End Citizens United (ECU) President Tiffany Muller released the following statement on The New York Times report that Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (NY-04) gave taxpayer-funded jobs in his Congressional office to both his mistress and his fiancée’s daughter, a potential violation of House ethics rules:
“This further proves that D’Esposito sees taxpayer money as his personal slush fund. While it’s shocking and unethical to put your mistress and fiancée’s daughter on Congressional payroll, this is just the latest in D’Esposito’s long history of corruption and self-enrichment. It’s clear he doesn’t respect hardworking New York taxpayers and cannot be trusted to represent them in Congress.”
Earlier this year, ECU inducted Representative D’Esposito to its inaugural list of ‘Most Corrupt’ politicians running for reelection. The initiative is aimed at exposing and defeating the most egregious perpetrators of corruption in Washington.
D’Esposito’s Corruption:
- Last year, ECU filed a complaint against D’Esposito for illegally transferring funds and resources from his state fundraising committee to his federal fundraising committee, which is blatantly illegal. He also used his state committee to open a PO box in Washington, DC and pay for print ads, online ads, cell phones, office rent, fundraising, and volunteer expenses after declaring his congressional run. Additionally, D’Esposito accepted nearly $45,000 in corporate contributions, which are impermissible for federal campaigns, through his state committee after announcing his congressional campaign.
- D’Esposito thrives with conflicts of interest, he held two local government jobs simultaneously, voted to give his family pay raises, and tried to oversee his own election.
- D’Esposito protected George Santos until the writing was already on the wall, and then had the audacity to take credit for it.
- D’Esposito steadfastly backed an extremist agenda in Congress, cutting funding for renewable energy and cutting tax enforcement against his rich donors. He’s taken $156,000 in corporate PAC donations, and pressed for tax cuts for businesses while opposing student loan debt relief.
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