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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Months after Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Ruddy was arrested for drunk driving, he has pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
Body-worn camera video shows Ruddy handing Tampa police his business card when he was pulled over by Tampa police during a hit-and-run investigation in July 2022.
“We’re here because there was a hit-and-run,” the officer told Ruddy. “And you ran away.”
“Yes,” Rudy answered.
The policeman said, “He ran away because he was drunk.”
The police report said Ruddy smelled like alcohol, was urinating on himself and was sweating profusely. He gassed .172 on a breathalyzer, more than twice the legal limit.
“What is this?” the officer asked Ruddy, who held out his arm with a business card. “What are you trying to give me?”
Ruddy did not respond, but the officer read the card aloud. “Joseph Ruddy. Is that you?”
“That’s me,” Rudy said.
“When they pull out my body-worn camera footage and look at this, you know this is going to be really bad,” the officer explained.
The state attorney’s office for the 13th Judicial Circuit said it would be difficult to bring the case to trial because no witnesses could testify that they saw Ruddy driving.
However, some people question the decision.
“If this defendant were not an assistant federal prosecutor and a fellow prosecutor,” Jeffrey Swartz said. “Would they have done the same for ordinary citizens?”
Swartz is a professor at Cooley School of Law.
“It’s disturbing that someone was hit like that,” Swartz said. “And it turns out that the accident and everything that goes with it boils down to reckless driving.”
But some say the plea is not unusual.
“There may be mitigation measures that we are not aware of that may have justified the cuts,” Bryant-Camareno said. “That’s not unusual.”
Bryant Camareno is an attorney but is not involved in this case.
“There’s a lot of reckless driving,” Camareno explained. “Again, the vast majority are first-time offenders.”
He said he had worked with Ruddy for several years.
“As far as I know,” Camareno said. “This is just a small blemish on a truly outstanding career.”
A Justice Department spokeswoman said the agency is aware of the plea and takes seriously all allegations of misconduct by Justice Department employees. They said Ruddy was removed from his supervisory position in July, shortly after his arrest.
Ruddy’s lawyer said in a statement that Ruddy takes full responsibility and “hopes to learn from this unfortunate incident and continue his public service.” Rudy’s plea includes community service, probation and a car interlock.
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