Ferraro Son Gets 4 Months After Plea by Mother Fails

John A. Zaccaro Jr., the son of former vice presidential candidate Geraldine A. Ferraro, was sentenced Thursday to four months in jail for selling $25 worth of cocaine to an undercover police officer.

Zaccaro, 24, also was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform 300 hours of community service.

“We are obviously very disappointed by the harshness of the sentence,” Ferraro said, noting that other defendants in Vermont drug cases have received lighter penalties. She said the conviction would be appealed.

Ferraro earlier tearfully pleaded with the judge not to send her son to jail, saying that he had already been punished enough and that she was “terrified” for him to go to jail.

During his sentencing hearing, Zaccaro told Vermont District Judge Francis McCaffrey that he has sworn off drugs.

Makes Personal Pledge

“I’d like to make a personal pledge to you and my family that I will never again be involved in drugs or any illegality,” he said.

Zaccaro’s attorney, Charles Tetzlaff, asked McCaffrey to accept a probation officer’s recommendation of a suspended sentence, probation and community service.

But McCaffrey told Zaccaro: “I can’t in good conscience sentence you without any time to serve.” Zaccaro faced a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Addison County State’s Attorney John Quinn said he was pleased with the sentence. He denied treating the case differently.

“This was a case in which we caught someone red-handed, and I mean red-handed,” Quinn said. “I felt it was important for the court to say it doesn’t matter who you are. If you commit a drug offense in the state of Vermont, you’ll be treated with great severity.”

Special Corrections Program

McCaffrey suggested the jail time be served through the Chittenden Community Correctional Center in Burlington so Zaccaro could participate in a special corrections program that allows him to be kept under house arrest.

During the sentencing, Zaccaro stood beside his father, John A. Zaccaro, and his mother, who was Walter F. Mondale’s running mate on the Democratic ticket in 1984.

Ferraro had asked McCaffrey not to treat her son differently than any other person convicted of selling $25 worth of cocaine. She also said his arrest and conviction have taken a heavy toll on her family and son.

‘He’s Ashamed’

“He doesn’t go to church with us,” she said. “He doesn’t want to be seen with us. It’s not because he’s ashamed of us. It’s because he’s ashamed of what he’s done.”

Zaccaro was arrested in February, 1986, and convicted by a District Court jury last April.