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Kenmore pizzeria owner gets prison for drunk driving


Updated: 08/31/07 11:27 AM


A Kenmore pizzeria owner was sentenced today to 4 1/3 to 13 years in prison and fined $5,690 on charges related to four drunken driving and unlicensed driving arrests this year.

William M. Collins, 38, who conceded during the court proceeding that he has a problem with alcohol, pleaded for leniency with State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns. But Burns told Collins he was "a menace on the road" who had to be sent to prison to protect other motorists.

Collins has four drunken driving arrests this year, including the fourth which occurred after he had been allowed to remain free on bail after pleading guilty in the first three, Burns said. The judge noted that Collins has nine drunken driving arrests since 1994.

Collins, who lives on Grand Island, is the owner of Pizza Palace on Delaware Avenue in Kenmore. The restaurant has been operated by his mother since his jailing.