A top state spokewoman and former aide to both Gov. Kathy Hochul and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo drunkenly smashed her car into a utility pole and a fire hydrant, cops say.
Haley Viccaro, 32 — a current rep for the state Department of Environmental Conservation and former communications honcho for Hochul and Cuomo — was charged with felony aggravated DWI and hit with several traffic infractions after wrecking her Toyota Rav4 around midnight on June 12, police in upstate Colonie said Sunday.
It was Viccaro’s second DWI arrest, after a May 2017 bust in Colonie, spotlightnews.com reported.
Police said Sunday that the latest charges lodged against Viccaro included a felony count because of the prior DWI arrest against her but could not provide details of the earlier case.
Charges involving an aggravated DWI count occur when the driver registers a blood-alcohol level at or above 0.18, or more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, the outlet said.
Viccaro was allegedly using “a portable digital device” before she veered off the road and crashed.
Cops approached her after the crash at Albany Shaker and Osborne roads and reported that she was slurring her speech and that they smelled alcohol on her breath, the outlet said. She then failed field sobriety tests and blew the state BAC limit, it said.
She was charged and released without bail pending a return court appearance July 3.
According to her Linkedin page, Viccaro, who lives in Schenectady, served as director of communications for Hochul while Hochul was lieutenant governor before she took over as governor.
Viccaro later worked as a senior adviser to Hochul when she became governor after Cuomo’s scandal-plagued forced resignation in 2021.
Viccaro also served as deputy communications director for energy and environment for Cuomo in 2021.
Her current post is strategic communications director for climate for the state DEC, the page says.
“I am fully cognizant of the grave consequences of driving while intoxicated,” Viccaro said in a statement to The Post on Sunday.
“I deeply understand the severity of the situation and will be diligently working to resolve this matter through the legal process.”
The governor’s office declined to comment, referring The Post to the DEC. The DEC has yet to respond to a Post request for comment.