Rock legend Bruce Springsteen, aka “The Boss,” 71 had his day in a virtual court hearing recently for reckless driving charges on federal property; a park in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. He pleaded ‘guilty’ on Wednesday, February 24 to drinking two shots of tequila and because his blood-alcohol level was under the legal limit, the judge dismissed the charges and required Springsteen to pay a $500 fine.
Springsteen wore a dark blazer, sweater, and collared shirt sitting with his lawyer, Mitchell Ansell beside him answering the charges before Magistrate Judge Anthony Mautone.
He answered a series of brief questions from Ansell pertaining to the incident acknowledging that he had been drinking in the park moments before that led up to his arrest.
Watch this video on YouTube from CBS News.
“I had two small shots of tequila,” Springsteen confirmed for the judge. He was ordered to pay of fine of $500 plus $40 for additional costs. All parties agreed that was the appropriate sentence and Springsteen smiled and said, “I think I can pay that right away.” The judge added that Springsteen had a clean driving record since 1973; with only three violations and the federal court agreed to dismiss the two charges of operating a vehicle under the influence and reckless driving.
In a statement made by his attorney, he mentioned that his client was pleased with the outcome of his case and it could not be proven to charge the rock legend with DWI and reckless driving.
The Daily Mail reports last November 14, 2020, a park ranger saw Springsteen on his motorcycle drinking Patron tequila with fans and posing for a selfie in a closed area of the park. The ranger smelled the alcohol on Springsteen and noticed he had ‘glassy eyes’ and was swaying back and forth. He was pulled over and ‘The Boss’ submitted to a breath test and his blood-alcohol level was far below the legal limit of only .02. New Jersey’s threshold is .08. He was arrested and detained for misdemeanor charges of DWI.
Jeep pulled Springsteen’s Super Bowl ad right after his arrest was revealed this month after the commercial aired. The carmaker hasn’t officially confirmed if it will revive the ad or bring it back and publish it on websites.
Earlier this week, Bruce launched a new Spotify podcast series with former President Barack Obama entitled, ‘Renegades: Born In The USA.’