Judge's girlfriend accused of driving drunk with kids in the car

By Amy Lange
Fox 2 News

FRANKLIN, Mich. (WJBK) -- A mother is angry at her ex-husband and his girlfriend, 50-year-old Brenda Conway, who is accused of driving drunk.  The girlfriend was pulled over in Franklin as she pulled up to a home with her boyfriend and his daughters in the car.

"Preliminary breath test result was 0.18 percent," said Lieutenant William Castro with Franklin Police.

That's more than twice the legal limit.  The boyfriend is someone who certainly should know the law, Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Richard Caretti, and he had his twelve and 15-year-old daughters in the backseat.

Conway was driving them home to their mother in Franklin from a wedding reception at 22 Mile Road out in Macomb Saturday night.  The oldest says her dad asked her to drive, but she only has a learner's permit.  She texted her mom from the backseat.

"Cannot even describe my feelings as a mother when I received the text from my daughter... telling me... that they had left this venue 30 miles from home and that they were in a car and that daddy had Brenda driving and she was very drunk," said Lori Conway, Caretti's ex-wife.

She called the police, who arrested Brenda Conway at Lori's home.

"Judge Caretti was in no condition to drive either, so the car was towed," Lori Conway said.

Police told Lori her ex was too drunk to drive, so they brought him to a nearby restaurant to make other arrangements to get home.

Caretti was not charged, but police filed a child abuse and neglect report with the state.  The incident is now under investigation.

Caretti did not return our call for comment.

"I just question how a public official, the father of these children, knowing that him as well as the person he was with were intoxicated could put his children in the backseat of that car 30 miles from our home," said Lori Conway.