Wife of Valley cheese magnate arraigned on DUI charges after alleged 125 mph crash in Maserati

Madeline Shannon
·2 min read
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The wife of a Merced County cheese company CEO was arraigned Monday on allegations of causing a multi-vehicle DUI accident after driving 125 mph down G Street earlier this year.

Lori Rossi Gallo, 46, pleaded not guilty in Merced County Superior Court to charges of driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury and driving with a .08% blood alcohol content causing injury, both felonies.

Gallo is married to Michael Gallo, CEO and co-owner of Merced County-based Joseph Gallo Farms and has been a visible figure in the greater Merced community for a number of years.

For example, she has previously served as community liaison between Joseph Gallo Farms and UC Merced, and was on the board of directors for the Merced County Fair.

Gallo’s attorney, Peter Jones, told the Sun-Star on Tuesday that he and his client couldn’t comment on the case, except to say that they had no statement and that Gallo is invested in her community.

“She is very dedicated to the Merced community,” Jones said. “She is taking this case very seriously.”

During her arraignment on Monday, Gallo was told by Judge Steven Slocum that she had to abstain from drugs and alcohol, not enter a business that mainly sells alcoholic beverages and continue to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

She has apparently been going three times a week and is also enrolled in a DWI (driving while intoxicated) program, her attorney Peter Jones said in court.

The incident occurred Jan. 22 when Gallo, who police say was driving at 125 mph down G Street in Merced, side-swiped a Lexus that was traveling south as she was approaching Cardella Road.

Police say her Maserati hit a Honda stopped at the intersection. Both the Maserati and Lexus went into a ditch several hundred feet away, police said, and another car was damaged after hitting a wheel and tire that had been torn off the defendant’s vehicle.

Three people were injured, according to a criminal complaint filed on Feb. 10.

She was arrested by Merced police the night of the accident and booked in the Merced County Jail. She was released after posting bail.

Gallo is expected to appear in court April 21 for a preliminary hearing.