State Sen. Louis DeLuca said today that he will step down rather than face possible expulsion from the Senate for asking a trash hauler with alleged mob ties to threaten his granddaughter’s husband, a Republican official said Tuesday.
“There’s a time and place for all good things to end,” he said, choking back tears as he spoke to reporters at a news conference with his wife and some of his children and grandchildren by his side. “We’ve fought the good fight.”
The former Republican leader has represented 10 towns in western Connecticut since 1991. He has said he asked Danbury trash hauler James Galante for help because he believed his granddaughter was being abused by her husband and Waterbury police would not assist him — a charge they have denied.
“I believe in my heart that my actions were designed to protect my family,” DeLuca said. He said he did not ever violate the public trust and has always tried to be a faithful public servant.
DeLuca, 74, of Woodbury stepped down as Senate minority leader in June after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor threatening charge. He received a six-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and donate $1,500 to charity as part of the plea deal.
He has apologized for his actions.
A Senate committee considering whether to expel, censure, reprimand or take no action against him had been expected to ask the full Senate on Tuesday for permission to subpoena audiotapes of DeLuca’s conversations with an undercover FBI agent.
The committee planned to meet later Tuesday to determine its next step.
The threat against his granddaughter’s husband was never carried out. DeLuca has also come under fire for offering political help to Galante, who is awaiting trial on 93 counts, including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, extortion, mail and wire fraud, and witness tampering.
