Rockville Centre Residents Split On Whether To Rename Dean Skelos Sports Complex

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Sentencing is set for Thursday in the corruption case of once-powerful New York state Senate leader Dean Skelos.

Skelos and his son, Adam Skelos, could be sentenced to up to 130 years behind bars. Prosecutors have advised that the elder Skelos serve 12 to 15 years for his extortion conviction.

Now, leaders from Skelos' hometown of Rockville Centre, Long Island must decide what to do about the public park named after him.

At the entrance to the Dean Skelos Sports Complex, there is no sign of the signs that used to bear the name of Rockville Centre's favorite son. There are just bare posts where for years, the name Dean Skelos adorned the complex.

But on the eve of Skelos' sentencing, the village has not officially changed the park name.

"I think they should keep it," one woman said. "I mean, the man hasn't been an animal or a criminal for all these years -- something his son did, and it caused him to have a problem. We all try to save our children."

The Skelos name also has been stripped off the state Senate District Office that he occupied for 30 years. But in a village where the once-powerful Skelos is still credited with the political clout it took to secure the park, there are mixed emotions about stripping away an honor some say he earned.

"We all make mistakes. Some people get caught some people don't," a woman said. "But you can't take away the good that he has done."

But not everyone spoke so highly of Skelos.

"What does it say about us as people who supporting someone who is doing something that's illegal and giving him honor by giving him the name of a park?" another woman said.

James Coll has set up a petition to rename the sports complex. He said he thinks naming honors should be for heroes who sacrifice, not for politicians just doing their jobs.

"Our parks should be reserved for people that have served and sacrificed, and real heroes that children can look up to and model their own lives after," Coll said.

Such heroes, Coll said, would include Long Island native and NYPD Officer Brian Moore -- who was shot and killed by a gunman in Queens the same week Skelos was arrested – or Lt. Ronald Winchester, a hometown Marine killed in Iraq.

There was no answer Wednesday at Skelos' home, as he awaited sentencing for using his powerful name to secure no-show jobs for his son.

Village officials said they will wait until the case winds its way through the appeals process before making a decision. That could take years.

Sentencing for Dean and Adam Skelos is set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Skelos' attorneys have asked for no prison time, saying his public humiliation has been punishment enough.