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Fake Georgia DUI expert pleads no contest to perjury charges

A Georgia eye doctor pleads no contest in Lancaster County Court to nine counts of perjury.  Dr. Joseph Citron, of Atlanta, lied about his credentials as a drun...

A Georgia eye doctor pleads no contest in Lancaster County Court to nine counts of perjury.  Dr. Joseph Citron, of Atlanta, lied about his credentials as a drunk driving expert in DUI trials in Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Centre and Clinton counties between March 10, 2010 and March 16, 2012.

During questioning concerning his qualifications, Dr. Citron, who is an ophthalmologist, testified that he was an instructor at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, training police officers in the area of first responder and SFST for approximately 10 years.  He also testified that in 2000 Georgia Governor’s Officer of Highway Safety appointed him to a program called “Drunk Busters.”  He also testified that as part of the “Drunk Buster” program he went around the state reviewing SFSTs with various police departments.

The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office began an investigation in Dr. Citron’s alleged credentials.  County detectives requested the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in determining what if any affiliation Dr. Citron had with GPSTC and the alleged “Drunk Buster” program.  It was determined that Dr. Citron was never part of the faculty at GPSTC in the area of SFST. Rather Dr. Citron was a guest lecturer at the GPSTC Fire Academy with respect to eye injuries as part of a first responder course.  He was also never used to teach SFST to police officers at GPSTC.

During a recorded interview, Dr. Citron admitted that he inflated his credentials in the area of SFST because it “sounds good.”  He further admitted that the Governor never contacted him to be part of a “Drunk Busters” Program, but did provide a contact to verify the program’s existence. That individual informed investigators that the two speeches he did invite Dr. Citron to assist in were never referred to as “Drunk Busters,” and it was never presented as part of a Governor’s Office program.
At the conclusion of the joint investigation it was determined that Dr. Citron testified falsely to his involvement with GPSTC and the “Drunk Busters” Program in order to qualify as an expert in SFST and bolster his credibility on that topic. Both portions of testimony were material to his qualifications to render an opinion regarding SFST, as well as his potential defense bias. As a result, officials in Dauphin, Centre, Clinton, Franklin, Lancaster, and Lebanon Counties all charged Dr. Citron with Perjury and related offenses.

In Lancaster County Court this morning, Dr. Citron plead no contest to nine counts of Perjury, nine counts of False Swearing, and one cojnt of Unsworn Falsification.  Dr. Citron was sentenced to the Intermediate Punishment Program for a period of 7 years, with the first 60 days to be served on house arrest with electronic monitoring. He was also ordered to pay fines totaling $1,000.00 and the costs of prosecution.

 

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