BOSTON, Feb. 21, 2013—A Winthrop man got the maximum penalty for his eighth drunk driving conviction and a lengthy term of probation for trying to swing a bench at the State trooper who arrested him, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F., Conley said today.

JOSEPH F. LIMONE (D.O.B. 6/18/51) was convicted Feb. 15 of operating under the influence as a fifth or subsequent offense, assault with a dangerous weapon, and malicious destruction of property, a misdemeanor. Assistant District Attorney David Bradley of the DA’s Senior Trial Unit recommended a total of eight to 10 years in prison, with two consecutive terms of four to five years.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Raymond Brassard sentenced Limone to five years in state prison on the drunk driving charge and 15 years of probation on the assault charge. During those 15 years, Brassard ordered, Limone must not operate any vehicle with an engine, must not consume any alcohol or illicit drug, must submit to randome urine screens, must attend and complete any residential treatment programs deemed necessary by his probation officer, must attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings regularly as deemed necessary, and must attend a PTSD treatment program. If he fails to comply with those orders, or if he reoffends, Brassard said, he could be re-sentenced to up to five years in prison.

“It was clear to us from a review of his driving record that nothing short of incarceration was going to keep this man from drinking and driving,” Conley said. “He’s shown a complete disregard for the court’s orders and the revocation of his license.”

State Police pulled Limone over near Revere Beach on the afternoon of July 12, 2011, after he was driving erratically, honking his horn and screaming at another motorist, and ultimately drove the wrong way down a one-way street. He failed every field sobriety test put to him, kicked out the right rear window of a cruiser when placed under arrest, and tried to attack a trooper with a bench only to find that it was chained to a wall.

Limone’s record includes offenses dating back to 1970. It includes OUI convictions in Essex and Suffolk counties in 1983, Suffolk County in 1984, Essex County in 1987 and 1996, and Middlesex County in 2001 and 2007. Limone successfully appealed that latter case to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, but the Supreme Judicial Court reversed the MAC’s decision and reinstated the conviction. He has been the subject of a lifetime license revocation since 1997.

Limone was represented by attorney Gerasimos Antzoulatos.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.