A federal prosecutor from Rhode Island has pleaded not guilty to drunken driving after police decided to charge him following questions about whether he was let off the hook because of his connections.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard Sullivan appeared in District Court Friday and was released after he promised to appear at his next court hearing Dec. 15. He left without commenting.

Sullivan was pulled over for driving erratically early Thanksgiving morning. Police say he told them he had had too much to drink, and mentioned several times he was a prosecutor and knew their chief before refusing a breathalyzer test. He was initially charged only with refusing a chemical breath test.

Warwick police and the U.S. Department of Justice are both investigating.