White Sox manager Tony La Russa will plead guilty to a reduced charge of reckless driving stemming from his arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol last February near Phoenix, according to a report by James Fegan of The Athletic.
The plea deal stipulates that La Russa be required to serve a day in jail, but the state of Arizona said it is not opposed to reducing that sentence to a work release or home detention, if a judge approves.
La Russa, who is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 21, will also be required to pay $1,383 in fines and perform 20 hours of community service, according to The Athletic.
The general reaction to all this is that La Russa is getting off easy, given that this was his second drunken driving arrest. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI charges in Jupiter, Fla., in 2007, when he was manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.
It's probably a break for La Russa that this arrest comes 13 years later in a different part of the country. It also probably helps him that he's a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Those who are rich, well-known and able to afford good legal representation often seem to fare better than the average person when dealing with the criminal justice system.
Neither the Sox nor La Russa have issued any comment on these reports.
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