Foley’s Lost Night in Jail
Republican Tom Foley doesn’t remember much about the circumstances surrounding a 1981 driving incident that led him to spend a night in jail on assault charges. The Courant’s Jon Lender has the story of two Foley arrests involving the what have the distinct look of driving while furious.
Foley was arrested after being accused of ramming the vehicle of fellow guests at a summer party in Southampton, New York. The gubernatorial candidate says he was arrested the next day and held in jail overnight. He was released and, he says, the people in the car ahead of him “dropped the charges.” Here’s the fishiest part: Foley says he doesn’t remember whose party it was or who was in the car he struck. There was probably some drinking that night, but it had nothing to do with the incident, Foley says. Odd that he remembers he may have had a drink or two but can’t recall more salient details. Strange, too, that he would be held overnight in jail if the incident was as minor as Foley claims.
Twelve years later, Foley’s estranged wife told Greenwich police that her husband had tried to run her off the road after a dispute over their son. She repeated that story in 2002 when she sent a binder of unpleasant documents to Governor John Rowland’s office after Foley had been appointed to a commission on divorce and custody issues. Foley, involved in a divorce bordering on warfare, offers a milder version. He says he blocked his estranged wife’s car in his driveway, relented, and then followed her and their young son, who was a passenger in his mother’s car.
In the Greenwich case, Foley says he believes he was charged with breach of peace. The case was not prosecuted. He denies running his wife and son off the road.
This is serious trouble for Foley, who faces two other Republicans in an August 10th primary. Voters know little about the Greenwich businessman other than that the state is “broken and broke.” His support is shallow and based on his sole command of the airwaves during the winter and spring. He won the state convention nomination on the first ballot last month in a weak field.
These seething-with-a-motor vehicle arrests fill in a picture that is mostly blank. That’s not good for Foley. He’s not spent much time around state politics beyond Greenwich and party fundraising. It wasn’t diplomatic skills that got him an ambassadorship to Ireland. He had social connections and had raised a lot of campaign coin for George W. Bush.
On the campaign trail, Republicans have found Foley smart but notably chilly for a politician still introducing himself. Now they also know that he can’t recall much about a night in jail.
12 comments
Seriously — ?? A traffic violation 30 years ago and a divorce/custody dispute ?? This is crack investigative journalism.
They should go back to his grammar school “permanent record.” There’s got to be more dirt there. Maybe dirty knees from falling on the playground . . . there’s got to be something . . .
Ouch!
Tom Foley has already come out against mandates requiring insurance companies to provide wigs to chemo therapy patients, an odd move that undoubtedly alienated a good portion of female voters. The nastiness of his divorce and the related arrest will not help his image with the fairer sex.
The result of the Republican convention was a self inflicted wound; the party “insiders” have left it to Republican voters to save the party from itself. Foley is a terrible campaigner; having met him, he is awkward and very unnatural. And Martha Dean will simply be unpalatable to voters in the general election.
The biggest loser in all of this might be the “wizard” who’s supposed to be running the show behind the curtain; Chris Healy. Even modest gains in November will be a humiliating defeat for the party chairman.
The GOP convention followed the money stacks and forwent the best candidates for the ones who had the most money for a general election dogfight. Starry-eyed over chinks in the Dem’s armor, methinks.
Where is ACR? Fedele isn’t paying him $1,ooo a month to sit around and NOT post on any article related to Foley!
Ok wow he seems insane and unstable. I’m scared that if I don’t vote for him he’ll try to run me off the road! But at this point that’s a chance I’m willing to take. Oz Griebel all the way!
In reply to Mr_Pink: Still at work peddling cancer sticks, I guess.
[…] Foley’s Lost Night in Jail […]
Oz Griebel for Governor of Connecticut taking credit for planting this story with his comment above? When you’re polling at 2% you gots to do what you gots to do.
Kevin you’re such a drama queen. Ho hum, no one really cares. Fedele and Grebal are still way behind in the primary race and will pull out all the stops like supplying Jon Blender with stuff like this.
The real question is will Fedele raise enough money to qualify for the tax payer dollars to fund his failing campaign? Time’s running out Mike, you only have one more week. July 1st is the drop dead date for Fedele.
And Oz absolutely, positively does not have the resources to raise enough money privately to wage a campaign against Lamont who will win the primary. That’s all irrelevant anyway because ole “two percent Oz” won’t win the primary no matter how much mud he slings which is all he does these days.
I believe July 16that 5 p.m. is the crucial date for candidates seeking public financing.
Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, you should know better than that. The deadlines are Thursdays at 5:00 pm to be on the agenda for the following Wednesday. You should know as well as the next girl that the SEEC almost NEVER gives out the taxpayer money on the first try so they “continue” it for a week.
Now let’s look at the calendar Yes, July 16th is the last day to submit before the primary but if there are problems then Fedele is screwed, no continuances if a candidate’s application has deficiencies even if they can be fixed.
I said July 1st because then he’s on the agenda for July 8th as his first shot and if there are problems, he can fix them (maybe) to be on the agenda for the 14th.
Now if he’s dumb enough to wait until July 8th to be on the agenda for the 14th, he’s only got TWO DAY to fix any problems and trust me, with the SEEC there are always problems.
So you can sit there all smug an’ all and say “July 16th” but in reality, if Fedele doesn’t apply by July 1st, he’s not getting his taxpayer dollars to wage his losing primary campaign, even with all your 30 year old arrest drama.