Somewhere, ex-State Senator Brian Bushweller (whose daughter was married to Brad Bennett until Andria Viola came along) is basking in the schadenfreude.
In all its glory, from TV Delmarva:
BREAKING NEWS: Delaware State Representative Andria Bennett of the 32nd District has been arrested for 3rd Degree Assault.
TV Delmarva’s Rob Petree was able to confirm that around 2 a.m. Sunday, December 13th, Delaware State Police were called to the home of State Rep. Andria Bennett in Dover for reports of a domestic dispute.
According to the arrest warrant, when police arrived they noticed her husband, former State Rep. Brad Bennett, was noticeably injured with blood running down the left side of his face.
The report goes onto say that the two had been drinking at a holiday party when she left her husband there and walked home. When he got home, the warrant says an argument ensued that turned physical when Rep. Bennett reportedly grabbed her husband around his neck and said she ‘wanted a divorce.’
Rep. Bennett then reportedly escalated the attack when police say she grabbed him on one side of his face while she struck him on the other causing ‘substantial pain.’
According to court documents, the husband never fought back during the altercation.
When police interviewed Rep. Bennett, the report stated that she denied any type of physical altercation. She was then arrested and charged with 3rd Degree Assault and later released on her own recognizance.
We have reached out to Rep. Bennett who has yet to respond to a request for comment.
This comes years after Rep. Bennett ran and won the seat that her husband had to vacate following a DUI conviction where he served time in jail.
Rep. Bennett is scheduled for a hearing on Monday, December 28th in Kent County Family Court.
The incident happened over a week ago now. We just found out about it yesterday. Are the cops this solicitous of other alleged miscreants?
But, I digress. While most of you may know the backstory, I know we have a lot of newcomers. So. Andria Bennett was, in fact, Andria Viola, who parlayed her father’s influence into a job as a legislative aide in Dover. She and Brad Bennett, perhaps attracted by their mutual drinking proclivities, became an item, with Bennett’s then-wife, the daughter of then-State Senator Brian Bushweller, being cast aside in favor of the bottle.
This, um, did not work wonders for Brad Bennett’s political fortunes. Here’s the story I heard about this, Bennett’s second DUI, and the one that did him in politically. I was told this story by a former state representative who says he was present for the beginning of what ensued. There was a delegation of state legislators and former legislators who attended a Phillies game and had their own special box replete with all the amenities, including booze. Both Bennetts got snockered, and they were hurling F-bombs at each other. Andria bolted and took the train back to Wilmington. The luckless Brad got into his car, headed after her and, a couple of wrong turns later, ended up just as the article said, a couple of miles from the Wilmington Train Station.
He was done. The dutiful spouse stepped in to continue his noble career in public service. She subsequently announced that she had no intention of stepping aside once her husband found sobriety. I was rooting for a family primary, but no such luck. That, my friends, is why we’ve had eight years of hackdom from John Viola’s daughter/Brad Bennett’s wife.
I guess the only question is, what happens now? Bennett has been a reliable partner of the leadership. She, along with Bryon Short and Quin Johnson, helped to twice bury minimum wage legislation that had passed the Senate in an inhospitable committee. However, so were John Atkins and Brad Bennett, and Speaker Pete determined he had no choice but to cut them loose.
The chair of the 32nd RD Committee is, yes, Keri Evelyn Harris.
This story is about to get quite interesting…