Guy Velella
Encyclopedia
Guy John Velella was a Republican
New York State Senator
from The Bronx
.
A political leader, state assemblyman, and state senator for over 30 years, Velella was indicted in 2002 with 25 counts of bribery
and conspiracy
for allegedly accepting at least $137,000 in exchange for steering public-works contracts to the paying parties. He ultimately pleaded guilty to one count in exchange for a year in jail. As part of the plea agreement reached with the Manhattan District Attorney, Velella resigned his seat in the State Senate and his position as chairman of the Bronx County Republican Party and also gave up his law license. Velella served a total of six months (in two separate stints) of his sentence at Rikers Island
.
. Velella's father, the late Vincent J. Velella, was a lawyer who became wealthy through real estate deals. The Velella family moved to the Bronx in the late 1950s. In 1967, Velella graduated from St. John's University, Jamaica, New York. He then earned a law degree from the Suffolk School of Law (today the Suffolk University Law School
) in Boston, Massachusetts, and joined his father's law practice.
In 1972, aged 28, Velella, a Republican, ran for the New York State Assembly
in the East Bronx. The incumbent Democrat withdrew from the race unexpectedly, and Velella won the race. He served in the Assembly for 10 years. After redistricting, Velella found himself running in a new Democratic district in 1982, which now covered Throggs Neck and Parkchester. In a bitter campaign, he ran against popular Assemblyman and head of the Parkchester Tenants Association John C. Dearie
. After losing that election by a wide margin, Velella told the Bronx News
, a local weekly newspaper, that he was done with politics. In January 1983, Velella returned to practicing law full-time. Despite his pledge that his political career was over, Velella was elected to the local school board. Many political observers expected Velella to run for the seat in Congress held by Mario Biaggi
, a Democrat, when he retired.
Velella returned to elected office on April 22, 1986, when he was elected to the New York State Senate
in a special election to fill the unexpired term of State Senator John D. Calandra
, who died on January 20, 1986. The three-way race was bitter and costly, as JoAnn Calandra, Calandra's widow, backed by the late senator's partisans and patronage recipients, and hoping to capitalize on the late senator’s ties to the Senate Majority establishment, sought to retain family control of the seat. The Democratic candidate, Michael Durso, also generated interest. The seat, the 34th Senate District included mostly white neighborhoods in the Bronx and parts of lower Westchester County, areas hand-picked by Calandra during the last redistricting and including portions of Yonkers, Mount Vernon
, New Rochelle and all of Pelham
. Velella received the endorsements of the Right to Life Party and the Bronx Conservative Party.
In a battle that echoed those for the Republican nomination and the Senate Seat itself, Velella also became chairman of the Bronx Republican Party. He was subsequently re-elected to the State Senate in November 1986 and in every subsequent election. He resigned his seat on May 14, 2004, as part of a plea bargain reached on criminal charges that he took bribes to help businesses win lucrative state contracts. According to the text of the indictment, the bribes were in the form of payments to the Velellas' law firm for little or no work.
In 1989, Velella became chairman of the powerful Senate Insurance Committee. In this capacity, Velella secured passage of numerous laws affecting the insurance industry in New York. Velella reached the height of his influence and power during the mid-1990s. He enjoyed access to important elected officials, many of them Republicans, such as U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato, Governor George Pataki
, Attorney General Dennis Vacco
, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and NYS Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno
. Velella used his many contacts to secure patronage jobs for his supporters. Other key backers such as Bill Newmark, the chairman of the Bronx Conservative Party, joined his legislative payroll.
During Rudy Giuliani's first mayoral bid in 1989, Velella and D'Amato acted together to deny Giuliani the support he needed to beat David Dinkins
, the eventual Democratic nominee, even going so far as to engineer a completely spurious candidacy on the part of cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder
to challenge Giuliani in the Republican primary. Victor B. Tosi
, Velella's executive assistant and a long-time Bronx Republican activist, served as Lauder's campaign manager. Lauder lost the primary, but the nearly $13 million he spent on negative campaign commercials damaged Giuliani's candidacy.
In the general election, Velella endorsed Giuliani, who went on to lose narrowly to Dinkins. Later, when D'Amato and the Governor-Elect Pataki decided to foment a coup against then-Majority Leader Ralph Marino, who had clashed repeatedly with Pataki during the latter's brief tenure in the New York State Senate, Velella acted as Pataki's and D'Amato's agent, drafting Senate Members for a Thanksgiving coup in 1994 against Long Island
's Marino and in favor of upstate Rensselaer County's Joe Bruno. This occurred even though Velella had been, upon the retirement of former Majority Leader Warren Anderson
, one of a small circle who had helped to engineer Marino's ascension to the Leader's post and was one of Marino's most visible and rewarded allies during the ensuing years.
While serving in the state legislature, Velella also maintained a thriving law practice, which benefited from his Senate role as Insurance Chairman. He was a partner, with his father, in Velella, Velella, Basso, and Calandra, a law firm in the Morris Park
section of The Bronx. After his conviction, Velella surrendered his law license and is no longer eligible to practice law. In 2004, the law firm changed its name to Velella, Basso, and Cirrincione and then, after the retirement of Vincent Velella, to Basso and Cirrincione.
In 1993, Velella was accused of fixing local school board elections. No criminal charges were filed.
and lost by a landslide. In 1985, Velella ran for New York City Comptroller
against the three-time Democratic incumbent, Harrison J. Goldin
, but also lost by a wide margin.
Although he maintained a cordial and mutually-beneficial relationship with the Bronx Democratic political machine, Velella did work hard to get Republicans elected to prominent offices. In 1992, Velella campaigned for Senator D'Amato, who was facing a tough re-election fight against Democratic challenger, New York Attorney General Robert Abrams
. D'Amato was narrowly re-elected. Velella and Giuliani put aside their previous animosity, and the Bronx Republican leader enthusiastically campaigned for him in 1993. On Election Day, Velella oversaw a "ballot security program," which sought to deter voter fraud at the polls. In 1994, Velella devoted his resources to the Pataki and Vacco campaigns, which were both successful.
In 2001, Velella endorsed former Bronx Borough President and Congressman Herman Badillo
, who became a Republican in the 1990s, in the race to succeed the term-limited Mayor Giuliani. In the Republican primary, Badillo faced billionaire Michael Bloomberg
, who won the endorsement of the city's four other Republican county chairmen in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. When Velella realized he was the only Republican county chairman in the city supporting Badillo, Velella stopped actively campaigning for Badillo and publicly called on him to withdraw from the race. Velella explained to the New York Post
that he didn't like primaries although he enthusiastically backed Lauder in 1989 against Giuliani. Bloomberg won the primary handily. Velella then campaigned for Bloomberg, who went on to narrowly defeat Mark Green in the general election.
and New York Daily News
, which both endorsed Velella in past campaigns, published editorials demanding his return to jail. The New York Post pasted Velella's face on a Monopoly
"Get Out of Jail Free" card and published it daily in its opinion section.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
called for an investigation into the circumstances of Velella's early release. The city's Department of Investigations (DOI), which looked into the matter, found that the Local Conditional Release Commission (LCRC) had violated established procedures when it granted Velella's request. On November 19, 2004, the commission ordered that Velella be returned to prison. Although Velella appealed this decision, the New York State Appeals Court refused to give him another reprieve. Velella returned to Rikers Island
in late December to resume his sentence. Velella was released on March 18, 2005, after serving only 182 days of his original one-year sentence.
's book,
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America
.
that he did some political and business consulting. In 2007, he purchased a new home in Eastchester, a town in Westchester County, New York
, but remained a resident of Morris Park.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
New York State Senator
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
from The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
.
A political leader, state assemblyman, and state senator for over 30 years, Velella was indicted in 2002 with 25 counts of bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
and conspiracy
Conspiracy (civil)
A civil conspiracy or collusion is an agreement between two or more parties to deprive a third party of legal rights or deceive a third party to obtain an illegal objective....
for allegedly accepting at least $137,000 in exchange for steering public-works contracts to the paying parties. He ultimately pleaded guilty to one count in exchange for a year in jail. As part of the plea agreement reached with the Manhattan District Attorney, Velella resigned his seat in the State Senate and his position as chairman of the Bronx County Republican Party and also gave up his law license. Velella served a total of six months (in two separate stints) of his sentence at Rikers Island
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
.
Biography
Velella was born on September 25, 1944, in East Harlem, then a heavily Italian-American neighborhood, in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Velella's father, the late Vincent J. Velella, was a lawyer who became wealthy through real estate deals. The Velella family moved to the Bronx in the late 1950s. In 1967, Velella graduated from St. John's University, Jamaica, New York. He then earned a law degree from the Suffolk School of Law (today the Suffolk University Law School
Suffolk University Law School
Suffolk University Law School, also known as Suffolk Law School or SULS, is one of the professional graduate schools of Suffolk University. Suffolk University Law School is a private, non-sectarian, law school located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Suffolk University Law School was founded in...
) in Boston, Massachusetts, and joined his father's law practice.
In 1972, aged 28, Velella, a Republican, ran for the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
in the East Bronx. The incumbent Democrat withdrew from the race unexpectedly, and Velella won the race. He served in the Assembly for 10 years. After redistricting, Velella found himself running in a new Democratic district in 1982, which now covered Throggs Neck and Parkchester. In a bitter campaign, he ran against popular Assemblyman and head of the Parkchester Tenants Association John C. Dearie
John C. Dearie
John C. Dearie is a lawyer and former New York State Assemblyman from the Bronx. A Democrat, he served in the Assembly from 1973 until 1992. He won the Assembly seat for the 85th District in 1973 after Anthony Mercorella went to the State Assembly. Dearie ran for New York City Comptroller in 1981,...
. After losing that election by a wide margin, Velella told the Bronx News
Bronx News
The Bronx News is a weekly newspaper that covers the entire Bronx. Founded in 1975, the Bronx News is known for its headlines and reporting. News stories range from crime, sports, entertainment and politics. The front page appears in color, but photos inside the newspaper appear in black and...
, a local weekly newspaper, that he was done with politics. In January 1983, Velella returned to practicing law full-time. Despite his pledge that his political career was over, Velella was elected to the local school board. Many political observers expected Velella to run for the seat in Congress held by Mario Biaggi
Mario Biaggi
Mario Biaggi is a former U.S. Representative from New York and former New York City police officer. He was elected as a Democrat from The Bronx in New York City...
, a Democrat, when he retired.
Velella returned to elected office on April 22, 1986, when he was elected to the New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
in a special election to fill the unexpired term of State Senator John D. Calandra
John D. Calandra
John D. Calandra, Jr. was a New York State Senator from the Bronx and chairman of the Bronx Republican Party. A lawyer and former United States Attorney, Calandra ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate in 1962 and 1964, losing both times to Democrat Joseph Marine.In 1965, he was elected by...
, who died on January 20, 1986. The three-way race was bitter and costly, as JoAnn Calandra, Calandra's widow, backed by the late senator's partisans and patronage recipients, and hoping to capitalize on the late senator’s ties to the Senate Majority establishment, sought to retain family control of the seat. The Democratic candidate, Michael Durso, also generated interest. The seat, the 34th Senate District included mostly white neighborhoods in the Bronx and parts of lower Westchester County, areas hand-picked by Calandra during the last redistricting and including portions of Yonkers, Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
, New Rochelle and all of Pelham
Pelham
-Surname:* British Whig politicians:** Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham and his sons, both Prime Ministers of Great Britain** Henry Pelham ** Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne * American artistic family:...
. Velella received the endorsements of the Right to Life Party and the Bronx Conservative Party.
In a battle that echoed those for the Republican nomination and the Senate Seat itself, Velella also became chairman of the Bronx Republican Party. He was subsequently re-elected to the State Senate in November 1986 and in every subsequent election. He resigned his seat on May 14, 2004, as part of a plea bargain reached on criminal charges that he took bribes to help businesses win lucrative state contracts. According to the text of the indictment, the bribes were in the form of payments to the Velellas' law firm for little or no work.
Popularity in district
As a state senator, Velella brought millions of state dollars into his district, which funded local projects. Velella also endeared himself to his constituents through his advocacy on their behalf with the federal, state, and city government. Velella's success in securing money for his district and excellent record on constituent service made him very popular in his district, including conservative Democrats (or "Reagan Democrats").Influence
As one of the handful of Republican State Senators from New York City, Velella exercised considerable influence in the state legislature and in both Westchester County and New York City politics. Over the decades, many Democrats in the Assembly often turned to Velella to introduce their legislation in the New York State Senate, which was controlled by the Republicans from 1966 until 2009.In 1989, Velella became chairman of the powerful Senate Insurance Committee. In this capacity, Velella secured passage of numerous laws affecting the insurance industry in New York. Velella reached the height of his influence and power during the mid-1990s. He enjoyed access to important elected officials, many of them Republicans, such as U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato, Governor George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
, Attorney General Dennis Vacco
Dennis Vacco
Dennis C. Vacco is an American lawyer and politician. He graduated a B.A. from Colgate University in 1974, a J.D...
, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and NYS Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno
Joseph Bruno
Joseph L. Bruno is an American businessman, and Republican politician. He was the Temporary President of the New York State Senate and its majority leader. Most recently he also served as Lieutenant Governor of New York ....
. Velella used his many contacts to secure patronage jobs for his supporters. Other key backers such as Bill Newmark, the chairman of the Bronx Conservative Party, joined his legislative payroll.
During Rudy Giuliani's first mayoral bid in 1989, Velella and D'Amato acted together to deny Giuliani the support he needed to beat David Dinkins
David Dinkins
David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...
, the eventual Democratic nominee, even going so far as to engineer a completely spurious candidacy on the part of cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder
Ronald Lauder
Ronald Steven Lauder is a Jewish-American businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, and art collector. Forbes lists Lauder among the richest people of the world with an estimated net worth of $3.0 billion in 2007.-Life and career:...
to challenge Giuliani in the Republican primary. Victor B. Tosi
Victor B. Tosi
Victor B. Tosi is a long-time member of the Bronx Republican Party. Tosi ran for office five times, including for Bronx Borough President, and briefly served as the chairman of the Bronx Republican Party from 2004 to 2005. He has also worked for Republicans such as State Senators John D...
, Velella's executive assistant and a long-time Bronx Republican activist, served as Lauder's campaign manager. Lauder lost the primary, but the nearly $13 million he spent on negative campaign commercials damaged Giuliani's candidacy.
In the general election, Velella endorsed Giuliani, who went on to lose narrowly to Dinkins. Later, when D'Amato and the Governor-Elect Pataki decided to foment a coup against then-Majority Leader Ralph Marino, who had clashed repeatedly with Pataki during the latter's brief tenure in the New York State Senate, Velella acted as Pataki's and D'Amato's agent, drafting Senate Members for a Thanksgiving coup in 1994 against Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
's Marino and in favor of upstate Rensselaer County's Joe Bruno. This occurred even though Velella had been, upon the retirement of former Majority Leader Warren Anderson
Warren Anderson
Warren M. Anderson is a former chairman and chief executive officer of Union Carbide.-Personal life:Anderson was born in 1921 in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, New York, to Swedish immigrants. He was named after the American president Warren Harding. He later attended the naval pre-flight...
, one of a small circle who had helped to engineer Marino's ascension to the Leader's post and was one of Marino's most visible and rewarded allies during the ensuing years.
While serving in the state legislature, Velella also maintained a thriving law practice, which benefited from his Senate role as Insurance Chairman. He was a partner, with his father, in Velella, Velella, Basso, and Calandra, a law firm in the Morris Park
Morris Park, Bronx
Morris Park is a neighborhood in the Bronx borough of New York City . The neighborhood is part of Community Board 11 in the East Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: Pelham Parkway to the north, the Amtrak Northeast Corridor tracks to the east and south, and...
section of The Bronx. After his conviction, Velella surrendered his law license and is no longer eligible to practice law. In 2004, the law firm changed its name to Velella, Basso, and Cirrincione and then, after the retirement of Vincent Velella, to Basso and Cirrincione.
Controversies and scandals
In 1987, Velella admitted that he had fathered a child out of wedlock with an Albany woman with whom he had had a longtime affair. The year before, Velella's supporters distributed campaign literature that championed him as an advocate of family values and criticized liberal Democrats for undermining sexual morality. Velella later said he had made financial arrangements with the child's mother to support his newborn daughter, Alexandra Velella.In 1993, Velella was accused of fixing local school board elections. No criminal charges were filed.
City-wide races
In 1981, then-Assemblyman Velella ran for New York City Council President against the incumbent Democrat, Carol BellamyCarol Bellamy
Carol Bellamy has been Director of the Peace Corps, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund , and President and CEO of World Learning. In April, 2009, Bellamy was appointed as Chair of the International Baccalaureate Board of Governors...
and lost by a landslide. In 1985, Velella ran for New York City Comptroller
New York City Comptroller
The Office of Comptroller of New York City is the chief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the city. The comptroller is elected, citywide, to a four-year term and can hold office for three consecutive terms. The current comptroller is Democrat John Liu, formerly a member of the New York...
against the three-time Democratic incumbent, Harrison J. Goldin
Harrison J. Goldin
Harrison Jay Goldin is a lawyer and former New York politician. He served as New York City Comptroller from 1974 to 1989. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1973 and ran in the 1989 Democratic Primary election for Mayor of New York...
, but also lost by a wide margin.
As Bronx Republican Chairman
In 1986, Velella became the chairman of the Bronx Republican Party. He resigned that position in 2004. Critics charged that Velella did nothing to build the local GOP and maintained a "non-aggression pact" with the Bronx County Democratic organization. With the exception of himself, no other Republican was ever elected to any office in the Bronx during his 18-year term. In 1994 and 1996, Velella ran with the endorsement of the Bronx Democratic Party.Although he maintained a cordial and mutually-beneficial relationship with the Bronx Democratic political machine, Velella did work hard to get Republicans elected to prominent offices. In 1992, Velella campaigned for Senator D'Amato, who was facing a tough re-election fight against Democratic challenger, New York Attorney General Robert Abrams
Robert Abrams
Robert Abrams is an American lawyer and politician.-Life and career:He graduated from Columbia College and the New York University School of Law. He is considered a member of the reform wing of the Democratic Party.Abrams was a member of the New York State Assembly representing the Bronx from 1966...
. D'Amato was narrowly re-elected. Velella and Giuliani put aside their previous animosity, and the Bronx Republican leader enthusiastically campaigned for him in 1993. On Election Day, Velella oversaw a "ballot security program," which sought to deter voter fraud at the polls. In 1994, Velella devoted his resources to the Pataki and Vacco campaigns, which were both successful.
In 2001, Velella endorsed former Bronx Borough President and Congressman Herman Badillo
Herman Badillo
Herman Badillo is a Bronx, New York politician who has been a borough president, United States Representative, and candidate for Mayor of New York City. He was the first Puerto Rican to be elected to these posts and be a mayoral candidate in the continental United States.-Early years:Badillo was...
, who became a Republican in the 1990s, in the race to succeed the term-limited Mayor Giuliani. In the Republican primary, Badillo faced billionaire Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
, who won the endorsement of the city's four other Republican county chairmen in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. When Velella realized he was the only Republican county chairman in the city supporting Badillo, Velella stopped actively campaigning for Badillo and publicly called on him to withdraw from the race. Velella explained to the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
that he didn't like primaries although he enthusiastically backed Lauder in 1989 against Giuliani. Bloomberg won the primary handily. Velella then campaigned for Bloomberg, who went on to narrowly defeat Mark Green in the general election.
StopGuy.com
In late 2002, a number of Morris Park residents expressed their concerns over a (now-defunct) web site with the domain www.morrispark.com. The site reportedly contained pornographic images, racial and ethnic jokes and insults, and criticism of local businesses, community leaders and politicians, including Velella. The site's domain was registered under what was believed to be a false name, and its owner has never been identified. Velella announced that he would draft legislation that would require web site operators to register with the New York State Attorney General. Velella's action sparked the creation of a now-defunct "Stop Guy" Web site.Early release controversy
On June 21, 2004, Velella was sentenced to one year in jail for bribery under a plea deal, but was released from Rikers Island on September 28, 2004 after less than twelve weeks by the Local Conditional Release Commission, an obscure New York City agency. (Ironically, in the State Senate, Velella had voted to abolish the LCRC.) His early release sparked outrage, especially in the media. Both the New York PostNew York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
and New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, which both endorsed Velella in past campaigns, published editorials demanding his return to jail. The New York Post pasted Velella's face on a Monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
"Get Out of Jail Free" card and published it daily in its opinion section.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
called for an investigation into the circumstances of Velella's early release. The city's Department of Investigations (DOI), which looked into the matter, found that the Local Conditional Release Commission (LCRC) had violated established procedures when it granted Velella's request. On November 19, 2004, the commission ordered that Velella be returned to prison. Although Velella appealed this decision, the New York State Appeals Court refused to give him another reprieve. Velella returned to Rikers Island
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
in late December to resume his sentence. Velella was released on March 18, 2005, after serving only 182 days of his original one-year sentence.
Additional notoriety
Guy Velella is #94 in Bernard GoldbergBernard Goldberg
Bernard Richard Goldberg , also known as Bernie Goldberg, is an eleven-time Emmy Award-winning American writer, journalist, and political commentator...
's book,
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America is a non-fiction book by Bernard Goldberg that was published in 2005. The book's central idea is to name and blame a long list of specific individuals for making the United States a "far more selfish, vulgar, and cynical place."Goldberg's book denounces many...
.
Post-political activities
Velella continued to receive an annual state pension of $75,012. In 2005, he told the New York Daily NewsNew York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
that he did some political and business consulting. In 2007, he purchased a new home in Eastchester, a town in Westchester County, New York
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, but remained a resident of Morris Park.