Judge holds all charges in drunken driving case for court
REDSTONE TWP. — A Fayette County district judge ruled Monday that all charges related to a 2011 drunken driving incident involving a Connellsville man will be held for Fayette County Court.
Robert Lee Rudnik, 30, of 212 Russ St. Ext. is facing DUI charges for the second time.
The charges, which were dismissed on Dec. 13, 2011, by Magisterial District Judge Dwight K. Shaner, were recently refiled by the state attorney general’s office, at the direction of Deputy Attorney General L. Todd Goodwin.
Rudnik is the nephew of assistant District Attorney Linda Cordaro. Cordaro was the prosecutor assigned to Shaner’s office that day and has since been one of the two attorneys who won in the primary election for two available seats in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas.
Cordaro said she recused herself from handling Rudnik’s case.
The charges stem from an incident where state police said Rudnik allegedly crashed his Dodge Durango into a guardrail and a mailbox on Monarch Road in Dunbar Township on Sept. 14, 2011.
Trooper Joseph Ross, now of the Washington state police station and formerly of the Uniontown station, testified at the preliminary hearing on Monday that he determined Rudnik to be the operator of the vehicle and said that his eyes were bloodshot and glassy after the alleged crash.
He further testified that there was a strong odor of alcohol present, and that Rudnik told him he had been drinking.
Ross also testified that Rudnik failed the field sobriety test, and a breathalyzer test indicated his blood-alcohol level to be .166.
Rudnik’s attorney, Carl Parise, challenged the results of the breathalyzer test. Despite Parise’s argument, Magisterial District Judge Mike Defino Jr. held the drunken driving charges for court. Rudnik was released on $2,500 unsecured bond.