Former Bronx State Senator Guy Velella, who went to jail after being convicted on federal bribery charges, died this morning at the age of 66, according to the News. Velella had been suffering from inoperable lung cancer, and doctors had recently given him only a few months to live. Velella was a Republican political leader, state assemblyman, and state senator for over 30 years.
Velella's political career came to an end when he resigned in 2004, after he was indicted on charges of bribery; he was tried for allegedly accepting at least $137,000 in exchange for the senator steering state contracts and housing subsidies. He only served less than half of his one year sentence when he was released early, which garnered a lot of controversy from the local dallies. More recently, he was back in the papers because he was still receiving a taxpayer-funded pension despite his criminal conviction; at the time, he said of receiving $75,012 a year (tax-free), "The law says I've earned it. I am entitled to it. I take it."
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz released a statement today on Velella's passing: “I am saddened to hear about the passing of Guy Velella, who served the Bronx for many years in both the State Senate and the State Assembly. My thoughts and prayers are with his family during their time of grief.”
