People v Castellano
2004 NY Slip Op 02882 [6 AD3d 278]
April 20, 2004
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, June 30, 2004


The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Peter Castellano, Appellant.

[*1]Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Daniel FitzGerald, J.), rendered October 11, 2002, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and two counts of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, and sentencing him to three concurrent terms of one year and fines of $1,000, $500 and $500 on the respective convictions, unanimously modified, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, to the extent of vacating the fine of $1,000, and otherwise affirmed.

We find defendant's sentence to be excessive to the extent indicated. We are persuaded principally by the fact that the sentencing court was reluctant to impose a fine on the conviction of operating under the influence of alcohol, but was under the misimpression that such fine was mandatory. Concur—Tom, J.P., Saxe, Williams, Friedman and Marlow, JJ.