Scotts Valley City Councilman Dene Bustichi faces criminal charges of driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident following his arrest the evening of Dec.8 after a minor traffic accident near the Scotts Valley Middle School.
Bustichi was released by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office early in the morning of Dec. 9 after posting $2,000 bail pending a court hearing on charges that after he drove into a stop sign at Bean Creek Road near Cristel Oaks Drive about 9 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8, he left the scene of the accident before pulling into a vacant lot about 100 yards away, then failed a chemical breath test administered by Scotts Valley Police, who had been alerted by a witness.
The Scotts Valley Police Department issued a press release – unusual in DUI cases – late Friday afternoon reporting the arrest and stating that Bustichi, 52, had registered a blood alcohol level of 0.14 percent in breath and chemical tests administered at about 10 p.m., nearly twice the legal limit.
Bustichi was not injured when his truck rolled over a curb headed east on Bean Creek Road and knocked down a street sign, according to the police statement.
Police said Bustichi cooperated with officers, and had appeared intoxicated at the scene, where he was taken into police custody. He was alone in the truck at the time.
“The witness stated the vehicle continued to travel eastbound on Bean Creek after the accident and turned into a dirt lot at the corner of Bean Creek and Scotts Valley Drive,” according to the police press release from police. “Police officers arrived on scene and contacted the occupant, Dene Bustichi, who displayed symptoms of alcohol intoxication.”
The accident and arrest occurred less than a half-mile south of Scotts Valley City Hall, where Bustichi just one day earlier had been praised and thanked for his 12 year years of service on the City Council, and exactly one month after coming in last among six candidates in the City Council election.
The Press Banner had reported in October that Bustichi, owner of a construction company and chair of the council’s economic development committee, had had his contractor’s license revoked last year for unprofessional and unethical conduct, and had been ordered to pay a Monterey subcontractor $112,000 plus court costs for failing to pay him for materials at the remodeling of a Palo Alto hotel.
Bustichi is chair of the board of directors of Valley Churches United, and is a prominent fundraiser and community volunteer.
Newly elected council members will be sworn in on Dec. 21.
