Drunk Driving SF Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone Pleads To Lesser Charge

On Monday, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone pleaded guilty to reckless driving rather than face trial for his drunk driving arrest in August.

A spokeswoman with the City Attorney's Office said the reduction is commonly offered in cases in which no bad driving is noted and suspects had fair to moderate performances on field sobriety tests, among other factors. Cordileone was placed on three years’ probation and ordered to pay a fine. He also will have to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim-impact panel and a three-month first conviction program through the state Department of Motor Vehicles. After his arrest, he issued a statement saying he was stopped when driving his mother home after having dinner at the home of some friends. He said his blood-alcohol level was over the 0.08 percent limit for California drivers. Court records show it measured 0.11 percent within three hours of the stop. Cordileone apologized for his “error in judgment” and asked for forgiveness from his family, friends and co-workers at the Diocese of Oakland and Archdiocese of San Francisco.

RELATED: Yesterday GetEQUAL and other groups protested Cordileone's official installation as Archbishop. More photos here.