Ted Mondale, former Minnesota state senator and son of Vice President Walter Mondale, was charged with drunk driving in Hennepin County.
Mondale, 49, was stopped by the Minnesota State Patrol early Wednesday morning for suspicion of DWI. Mondale, who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, had attended a Minnesota Twins baseball game and then had dinner with friends downtown. He was stopped for speeding and, when asked by the patrolman, admitted to having consumed alcohol. He took a field sobriety test and was then taken at the Hennepin County jail. On the advice of his DWI defense attorney, Mondale refused to submit to a Breathalyzer test, which, according to state law, will result in the automatic suspension of his driver’s license.
Mondale said he did not dispute the state trooper’s suspicion of impairment. “I’m guilty,” he said later. “Whatever the punishment, I’m going to obviously accept it and never do that again.”
Mondale is due in Hennepin County court on May 23 to face the Minnesota DWI charge. He has no previous arrests.
