Stafford Councilman's Son Sentenced To 7 Years In State Prison For Drunk Driving Death'

The son of a Stafford Township councilman was sentenced to seven years in state prison today for the vehicular homicide of a Barnegat man in September 2011.

Robert Kusznikow, 27, must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, according to the plea agreement. He has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River since Dec. 15, 2011, said Al Della Fave, spokeperson for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

• UPDATE: Two Killed In Crash, Including LBI Woman
• Reports Of Metal Washing Up On LBI Beaches
• UPDATE: Two Now Dead In Crash, Including LBI Man
• Medford Man Charged With Using Hidden Camera To Tape…

Ocean County  Superior Court Judge Francis  Hodgson also revoked Kusznikow’s driving privileges for 10 years.

Kusznikow already had a number of DUI convictions before he struck 76-year-old Michael Grosso Jr. with his Ford F150 while intoxicated on Sept. 21, 2011.

The accident happened when Kusznikow’s truck veered off the road and struck a utility pole before hitting Grosso as he was he was unloading the back of his SUV, which was parked legally off the road on Mermaid Drive in Manahawkin.

Grosso, who owned Grandson and Grandpa Construction LLC in Barnegat, was on his way to a job site for the construction business that day, according to sources. Grosso owned the company with his grandson, Michael Kau.

Kusznikow is the son of Stafford Township Councilman Robert Kusznikow.

The younger Kusznikow had four DUI arrests on his driving record prior to the accident, the state's Motor Vehicles Commission told Patch in 2011, including three between April 2004 and April 2007. He also was charged with driving drunk on a moped in January 2002, when he was 15, and received an $82 ticket, Michael Horan, the MVC spokesman, said last year.

However, Kusznikow's driving privileges were not suspended at the time of the incident, Horan said.