On top of the criminal penalties, those charged with drunk driving face the embarrassment of their arrest becoming public fodder. The discovery by friends and family adds embarrassment to any possible fines, jail time and license suspension.
Following his DWI arrest on December 29 in Palmyra in update New York, Joseph Talbot did his best to prevent anyone from finding out. He fought fingerprinting and refused to be photographed for fear of his mugshot showing up in the local newspaper. His antics only added obstructing justice to the DUI charges against him.
Stop The Press!
After his release from county jail, Talbot, a Key Bank vice president, discovered that the Times of Wayne County got their hands on his protested picture. As they have done for every local arrest, the weekly paper published his photo in an article posted online and published in their New Year’s Eve edition.
Upon discovering his newfound “fame,” Talbot took matters into his own hands. Not being able to shut down the Times’ website, he purchased 1,000 newsstand copies of the Times priced at $1.25 each.
A Less Than Successful Cover-Up
An employee at Joey’s Northside Grocery in Newark watched as Talbot snatched up all the papers in the rack. Not satisfied with his bounty, he asked the cashier if they had any more. She told him that they indeed had more, but the store only received one shipment per week.
Apparently confident in his success, Talbot cleaned out the store of papers and left. Like the Grinch taking the last crumb too small for a mouse, he didn’t even leave a copy of the post-Christmas edition when a fellow customer asked him to save her one.
The Times enjoys a circulation of 12,000. Talbot only came up 11,000 papers short of success. No word on whether he traveled to individual Wayne County homes where 80% of the papers are delivered.