Knolls neighborhood of Clifton Park on Monday.

Sheriff Michael H. Zurlo said deputies responded to a suspicious vehicle call on Baltusrol Drive at 8:53 p.m., and arrived to find Bruno in a vehicle there. She agreed to a breathalizer test that showed her with a 0.15 blood-alcohol count — about twice the legal limit to establish DWI. She was released to a third party, pending an appearance in Clifton Park Town Court on June 6.

It was Bruno’s first DWI arrest, but last July she was charged with unlawfully dealing with a child, a misdemeanor, after police responded to complaints of a loud party at her home. The case was handled by a special prosecutor, and resolved in Saratoga Town Court. The case record is sealed, which generally indicates the case was dismissed.

On Wednesday, Saratoga County District Attorney Karen A. Heggen said a special prosecutor will handle the case. County Court Judge James A. Murphy III appointed Saratoga Springs attorney James G. Snyder, who handled the previous case against Bruno, to prosecute again

“This was a routine DWI. There was no accident involved, no other parties involved,” Heggen said earlier in the day, before her office removed itself from the case.

Bruno, who is not related to former state senator Joseph L. Bruno, has worked for the state Legislature in Albany for 19 years, currently as the special program coordinator for the Senate Finance Office, in addition to her town positions.

“She’s a valuable employee and elected official, she really is,” Kinowski said.

Bruno did not return a call Wednesday seeking comment.

Reach Gazette reporter Stephen Williams at 518-395-3086, [email protected] or @gazettesteve on Twitter.