A Bronx woman received a crushing blow after state lawmakers refused to act on legislation this week that would have granted her access to the pension of her late mother, a slain NYPD cop.
Det. Miosotis Familia was shot and killed execution-style as she worked an NYPD command post in the Bronx on July 5, 2017. Since then, her daughter, Genesis Villella, 28, legally adopted her two younger siblings, as Familia was a single mother, and took on full parenting responsibilities.
For years, Villella was not entitled to her mother’s death benefits, which are reserved for spouses and parents of slain officers in NYC. After the NYC Council finally passed a home rule message on June 11 in support of the bill, Villella thought the state legislature would follow suit and entitle her to the pension.
But that did not happen. The state Assembly apparently had concerns about the bill’s current language, she said, and chose not to approve it, at least for another year.
“It was just the Assembly leadership who didn’t approve of the bill and didn’t want to pass it,” Villella told amNewYork. “They had some concerns with the language as is, and they said they’ll help me next year.”
She said she was hurt by the outcome, especially being so close to the finish line of achieving justice, not just for her and her siblings, but her hero mother, too.
“This is my real life, and this bill is my livelihood,” Villella said. “I cannot wait until January. It’ll be nine years. I think it’s really sick that it was just Assembly leadership that didn’t support it. My mom being killed was real for me, and it impacted my real life and my brother’s and sister’s lives. Not passing this has real consequences and harmful impacts on me.”
Bronx Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, who has been a strong supporter of Villella, said he will continue to be an advocate for her and her family.
“I don’t give up easily,” he said. “Simply because the session is over does not mean that we are not going to continue to work on getting a bill done that both can pass the legal muster and do right by the family of Det. Miosotis Familia. While it didn’t get done yet, it will, because I’m not going to stop.”
Meanwhile, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Majority Leader Amanda Farías said in a joint statement that they are “disappointed in the state’s failure” to pass the law.
“The children of first responders who are killed in the line of duty should not be forced to fight for death benefits against unjust laws that treat unmarried first responders differently,” the statement read. “State law must be changed so that Detective Familia’s family, and others suffering the same hardships in the future, can access the benefits earned from their service. They deserve peace and support, and it is critical that the state rights this wrong.”
Villella’s mother was working inside a marked mobile command center in the Bronx when a criminal named Alexander Bonds shot her in the head, killing her almost instantly. Police tracked down Bonds, and shot him dead at the scene.
