Posted on 05/07/2008 8:12:48 PM PDT by neverdem
When cops stopped Rep. Vito Fossella for drunken driving, the married congressman said he was rushing to see his sick daughter on nearby Grimm St. - the home of the mystery woman who later plucked him from jail.
Fossella's spokeswoman has insisted the single mom, Air Force Col. Laura Fay, 45, was only a "good friend," but the Staten Island Republican implied to suburban D.C. cops that Fay's 3-year-old was his.
"The subject stated that he was driving down from Washington, D.C., to Grimm St. because his daughter was sick and needed to go to the hospital," a police report obtained by the Daily News reveals.
The report describes how Fossella, who has a wife and three children in New York, failed a sobriety test by reciting the alphabet wrong, swaying while standing on one leg and stumbling while trying to walk a straight line.
"When I looked at his lips, I noticed they were stained red," the Alexandria, Va., cop wrote. "He stated that he had about two or three glasses of wine. ..."
Cops said Fossella had a blood-alcohol level of 0.17, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.
Seven hours after his arrest, Fossella was released to Fay, who lives 3 miles from thespot where cops stopped him for running a red light.
Susan Del Percio, a crisis management consultant hired after the arrest, refused to answer "yes" or "no" when asked if Fossella fathered Fay's daughter.
"This is a demeaning and highly inappropriate question," she said yesterday. She gave the same answer when asked the question the previous day.
Asked if Fossella was driving to Fay's house, she said, "We will not discuss the particulars of the legal case." She has said Fossella met Fay while she was working as a legislative liaison for the Air Force.
Unless there's a plea deal, the congressman will have to serve a mandatory five days in jail.
He was back on the job yesterday, attending a morning hearing and appearing on the House floor for a series of procedural votes in the afternoon. The disgraced lawmaker walked sheepishly into the chamber, his hands jammed into the pockets of his charcoal-colored suit.
Over the course of about 45 minutes he spent on the floor, Fossella was greeted with handshakes and hugs from a half-dozen GOP lawmakers.
Fossella was part of a congressional delegation that went on a European junket in the summer of2003, records show. Fay was the chief military chaperon for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), a source on the trip said. In October 2003, Fay was reassigned from Air Force Legislative Liaison to an intelligence desk job at the Pentagon, the Air Force told The News.
Fay split with then-husband Guy Shoaf the day after Christmas in 2003, about five months after the trip. It was her second divorce. They had no children. She retired from the military in September 2006. Before his drunken night, the representative attended a ceremony for the Irish prime minister and an event for the Super Bowl-winning Giants.
Fossella arrived at the Logan Tavern after 10 p.m. with a friend named Brian, witnesses who were at the bar said.
The congressman and his pal were asked to leave the bar after Brian fell down and smashed a table.
Fossella rents a condo owned by his uncle, Frank Fossella, in a tony building that rises above the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, Del Percio said.
Fossella's wife, Mary Pat, sat quietly at the Staten Island news conference where Fossella apologized for his arrest on Friday. She declined to comment. A source familiar with the family said the wife did not know her husband had a car in Washington and was shocked by news of his arrest. "I think she's more angry than sad ...," the source said.
A man who arrived at Fay's home to water her plants yesterday said she was in Coral Gables, Fla. Fay's sister Linda lives in a small town in Washington State. Her husband, Tom Himmelberger, said his wife was out shopping. "Her comment would be no comment," he said.
Steve Labernik, Fay's brother, refused to talk about her at his Spencer, Iowa, home. "I haven't heard from her lately," he said. With Celeste Katz,
Matthew Lysiak, Richard Sisk and Thomas DeFrank
tmoore@nydailynews.com
I’m glad he’s not my congressman, because I’d have a hard time voting for someone who’s a drunk driver.
There is NO ONE. except a Mormon maybe who has not driven after drinking...NO ONE.
Oh really? I’m not a Mormon, but I have never driven after drinking.
Vito didn’t just have a couple of drinks before getting behind the wheel (which is bad enough) — he blew more than twice the legal limit.
According to a friend his wife is leaving him and will not be engaging in the Dina McGreevey/Silda Spitzer humiliation.
I used to respect this guy. I'm sickened.
Well, his wife has my respect.
This sucks for all the Downstate NY Republicans, and all of the NYC Republicans. I sure hope Staten Island stays Republican. Now, I guess GOP New Yorkers can only count on Peter King on Long Island.
The other shoe dropped quickly thereafter, which wasn't as surprising.
It really is disillusioning when you see a person who you thought was one of the few semi-competent congressmen from this state turn out to be another sleazy pol.
And now we're going to have another Jane Fonda fan/George Soros clone in Congress.
:(
Is there anyone on the bench in Staten Island? State rep or anything who could be credible as a congressman?
Well, considering that he was popped for having more than TWICE the legal limit, it’s not terribly surprising that he’s even more of a degenerate.
The drunk driving is the deal-killer for me, but being a “pro-family conservative” and then humiliating his family is not only hypocritical, but the sign of a total moron.
Any chance on getting a decent Repub to salvage the seat?
RUN VITO RUN!!! MurryMom supports you. Who could possibly be against your run for a 7th term?
NYS GOP is an oxymoron :(
FWIW, the Big Mew comes from a long line of Presbyterian tea-totalers. And though I'm not in real good odor with the Lord at the moment, I've never gotten behind the wheel after using alcohol.
LOL! Does the good Lord smell something odd coming from your body?
The rumor about Fossella’s illegitimate child have been around. But it’s the committing of a felony that galls me.
He should not be a candidate for reelection.
WOW!! Not even Communion WINE????
The GOP may be getting ready to dump Fossella. In fact, other Republicans are looking at it. Check this article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/05/gop-to-poll-in-the-13th.html
Fossella is the only non-RINO who can win, but the NYGOP is stupid.
You again?
MurryMom has best wishes for the GOP and conservatives every time I notice her name. Has she been a troll since May 15, 1998?
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