Vito Fossella lied to other woman; wife considers dumping him
By RICH SCHAPIRO, CELESTE KATZ, NANCY DILLON and TINA MOORE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Saturday, May 10th 2008, 4:00 AM
Oates for News
Vito Fossella
Laura Fay, who had a baby (below) with Fossella, says the councilman lied to her about his marriage.
Vito Fossella's admission that he fathered a love child exposed another of his lies: He had told his girlfriend he was separated from his wife, the Daily News learned Friday.
Retired Air Force Col. Laura Fay told those around her recently that the Staten Island congressman had split with his wife, Mary Pat, one source said.
"Fay thought - up until the release of the statement - that Fossella was separated," said the source, who is familiar with the relationship.
The source said Fay learned of the lie when a friend who saw a draft of Fossella's statement realized it didn't say he was separated.
Fossella, who has always stressed "family values," admitted Thursday in the statement that he fathered Fay's 3-year-old daughter during an illicit affair.
The revelation came a week after he was charged with drunken driving in Alexandria, Va., and seemed to tear apart the family.
Asked if he could ever forgive Fossella, Mary Pat Fossella's father, Thomas Rowan, said, "I'm not going to say."
A close family friend said Fossella's wife was considering divorce - and if so, planned to go after the house and custody of the couple's three children.
"She's mad," said the source, who asked not to be identified. "She wants to move on."
"I think she may have had a clue that he had a roving eye, but I don't think she had a clue that he had another child," the source said.
Fossella has yet to announce if he would step down from his congressional seat or seek reelection in November. His fellow Republicans are urging him to either quit or announce he won't run again.
Fossella's spokeswoman, Susan Del Percio, said he was in Staten Island with family.
News of his love child exposed a crack in the face Fossella portrays to his largely conservative Catholic constituency.
Fossella banded together last month with a group of lawmakers who demanded HBO apologize for what they called an "offensive anti-Catholic rant" by "Real Time" host Bill Maher. Fossella took HBO to task for "insulting the Pope, mocking the Catholic religion and Catholics."
Fossella told cops who stopped him for running a red light about 3 miles from Fay's house on May 1 that he was going to see his sick daughter. Fossella's blood-alcohol content was 0.17 - more than twice the legal limit.
He later was released into Fay's custody, sparking questions about their relationship.
Fossella apologized to his "three beautiful children" at a news conference the next day, explaining this time that he was visiting friends in Virginia.
Some of Fay's neighbors in the Virginia suburbs knew about the daughter but not that the toddler's father was a congressman.
One woman in the neighborhood said she would frequently see Fay walking with her daughter and a "tall man...I always thought that was her husband."
Fossella and his lover took several trips together overseas on official taxpayer-funded congressional business, including to Europe in July 2003. Questions remain about earlier congressionally approved trips Fossella took, where Fay may have joined him in exotic European and Mideast locales on the taxpayers' dime.
Fay split with her second husband in December 2003, five months after the trip.
By RICH SCHAPIRO, CELESTE KATZ, NANCY DILLON and TINA MOORE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Saturday, May 10th 2008, 4:00 AM
Oates for News
Vito Fossella
Laura Fay, who had a baby (below) with Fossella, says the councilman lied to her about his marriage.
Vito Fossella's admission that he fathered a love child exposed another of his lies: He had told his girlfriend he was separated from his wife, the Daily News learned Friday.
Retired Air Force Col. Laura Fay told those around her recently that the Staten Island congressman had split with his wife, Mary Pat, one source said.
"Fay thought - up until the release of the statement - that Fossella was separated," said the source, who is familiar with the relationship.
The source said Fay learned of the lie when a friend who saw a draft of Fossella's statement realized it didn't say he was separated.
Fossella, who has always stressed "family values," admitted Thursday in the statement that he fathered Fay's 3-year-old daughter during an illicit affair.
The revelation came a week after he was charged with drunken driving in Alexandria, Va., and seemed to tear apart the family.
Asked if he could ever forgive Fossella, Mary Pat Fossella's father, Thomas Rowan, said, "I'm not going to say."
A close family friend said Fossella's wife was considering divorce - and if so, planned to go after the house and custody of the couple's three children.
"She's mad," said the source, who asked not to be identified. "She wants to move on."
"I think she may have had a clue that he had a roving eye, but I don't think she had a clue that he had another child," the source said.
Fossella has yet to announce if he would step down from his congressional seat or seek reelection in November. His fellow Republicans are urging him to either quit or announce he won't run again.
Fossella's spokeswoman, Susan Del Percio, said he was in Staten Island with family.
News of his love child exposed a crack in the face Fossella portrays to his largely conservative Catholic constituency.
Fossella banded together last month with a group of lawmakers who demanded HBO apologize for what they called an "offensive anti-Catholic rant" by "Real Time" host Bill Maher. Fossella took HBO to task for "insulting the Pope, mocking the Catholic religion and Catholics."
Fossella told cops who stopped him for running a red light about 3 miles from Fay's house on May 1 that he was going to see his sick daughter. Fossella's blood-alcohol content was 0.17 - more than twice the legal limit.
He later was released into Fay's custody, sparking questions about their relationship.
Fossella apologized to his "three beautiful children" at a news conference the next day, explaining this time that he was visiting friends in Virginia.
Some of Fay's neighbors in the Virginia suburbs knew about the daughter but not that the toddler's father was a congressman.
One woman in the neighborhood said she would frequently see Fay walking with her daughter and a "tall man...I always thought that was her husband."
Fossella and his lover took several trips together overseas on official taxpayer-funded congressional business, including to Europe in July 2003. Questions remain about earlier congressionally approved trips Fossella took, where Fay may have joined him in exotic European and Mideast locales on the taxpayers' dime.
Fay split with her second husband in December 2003, five months after the trip.
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