WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is being treated for alcoholism at a facility in Arizona, his attorneys said Wednesday.
Foley has been in a 30-day treatment program at the Sierra Tucson treatment center in Catalina, Ariz., near Tucson, since Oct. 1, according to a joint statement released by his attorneys in West Palm Beach and Washington, D.C.
Foley resigned from Congress last month after he was confronted with sexually explicit computer communications he had sent to male teenage pages who worked on Capitol Hill. His attorneys have since revealed that Foley is gay, suffers from alcohol addiction and was molested by a Catholic priest as a teenage altar boy.
Authorities are investigating whether Foley broke any state or federal laws, and a House ethics committee is currently questioning members of Congress about what they knew and when regarding Foley’s inappropriate contact with the teenagers.
The statement Wednesday was released by Foley’s criminal attorney, David Roth, his civil attorney, Gerald Richman, and his Washington attorney, William Taylor. The statement also asks that Foley’s privacy be respected.
Roth declined to say why Foley authorized his attorneys to release the information.
A spokeswoman for the facility, Connie Gavel, said Wednesday she ‘‘can’t confirm or deny that we have a patient here by that name.’’
Sierra Tucson is a psychiatric hospital that specializes in the treatment of addictions and behavioral disorders, according to the facility’s Web site.
‘‘Progressive, effective therapies help each individual discover, confront, and learn to manage the issues at the very heart of human behavior and disease,’’ the Web site says.
The facility is well known for treating celebrities, including entertainer Julie Andrews, who underwent treatment for emotional issues; actor Michael Douglas, former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, actress Kim Delaney, who played a police detective on the television show ‘‘NYPD Blue,’’ and golfer John Daly, who were all treated there for alcoholism.
