Man says that his toothpaste caused positive DUI test www.privateofficer.com
A local inventor with first-hand knowledge of what’s inside Anthony Galluccio’s toothpaste is casting doubt on the state senator’s claim that dental hygiene caused him to fail a breathalyzer test, the Cambridge Chronicle reported.
Galluccio, who was ordered to submit to random alcohol testing last month after he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, claimed that the positive readings on his breathalyzer tests were caused by toothpastes he was using.
“After discussing it with a physician, we have determined that (the positive tests are) the result of my using two toothpastes — Colgate Total Whitening and Sensodyne Toothpaste, both of which contain sorbitol,” Galluccio wrote in a statement released Dec. 22.
However, James Herms, who has helped craft five formulations of Sensodyne Toothpaste since 2001, told the Chronicle that sorbitol wouldn’t have caused positive readings on any DOT-approved alcohol testing device.
“Sorbitol is not going to show up,” Herms wrote in a letter sent to the Chronicle. “The only one that will register is ethyl alcohol.”
Herms told the paper that sorbitol is described in the dictionary as a “faintly sweet alcohol,” but only refers to a class of compounds that are similar to ethanol which is found in mouthwash and can alter breathalyzer results.
“Some physicians or medical doctors don’t know the chemistry,” wrote Herms, an MIT alum who is the head of the school’s Crime Club.
Galluccio will be back in court on Monday to determine whether or not his probation will be revoked.
Galluccio received the probation order after he admitted that he rear-ended a vehicle at a Cambridge traffic light on Oct. 4. The police report said his “SUV fled the area after the crash,” “the victims wrote down the registration number of the fleeing motor vehicle” and “the driver reported back and neck injuries and was taken to Mount Auburn Hospital.”
A police report released in November said Cambridge police officers gave the senator a ride home several hours before the crash. “Both officers reported that they believed Mr. Galluccio was pretty drunk,” the report stated.
Galluccio has two previous drunken driving convictions.
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