Palo Alto Attorney’s Bribes Result in Possible Four Years Behind Bars

The Palo Alto patent attorney who tried to buy his way out of a DUI with a $35,000 bribe could be sentenced to up to four years behind bars, according to district attorney Al Serrato.

The attorney, Richard Chae, was pulled over at around 2:40 a.m. February 2010. After the officer found Chae’s blood alcohol concentration to be 0.13, Chae, 49,  began offering amounts of money to buy his way out of the DUI – first $900, then $5,000 and finally $35,000, prosecutors said. This is Chae’s third DUI in the past 10 years, according to prosecutors.

According to the California State Bar website, this should not have any direct or immediate effect on whether or not Chae continues to practice law. How long he will have to spend behind bars before he returns, though, will be decided at his sentencing on August 24.