NOTE: This is a long one — 1908 words (including note and headline). You should print it out so you can read it on mass transit, or on another occasion when your mind is free. I couldn't shorten it without leaving out relevant newspaper articles or editorials, some of which discuss the case in the larger context of the fairness of the criminal justice system. These are contemporary accounts from which history is written.

Velella Scandal Unfolds, Commission Under Fire.
Letter Writers Didn't Know About Early Release,
Neighbors Welcome Senator Home to the Bronx

By Henry J. Stern
October 7, 2004
 
We continue to track the Velella story. Today, October 7, is the tenth day of press coverage of the senator's early release. The intense interest in this case is in response to an apparent example of inequality in the criminal justice system. The press accounts demand further inquiries and corrective action. In fact, the newspapers are conducting their own inquiries into what really happened, who pulled the strings, and who the commission told what it planned to do.
 
Our interest in this case has nothing to do with any personal feelings about the senator. Our dealings have always been cordial; four years ago he did something I seriously disagreed with, but it was nothing that would lead me to harbor any hostility towards him, and I have no such feelings. Among politicians, he is one of the more likeable, and his many friends in Albany and in his home community are supportive of him. He is probably not even the worst crook in the Legislature, but he did get caught, thanks to the persistence of one of our ablest public officials, New York County District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau.
 
The most specific exposition yet of the background of this case appears in today's Newsday, ppA6, A47, in a lengthy investigative article by Dan Janison. It is headlined: "Crime and politics: Connect the dots; From the time he entered Rikers Island to the time he was released — and beyond — Guy Velella was hardly your average prisoner." The lead: "State Sen. Guy Velella's stunning release from Rikers Island last week has evolved into a jagged tale, revealing the dense web of relationships that bind city politics to the local penal system."

Janison's article is well worth reading. Newsday, on pA50, also ran an editorial on the subject: "Velella's special deal - Why does 'release commission' exist?," which expresses its distaste for the favoritism shown here.
 
The Post, on p7, gives the case banner treatment. It carries the headline, "GUY CREEPS OUT; But Eliot eyes 2nd jail stint," exclusive, by Fredric U. Dicker, state editor. It begins: "Guy Velella finally emerged yesterday from the Bronx house where he's been holed up — as Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said the disgraced former state senator should go back to jail if he used false claims to gain a controversial early release." According to Dicker, Spitzer said the release board should "reconvene and reconsider its decision" last week for early release. Both said that some letter writers did not know their names would be used to petition.
 
Dicker cites an editorial in yesterday's Albany Times-Union. Entitled "Justice, Capitol style; A downstate legislator who was serving time for taking bribes is now a free man," the editorial quotes Senate Majority Leader Bruno as calling the release "a good thing." The editorial continues: "Mr. Bruno goes so far as to entertain the possibility that Mr. Velella might run for the Senate again in two years." He would be unable to vote for himself because of his felony conviction, but he could still run.
 
The Post's lead editorial today, "A Challenge for Spitzer," ridicules the ex-senator and the man who released him with their characteristic vigor. If you are angry about this case, you will savor the editorial. It concludes forcefully: "Raul Russi may not come to the phone for the Post; he won't be so shy if Spitzer's gumshoes show up with subpoenas. That can't happen too soon. Rarely has the public trust been abused in so flagrant a manner. Rarely is the need for redress so urgent."
 
The Times tells us today that "Velella Got Ride to Freedom From Guards' Union Chief." It continues with the pull-quote: "Inmates usually leave Rikers Island by bus. But not in this case." The story, by Kevin Flynn and Paul von Zielbauer, reports that "Norman Seabrook, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, said he extended the courtesy because Mr. Velella, a Bronx Republican, had been a loyal friend to the union." The way he showed his friendship was by carrying legislation for increased benefits and pensions for correction officers which the union could not obtain by collective bargaining with the city. This practice, which is commonplace among unions and pliant assemblymembers and senators, mandates expenses of millions of dollars. The legislators get union endorsements when they run for reelection, the union members get higher benefits and pensions, and the city gets the bill. But that's another scandal.

Wednesday's Times leads pB1 and B6 (the Metro Section) with an article based on an investigation by Mike McIntyre: "Writers Say Freeing Velella Was Not Intent; Letters May Have Been Get Out of Jail Cards." The story quotes widely respected Councilmember Madeline Provenzano:

"One of his staff people called and asked me to write a letter to Guy Velella to lift his spirits. If they intended to use it to get him out by going before this commission, which I'd never even heard of, I would have liked to have known that. That was not my intent when I wrote it. I had no idea this is what they were going to use it for."

A spokesman for Congressman Eliot Engel expressed similar sentiments.
 
Wednesday's Post carried two prominent stories on the affair. Under the headline, "'Guy' bill would nix crook-pol pensions," Kenneth Lovett reports from Albany that Senator Liz Krueger has introduced a bill to block pensions for elected officials who are convicted of felonies related to their public duties. Her bill would also have applied to former Assemblywoman Gloria Davis, convicted last year for accepting bribes. Senator Krueger's bill has as much chance of passing as a measure to cut the legislators' salaries by half.

The Post story also carried Governor Pataki's statement on the issue: "I'm concerned about the message it sends. We want to have equal justice for people. I think that's an important part of the criminal justice system."

He said the state should give "serious consideration" to abolishing the previously unknown commission. He could accomplish that by not signing any bill extending it beyond its current sunset date of September 1, 2005.
 
Under the 'Guy' story, Andrea Peyser, identified as 'Columnist Of The Year,' wrote a biting piece. "Bronx bozos give a hail to the thief" describes the enthusiastic welcome Senator Velella received in the neighborhood. She was particularly incensed at the display of "a yellow ribbon, as if to suggest Velella spent time fighting for his country in Iraq, rather than fighting for the right to stuff his face..." Peyser observes: "He could get reelected tomorrow." Agree with her or not, she writes vividly.
 
In a substantial and substantive editorial Wednesday, the Sun wrote "Take Off the Kid Gloves." The first part deals with Senator Bruno's support for his fallen colleague. "This is the same Mr. Bruno who — when the allegations against Velella first surfaced years ago — accused the district attorney pursuing the investigation, Robert Morgenthau of Manhattan, of engaging in a politically motivated witch hunt." The Sun notes that Mr. Bruno has not criticized Mr. Velella, or apologized to Mr. Morgenthau. The editorial almost explodes in anger:

"Perhaps those who empathize with Mr. Velella — particularly his fans in the Legislature — recognize that there is a fine line between his misbehavior and business as usual at the Capitol. What is he guilty of, in the end, but using his power as an elected official to squeeze money out of those with business before state government? This is the standard way that Albany pols fill their campaign accounts. If Velella had retired from the Senate, and hung up a shingle as a lobbyist, he could no doubt have peddled his influence for millions of dollars without fear of retribution from Mr. Morgenthau.

"Even before he crossed the line to bribe-taking, Velella embodied much of what is corrupt about the Albany culture. He thrived not by advancing good government, but by trading favors with special interests.

His claim to fame was his ability to funnel pork-barrel dollars to the Bronx from Albany... He was also the poster boy of Albany gerrymandering. The Republicans who drew his district went so far out of their way to exclude minorities that one civil rights attorney liked its outline to a 'dismembered lobster.'"
 
In the Daily News, Joe Mahoney reports "Pataki's troubled by Velella's release," p36. "I'm concerned about the message that it sends," Pataki told reporters outside the State Capitol. "You know, you want to have equal justice for people." I believe that his remarks were correctly reported.
 
Back to Tuesday (we're doing LIFO), Newsday publishes, pA41, an op-ed by Stephen J. Singer, a former president of the Queens County Bar Association. It is titled: "ABOVE THE LAW; Velella's release turns out legal system upside down." The author concludes:

"It is difficult enough to obtain any consideration for prisoners who have terminal illnesses, are suffering constant physical abuse from other prisoners because of the nature of their crime, their avocation or their size, or who cry out for relief for some other truly unique reason.

"It is unheard of that all three white-collar criminals in the same case, who already received a relatively light sentence for stealing large sums of money, are released for no apparent good reason except that they know the right people. This commission has shaken public confidence in the entire system of justice. New York may be more similar to a Third World country than we had a right to expect."

The Post: Oct. 5, p2, "MIKE TO GRILL GUY'S SPRINGER," by David Seifman and Tom Topousis, quotes the mayor:

"I will sit down with the chairman and have a conversation with him, and I want to better understand on what basis he had made his decision. And at that time, I'll determine whether it is time to have somebody else in that slot."

The News, Oct. 5, p16, "Mike Sharpens Ax for Velella's Angel," by Lisa L. Colangelo and Russ Buettner: "I think that there's a real question as to why this commission and lots of other small commissions that nobody really pays any attention to — why they exist," Bloomberg said.
 
The News, Oct. 5, p34, editorial, "The Last Mile" (scroll to third editorial):

"Now that we are dry-eyed again after hearing about all these sufferings beyond human ken that poor Guy Velella was forced to endure while doing his 90 days of hard time, it occurs to us that here is an instructive lesson for all you other legislators who've got their snouts in the trough, or are thinking about sticking them there ... we propose that the Senate and Assembly be taken through Rikers Island ... and shown what incarceration is actually like ... Well, some of you are going to insist upon getting convicted of something sooner or later anyway, we expect. May God have mercy on your souls."

To read the vivid language we left out to save space, link to the article.