End Citizens United (ECU), a grassroots campaign finance reform organization, today inducted Representative Marc Molinaro (NY-19) 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.
“Representative Molinaro’s 30 years in politics has been rife with corruption and self-dealing,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “At every level of government, he has shamelessly abused his position of power for personal gain, effectively putting a price tag on elected office. His gross misuse of taxpayer funds and his pay-to-play relationship with big donors has left families in the district to fend for themselves. We’re going to hold him accountable by exposing his record and engaging with voters through Election Day to make sure they know just how corrupt he is.”
Molinaro is a career politician with a record of unabashed corruption and hypocrisy. As Dutchess County executive, Molinaro recklessly used taxpayer money to fund his lavish lifestyle. He was exposed for making taxpayers pay for his luxury car which cost nearly $200,000. He campaigned on banning companies with state contracts from donating to politicians, but those calls proved to be a farce as he engaged in a pay-to-play scheme that filled his campaign coffers. In total, his administration gave $89 million in government contracts to donors that showered him with $330,000 in campaign contributions.
Molinaro’s time in Washington has been marred by campaign finance scandals. In one instance, ECU filed an FEC complaint against Molinaro for illegally transferring funds and resources from his state fundraising committees to his federal campaign. Instead of owning up to the violations, Molinaro decried it as a “baseless” attack. But just a few months later, he shamefully admitted wrongdoing in his own FEC report and returned some of the illegal money.
Instead of delivering for his constituents in Congress, Molinaro has fallen in line with party leaders, his donors, and their extremist agenda. He has taken $193,000 from federal corporate PACs, like big oil and gas companies, and champions a corporate agenda to deregulate the industry and give them free reign to pollute the environment. He has accepted thousands in campaign contributions from a corporate PAC associated with NYSEG as it pushed to raise consumers’ rates by 62 percent. Additionally, he has a high volume of donations from corporate CEOs and the ultra wealthy and has voted to cut enforcement against rich tax cheats. Molinaro was a staunch defender of serial fraudster George Santos, going so far as to vote to block the House from expelling him. When Santos was ultimately expelled, Molinaro had the gall to take credit for it.
ECU will highlight Molinaro’s record of corruption and will work to engage voters and the media between now and Election Day, including in a new digital video released today.
ECU is dedicated to combating the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: the corrosive impact of Big Money and attempts to block access to the ballot box. Since its founding in 2015, the group has had over 1 million donors and raised $200 million, with an average donation of just $14. The group has more than 4 million members nationwide.
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