Velella Allowed a Temporary Pass from Jail
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A former state senator whose release three months into a one-year jail sentence sparked scrutiny will be free to have Thanksgiving dinner at home Thursday.
The longtime Bronx politician Guy Velella was supposed to surrender to the Department of Correction last night and head back to Rikers Island, but he won a temporary 11th-hour reprieve that will keep him out of jail until at least Monday.
Justice Lottie Wilkins of State Supreme Court said yesterday she would rule then on whether to order the return to jail of Velella, who was indicted on bribery charges in 2002 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy, and his two co-defendants, Hector Del Toro and Manuel Gonzalez.
In September, the city’s Local Conditional Release Commission granted the men early release after they submitted applications.
The move thrust the little-known commission into the public eye, spawned several investigations, and led to the resignations of all five of the commission’s members.
In its probe, the city found that the commission violated state law and its own rules when it voted to grant Velella early release.
Mayor Bloomberg appointed new panel members, who, on Friday, ordered Velella back to prison.
Velella’s lawyer, Charles Stillman, refused to officially re-apply for his client’s early release last week but submitted a 22-page letter laying out his case.
He characterized the new commission’s actions as “unjust and legally wrong.” Mr. Stillman also announced last week that Velella, who is 60, has prostate cancer.
Velella, his father, and the two other men allegedly accepted at least $137,000 in bribes from contractors from 1995 through June 2000. Velella’s guilty plea was part of a deal that kept his 90-year-old father from going to trial.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman from the city Law Department, which argued against the temporary stay, said that the agency was gratified the judge was carefully reviewing the case and that it was looking forward to the final decision.