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A Long Island judge has agreed to step down later this month in the wake of a drunk driving incident in which he allegedly asserted his judicial role in order to avoid arrest, according to a state disciplinary commission.

Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice William Rebolini has agreed to leave his post May 28 and has further agreed to never again seek judicial office, according to the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The commission reported Rebolini pleaded guilty to drunk driving in January 2019 and was sentenced to a year of conditional discharge, 40 hours of community service, a fine and a surcharge.

The commission in a statement said Rebolini's resignation was proffered after he was served with a formal written complaint in January, containing two charges: first alleging that he drove under the influence of alcohol in Riverhead, New York in September 2018 and second that "asserted his judicial office with the police officer at the scene, in an attempt to avoid arrest or other adverse consequences."

Documents from the commission did not outline the specifics of the arrest or the details of how he asserted his judicial office.

Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian, in a statement Monday said "driving under the influence of alcohol is a serious violation of law that threatens the safety and lives of pedestrians, passengers and other motorists, as well as the offending driver."

"It is made worse when a judge asserts the prestige of judicial office to evade the consequences of having been caught," he added.

Rebolini, in a March resignation letter, did not comment on the specifics of the arrest but said he looks forward to a new chapter in his life with new beginnings.

"In resigning I hope to be judged by my record of 32 years of public service and hope that with the help of so many people, I have been able to make our community a better place," he wrote.

The lawyer for Rebolini in the disciplinary matter, David H. Besso in Bay Shore, Suffolk County, could not be reached for comment.

Rebolini was admitted to the practice of law in New York State in 1984, and has been a Justice of the Supreme Court, 10th Judicial District, Suffolk County, since 2004. Before that, he served as a Judge of the District Court, Suffolk County, from 1993 to 2003, according to the commission.

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