Ruling stemmed from 1998 SM traffic citation
By DAILY PRESS STAFF
LOS ANGELES The wife of Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo pleaded no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license in connection with a 1998 Santa Monica traffic citation.
Michelle Delgadillo’s plea came amid reports that a warrant was out for her arrest after Delgadillo, 36, failed to appear in court nine years ago for the citation, which was issued in 1998 by a California Highway Patrol Officer.
She had been charged with driving on a suspended license, without insurance and in an unregistered vehicle. The offense occurred two weeks before she married Rocky Delgadillo. The ticket was written under her maiden name, Namen.
When Michelle Delgadillo did not appear in court a month later for her arraignment, the judge in the case issued a $2,000 bench warrant, according to reports.
Michelle Delgadillo’s driving history came under scrutiny after her husband’s comments in the recent Paris Hilton case. The city attorney told the judge in that case that the hotel heiress should spend more time in jail for driving with a suspended license and violating her probation on alcohol-related reckless driving charges.
Later that same day, Rocky Delgadillo acknowledged, in response to inquires from the Los Angeles Times, that his wife had been ticketed for failing to obey a right-turn-only sign while driving her personal car with a suspended license in 2005.
On Wednesday, Michelle Delgadillo was arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court and pleaded no contest to driving without a valid license. She was ordered to serve a one-year summary probation and pay $431 in fines and penalties. The other charges were dropped, according to published reports.
This week, the city attorney admitted that his wife had also driven his city-owned vehicle with a suspended license. During one personal errand, she damaged the city vehicle, which was repaired at city expense.
On Monday, Rocky Delgadillo said he wrote a check reimbursing the city for the $1,222 repair job, saying it was “the right thing to do.”
The city attorney also acknowledged that he had driven without auto insurance for about a year and his wife had driven without insurance for more than two years.
In a statement released to the media, Michelle Delgadillo said she was “very embarrassed” by her situation and intended to correct it immediately to save her husband and family any more embarrassment.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 21, 2007. Read the original PDF.