Friday Potpourri: 13 September 2024

The Saga of VITO!!!

If I’ve personally told you this story in the past, please feel free to sing along. It is one of my very favourite political stories.

Vito Fossella used to be a Congressman from Staten Island. He was the sole Republican Congressman representing New York City. He was a standard issue Republican, voting along party lines, not in any way famous. Until May of 2008.

It was the first of the month, and Vito was out partying with friends visiting from New York. He was arrested for DUI in Northern Virginia, blowing a 0.17 when the state legal limit was 0.08. In Virginia, this is an automatic 5-day jail sentence if convicted.

He was taken to the police station for processing. He needed to make bail. He could have called his chief of staff, who lived walking distance from the station, but instead, he called his girlfriend. You know, the girlfriend his wife and three children back on Staten Island didn’t know about. Since it was the middle of the night, she couldn’t get a babysitter, so she brought her 3- year old daughter. She carried the girl in, and while sleepy, the girl awoke from the noise, the lights, looked around, and saw a familiar face. She yelled, “DADDY!”.  I had fun reporting on it back then.

Vito had been planning on announcing for re-election, but he was politely asked not to by Mike Bloomberg who’d funded his earlier campaigns. Especially when his wife said that if he came back to Staten Island, she’d shoot him. He went into the floor of the House and said that alcoholism was a disease, he needed treatment, but “the people love Vito.”  A few weeks later he decided not to run for re-election. Eventually, he pleaded guilty and did his 5 days in jail.

Two years later, he attempted a comeback. He planned a bagel breakfast. I really considered going (mostly because I love me a good New York bagel – but mostly to see the reaction of his potential constituents.) I didn’t attend, it didn’t go well, and Vito withdrew into the shadows.

Vito and his wife reconciled. His girlfriend, who was an Air Force colonel, retired from the military and became (I am not making this up) a “Christian Life Coach.” Source. Rumor has it he sees the daughter he had from the affair.

Vito did make it back into politics: with the Convicted Felon’s endorsement, he ran for, and won, the Staten Island Borough President position in 2021.

I have no idea why that story tickles me so, but it does. I remember watching his floor speech, but try as I might, I have been unable to unearth a video of it to share with you. He cried.