Nation in brief: Lawmaker admits affair, daughter
Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., on Thursday admitted to a long-running extramarital affair with a retired Air Force officer and said he has a 3-year-old daughter with her.
Fossella’s admission came a week after he was arrested for drunken driving on his way to the woman’s home in suburban Alexandria, Va., after a night out in the District.
The Staten Island lawmaker, who did not say whether he would seek re-election in November, issued a four-sentence statement in response to allegations about the incident and the relationship on the front pages of New York tabloids.
“I have had a relationship with Laura Fay, with whom I have a three year old daughter. My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love and I am truly sorry,” Fossella said.
Fossella, a six-term Republican who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, has a wife with whom he has three young children.
Springfield, Ill.
NIU will remodel site of slayings
Northern Illinois University wants to remodel a building where five students were slain by a suicidal gunman on Valentine’s Day, instead of demolishing it, the school president said Thursday.
The auditorium where the killings took place would no longer be used as a classroom, but Cole Hall’s other auditorium would be reopened under the proposal, President John Peters said, citing overwhelming support from an online survey.
Peters initially wanted to tear down the hall, create a memorial in its place and build a new $40 million structure. The idea proved unpopular. University officials then collected thousands of opinions on the building’s future through e-mail, open forums and meetings.
The new $7.7 million plan also includes new 7,800-square-foot, 400-seat auditorium in the center of the campus in DeKalb.
Cole Hall has been empty since a gunman killed the students and wounded 18 others before shooting himself.
Washington
Ethics panel won’t investigate Vitter
The Senate Ethics Committee declined Thursday to investigate Sen. David Vitter, who was linked to an escort service whose owner was convicted in federal court and subsequently committed suicide.
The committee said it declined to pursue the case because Vitter’s conduct preceded his Senate service, did not result in charges against him and did not involve use of his public office or status for improper purposes.
Vitter, R-La., has acknowledged that his Washington phone number was among those called several years ago by the escort service run by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the “D.C. Madam.” Palfrey committed suicide earlier this month, saying in notes that she couldn’t bear going to prison.
The senator was spared further embarrassment when he was not called as a witness in Palfrey’s trial. She was convicted of money laundering, using the mail for illegal purposes and racketeering.