Fast One

From the Sun-Sentinel-

STUART -- A Port St. Lucie woman who crashed into a park tree escaped injury and a DUI investigation after she "produced a passport and declared diplomatic immunity," according to a police report obtained Friday.

Stuart Police Department officers said Gabriella Ferroni-Carli's faculties "were impaired by alcohol," but they could only issue her a citation for careless driving and did not conduct a DUI investigation because of her claimed status. Her car was towed.

"We followed through, called the 1-800 number for that person's embassy and tried to get in touch with an attach'é for that embassy," police spokesman Sgt. Marty Jacobson said. "No one responded. No one would answer the phone. We followed the guidelines that are published for diplomatic affairs for police officers in the State of Florida."

U.S. Department of State officials in Washington and Florida declined to comment on whether the woman was a diplomat. Police at the scene called her husband, who told officers he is a retired Italian ambassador to the United States. Diplomatic guidelines issued by the State Department do reveal that even diplomats with immunity can be issued traffic citations.

An official with the Consulate General of Italy in Miami said they had no one listed as a diplomat by the name of Gabriella Ferroni-Carli.

The official said she would need to do further research on her status. The official, initially reached early Friday afternoon, did not call back with any further information and could not be reached again.

I don't blame law enforcement, your average policeman is not going to have any experiece dealing with diplomats and the laws pertaining to them. What happened here is someone took advantage of that ignorance. TFM is betting Ms. Frerroni-Carli is as much a diplomat as I am.

Life in Florida, it is seldom boring.

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