Ethics complaint filed against Fossella

19 May 2008 // A Washington watchdog group Monday filed a formal ethics complaint against Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y, over his admission to an affair with an Air Force officer.

The Hill reported that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to investigate whether Fossella violated House rules when he traveled overseas with retired Air Force Lt. Col. Laura Fay, who was the Air Force liaison to Congress.

Fossella, who represents Staten Island, has been under growing scrutiny since his May 1 arrest on a drunken driving charge and his subsequent admission that he and Fay had an affair and were the parents of a 3-year-old child.

Fossella and his wife, Mary Pat, have three children.

Reports have indicated that the affair began in 2002, during a congressional trip to Europe when Fay was the congressional liaison, CREW said in a statement.

"Having an affair is one thing; conducting it at taxpayer expense is quite another," Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said in a statement. "If that's what happened, the ethics committee should hold him accountable."