Crain's New York Business
November 4, 2004

City investigators say Velella panel broke law

City investigators have determined that the obscure panel that granted former state Sen. Guy Velella an early release from prison broke three provisions of a state law.

The Department of Investigation released a report today saying that the member Local Conditional Release Commission had acted unlawfully in “hundreds of cases” of early release, according to Bloomberg News. In the case of Mr. Velella, only two members were present at the vote to spring the Bronx Republican, who was sentenced to a year in jail for accepting bribes, though three were required to be there. The department also found that the panel improperly told Mr. Velella that he could reapply for release within a month after his first application was denied, and that the panel did not wait the required 60 days before making its decision, Bloomberg reported.

The city’s Law Department, which is representing the LCRC, says it is evaluating the findings now and expects to issue an opinion on the report in the next few days.

© 2004 Crain's New York Business