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May 9, 2008 6:40 pm US/Eastern
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Rep. King: Fossella Enduring Incredible Pain
GOP To Congressman: Resign Now Or Resign Later
Committed To 'Sorting Things Out With His Family'
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
After his drunken-driving arrest led to admissions of a child from an extramarital affair, Staten Island Congressman Vito Fossella has a big decision to make - will he resign? GOP leaders are giving Fossella until Monday to decide if he's going to step down immediately or retire at the end of his term.
At the moment, Fossella said he has no immediate plans to resign. "While I understand that there will be many questions, including those about my political future, making any political decisions right now are furthest from my mind," said Fossella, a Republican, who lives in his Staten Island, N.Y., district with his wife and their three children.
"Over the coming weeks and months, I will continue to do my job and I will work hard to heal the deep wounds I have caused," he said.
People close to Fossella say they don't expect the embattled lawmaker to run for re-election. But the bigger question may be how Fossella sorts out his family life. Friends tell CBS 2 HD the Congressman is more concerned with fixing things with his family in Staten Island and the mother of his out of wedlock daughter, Laura Fay.
"He's going through incredible heartache," said Long Island Congressman Peter King.
King is a close friend of Fossella. He's spent hours and hours with him since his arrest last week on drunken-driving charges and as he wrestled with coming clean about his affair with former Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Laura Fay and the child he fathered.
"He just realized he has really really created some very tough situations for people well beyond himself," King said.
According to sources close to the congressman, his quandry is that he really loves his wife, Mary Patricia, and their three kids. But his love doesn't end there. He also has strong feelings for Laura Fay and their daughter, 3-year-old Natalie. As the recent revelations spread like wildfire, Fossella's main concern is saving the relationships he holds dear.
King talked with CBS 2 HD at length about what a good guy Fossella is, adding that the entire thing caught him by surprise.
"I'm certainly pretty close to Vito. I had never heard of Laura Fay. I certainly didn't know anything about the child." he added. "We would be with each other a lot. I never saw him drink too much, I never heard him talk about other women, I never heard him say anything but positive things about his family."
And here's the greatest irony. The day of his drunk driving arrest, Fossella took his father-in-law to meet the Irish prime minister and took his kids to the White House to see the New York Giants.
"He was on cloud nine. He was as happy as I've ever seen him," said King. "He said to me on Wednesday night of last week that it couldn't get any better than this. He didn't realize how short that was."
Fossella was arrested for driving while intoxicated just five hours later.
Meanwhile, one friend told CBS 2 HD he had asked Fossella what he would have done about Laura Fay if her name didn't come up in association with his arrest. A spokesman said Fossella is back on Staten Island Friday night with his family.
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