Weepy Skelos: Son ‘had issues’
Trial testimony on Adam’s woes
Former state Sen. Dean Skelos choked up on the witness stand Friday as he spoke publicly for the first time about why he asked companies lobbying him in Albany to help his troubled son find work.
“Adam had a lot of issues,” Skelos, 70, told the jury of his adopted son — before ticking off such things as “substance-abuse problems,” “educational challenges” and a bad temper.
“It’s very hard for me to talk about this,” the dad said, his voice quavering, at the corruption retrial for himself and his son. “I think the adoption affected him.”
Adam Skelos, 36, sat at the defense table in Manhattan federal court, looking unsurprised by his dad’s description of him.
Dean Skelos — who didn’t tes- tify at the father and son’s first trial — copped to the fact that he repeatedly asked executives of companies lobbying him to give Adam work. But the dad described the requests as innocent favors among “friends” — not as the illicit quid pro quo the government has charged.
It’s a technical distinction that could get him off the hook if the jury finds him credible. “I was with friends. I didn’t see any problem with it,” Dean Skelos said. “If there was something they could do to help him, it would be nice.”
Asked by his lawyer if he ever “intended” to trade the power of his office to benefit Adam, Dean huffed, “Absolutely not. That’s not the way I was brought up.” The testimony marked the first time the Long Island Republican has offered up his story in his own words to rebut the government’s allegations that he and his son used Dean’s position as the state’s powerful Senate majority leader to strong-arm companies into giving Adam donothing jobs and consulting gigs. The father-son’s convictions in 2015 were overturned on appeal. Led by his lawyer, Dean walked the jury through his version of some very damning testimony, including from Anthony Bonomo, the ex-head of Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers.
On Monday, Bonomo testified that he kept Adam in a $78,000-ayear job despite serious performance issues because an “upset” Dean scared him into it.
After the insurance executive called Dean to say Adam was barely showing up for work and mouthing off to his supervisor, Dean told Bonomo to “just work it out,” Bonomo said.
The conversation made Bonomo “upset” and “a little nervous” so he decided not to take any action against Adam, he said. “I didn’t want Adam’s problems to become a wedge to our legislative pursuits up in Albany,” he said.
On Friday, Dean put his own spin on the conversation. “I think what he heard was my frustration with Adam,” Dean said.
He is expected to continue his testimony Monday.