Man Nabbed In Third Booze Related Charge

A Montauk man was arrested Friday evening on a misdemeanor charge of drunk driving. It is the third time Anthony Sosinski, 50, has been arrested since 2013 by East Hampton Town police on misdemeanor charges related to driving or boating while intoxicated.

He was driving a 1998 Toyota on Flamingo Avenue and he crossed over the double yellow line to pass two cars, according to police. A patrol car’s lights activated, but, the police said, Sosinski kept going, now driving on the shoulder at a slow speed. This continued for several miles, police said, as Sosinski made several turns in the Culloden Shores area, before coming to a stop. The police said he explained not stopping sooner, because he thought it was an ambulance behind him.

At headquarters, a breath test to determine the percentage of alcohol in his blood came back with a .16 of one percent reading, twice the .08 number that defines intoxication.

Sosinski, the captain of the Anna Mary, a lobster boat which docks in Montauk, is best known for his successful effort to help rescue his lifelong friend, John Aldridge, who was lost at sea off Montauk Point overnight on July 24, 2013. Aldridge had fallen off the boat during the night, while Sosinski was sleeping below. A massive rescue operation was undertaken by the Coast Guard, working with the fishing community. He was eventually rescued by a Coast Guard crew from Connecticut.

The story of the rescue garnered national attention, and became a New York Times Sunday Magazine article, written by Paul Tough. The rights to the life story of Sosinski and Aldridge, along with The Times Magazine article were then purchased by Harvey Weinstein’s The Weinstein Company. A film was scheduled to be written by Jeff Pope. The names Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were floated as names to play the two.

The two co-authored a book by the same name, released by Weinstein’s publishing house in the spring of last year. The book received good reviews.

Sosinski’s first arrest was after the 2013 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Montauk. He was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. That case was eventually plea bargained down to a simple violation, driving with ability impaired.

In 2015, Sosinski took the Anna Mary out, allegedly after leaving a bar. An anonymous caller contacted either East Hampton Town police or the Coast Guard, reporting the Anna Mary was being operated in a reckless manner. The Coast Guard dispatched a 47-foot motor lifeboat with a boarding team. They caught up with the Anna Mary about a mile west of Montauk Point and boarded it.

The Coast Guard alleged that Sosinski was “belligerent” and “non-compliant.”

He was restrained for officer safety, the Coast Guard said, and brought back to shore, where he was placed under arrest by town police on a misdemeanor charge of boating while intoxicated, as well as a charge of reckless operation of a vessel.

He pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge.

Following his latest arrest, he was brought to East Hampton Town Justice Court to be arraigned Saturday morning. “So, we meet again,” East Hampton Town Justice Lisa Rana said to Sosinski when he was brought before her in handcuffs. She presided over his prior DWI case, though not over the BWI case. “I thought the last time I saw you was going to be the last time.”

“Yes, your honor,” Sosinski said.

She set bail at $2500 and gave a warning: “You can ill-afford to get arrested for anything else . . .You better be squeaky clean.”

Bail was posted at police headquarters.

Almost exactly 24 hours earlier, Weinstein, who maintained a residence in Amagansett for many years, was brought in handcuffs before a judge in Lower Manhattan. He was charged with three felonies: first degree rape, third degree rape, and committing a criminal sex act in the first degree. According to The New York Times, the latter charge stemmed from an alleged incident in 2004.

The rape charges stem from an encounter with an unidentified woman in 2013 at the Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel, according to the New York Police Department.

Benjamin Brafman, his attorney, said Weinstein will be cleared of all charges. He called the charges “constitutionally flawed and factually unsubstantiated,” according to The Times. Weinstein is free on $1 million bail.

tom.e@indyeastend.com