The governor of Vermont has pardoned the son of former Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro almost 30 years after he was convicted of selling cocaine to an undercover officer while in college, the Daily Mail reported.
John Zaccaro Jr. was a Middlebury College student when he was arrested in 1986 for selling $25 worth of cocaine to an undercover state police officer.
He was convicted in 1988 and sentenced to four months in jail.
Zaccaro was placed in a house arrest program where inmates paid for their living arrangements and served 90 days of his sentence “in a luxury $1,500 a month Burlington apartment,” UPI reported in 1988.
Zaccaro’s defense attorney argued that it was a case of entrapment because the officer claimed she was a student and lured him, People reported in 1988.
Ferraro accused prosecutors of unfairly targeting her son because of her high-profile position as the 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee.
Outgoing Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin pardoned Zaccaro and nine others Saturday.
“I believe in second chances, and I believe we as a society will continue to move towards a more sensible approach to drug addiction and criminal justice,” Shumlin said in a statement. “As governor, I am honored to be able help people move past their mistakes and help relieve what can essentially amount to a life-sentence of burden and stigma.”
Zaccaro currently is Principal of P. Zaccaro Company Inc., a real estate investment and management firm, and lives in New York City with his wife and three children.
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