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Longtime Tampa attorney and DUI law expert dies

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 7, 2009

Updated: 06/07/2009 09:43 pm

TAMPA - Victor Pellegrino, a Tampa attorney, was an expert on DUI law. He didn't find that particular sub-specialty, friends say, it found him.

"Victor was very passionate about it," said attorney Denis deVlaming, a friend of 25 years. "He attacked every aspect of it."

Pellegrino died Friday after succumbing to bladder and lung cancer. He was 60.

For much of his professional life, Pellegrino defended DUI cases. He was the lead attorney on more than 1,000 cases and successfully challenged portions of the state driving under the influence laws such as the law giving judges the authority to impound the cars of convicted drunken drivers, regardless of who owned the vehicle.

In 1991, he was among attorneys who challenged the use of breath tests in cases because the state did not have specific guidelines for ensuring the accuracy of machines conducting the tests.

"If a stone can be overturned, Victor would find what's underneath it," deVlaming said.

Pellegrino thought that DUI was "a matter of opinion," and that a jury should decide if a defendant was impaired, not just police officers, deVlaming said.

Pellegrino was a founder and current dean of the National College for DUI Defense. He lectured and published articles on DUI issues, tactics and ethics.

He was a recent winner of the Herbert G. Goldberg Criminal Law American Inn of Court Jack Edmund Award.

A Tampa native, he was a graduate of University of South Florida and Vermont Law School.

DeVlaming said he, Pellegrino and other Bay area attorneys would meet often and discuss new developments in DUI law. The group became informally known as the "DUI Club."

"He was at the top of his game," deVlaming said. "He was a dear, dear friend. He will be missed."

Pellegrino is survived by his parents, John and Amelia Pellegrino; wife, Brenda Sue; three children, Stephanie Sweeney, Victor Pellegrino, and John Pellegrino; two sisters and three grandchildren.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Boza & Roel Funeral Home, 4730 N. Armenia Ave.

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920.

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