COLONIE – A Communications Director for Governors Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo was arrested by Colonie police on Monday, June 12, after a property damage accident where she allegedly struck a light pole and a fire hydrant while driving under the influence.
According to police reports, Haley Viccaro, 32, of Schenectady, was driving her Toyota Rav4 at 11:20 p.m. near the intersection of Albany Shaker and Osborne roads and failed to keep on the right side of the road while using a portable digital device when the crash occurred.
When police interviewed Viccaro, officers observed her to have slurred speech, impaired coordination and there was an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath. She was given and failed field sobriety tests and tested positive for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device.
Viccaro was taken into custody, and after an investigation into her driving history and a second breath test on a calibrated machine at the police station, she was charged with felony aggravated DWI and ticketed for traffic violations.
DWI charges are elevated to aggravated when a person provides a breath sample at or above 0.18 percent BAC. The charge was elevated to a felony charge when a person has a prior conviction for a drug- or alcohol-related offense.
Viccaro was arrested for DWI in Colonie in May 2017 and was convicted on an alcohol-related charge.
She was given an appearance ticket and released. Viccaro is scheduled back in Colonie Town Court on Wednesday, July 3.
According to Linkedin, Viccaro worked as The Director of Communications for Hochul when Hochul was Lieutenant Governor and again as a Senior Advisor for Communications when she became Governor in 2021. She also worked for Governor Andrew Cuomo between those positions as his Deputy Communications Director. Viccaro is currently the Strategic Communications Director for Climate for New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.