Alfonse D'Amato, wife Katuria working through 'personal issues,' spokesman says

Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and his wife, Katuria, are working through "personal issues," the couple disclosed Friday without providing details.

"The only priority Senator and Katuria D'Amato have is their children," Gary Lewi, a family spokesman, said in a statement. "While they seek to resolve personal issues they remain completely focused on the well-being of their son and daughter and will have no further comment."

The former senator, 76, and his wife, 48, married in 2004 at a political- and celebrity-filled wedding at Oheka Castle in Huntington. They have two children, Alfonso Marcello D'Amato Jr., 6, and Luciana Cioffari D'Amato, 4. They live in Lido Beach.

D'Amato represented New York in the U.S. Senate for 18 years, ending in 1998 when he was defeated by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) The Republican has continued to be influential in politics, running Park Strategies, one of the state's largest lobbying companies.

Katuria D'Amato has been a member of the Town of Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals since 2005.

The former senator has four adult children from a previous marriage and 14 grandchildren.