Santos outspent other L.I. GOP winners on travel, food

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Santos outspent other L.I. GOP winners on travel, food
Congressman-elect George Santos faces questions about the legitimacy of his educational and professional resume along with his genealogy. (Photo courtesy of Santos)

Congressman-elect George Santos’ campaign outspent other Republican House winners on Long Island and his Democratic opponent Robert Zimmerman on flights, hotels and restaurants during his congressional campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Campaign filings show Santos spent over $42,000 on flights, more than the $17,637 spent on flights by Republican Congressman-elect Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park), Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), Congressman-elect Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) and Zimmerman. 

Santos shelled out nearly $30,000 on hotels compared to the $22,233 by the other four. 

Filings show spending by the Santos campaign at the Garden City Hotel, W Hotel in Miami Beach and Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. 

Santos also laid out more than $31,000 at restaurants, with Garbarino in second place with expenditures of $24,155. 

Santos spent over $4,500 during 25 different visits to Il Bacco, the Little Neck restaurant where he also held his victory party at on Election Night. 

In the filings, Santos listed more than 30 expenses of $199.99 each, one cent below the threshold which would require receipts, according to federal law. 

Paul Ryan, an election law expert, told The New York Times the expenses could be a way to hide illegal uses of campaign funds.

“I consider deployment of this tactic strong evidence that the violation of law was knowing and willful — and therefore meeting the requirement for criminal prosecution,” Ryan said. 

The filings include an outlay of nearly $11,000 to a company called Cleaner 123 under “apartment rental for staff.”

Over the past two years, Santos also donated thousands to Nassau County organizations and elected officials. 

Included in the filings is $500 to Elaine Philips’ campaign when she was running for Nassau County comptroller for an event donation, a personal contribution of $500 to the Sands Point-Port Washington Republican Committee, $750 to the Nassau County Republican Primary Campaign, $1,000 to D’Esposito’s campaign, $250 to the Glen Cove Knights of Columbus, $200 to the campaign for Vhibuti Jha, who ran for the state’s 16th Assembly District, and $500 to the campaign for Ruka Anzai, who ran for the state’s 13th Assembly District.

Much of Santos’ financial affairs have come into question in recent weeks. According to CNN and The New York Times, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York is looking into Santos’ money matters. According to The Times, the investigation is said to be in its early stages.

The congressman-elect also admitted to being in debt and fined more than $12,000 in May 2017 after a Queens landlord claimed he was owed more than $10,000 in rent over a five-month period. 

Santos also conceded he did not own 13 different properties despite previously calling out alleged tenants of these properties for “taking advantage” of rental assistance offered during the coronavirus pandemic, claiming he and his family had not been paid rent in nearly a year.

Santos loaned his campaign more than $700,000 during this year’s election cycle while donating thousands more to other candidates over the last two years, according to The Times. The Republican reported earning a $750,000 salary and more than $1 million in dividends from the Devolder Organization, according to the Times.

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, who represented the district until 2023 and defeated Santos in 2020, told CNN that the Republican had $40,000 in his campaign account two years ago before reporting an excess of $700,000 this year.

“I never even mentioned his name in the campaign, I beat him by 12 points, Suozzi said. “Now, all of a sudden he has all this money that he loaned from himself. When he was running against me, he was being evicted for non-payment of rent.”

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1 COMMENT

  1. It’s hard to keep finding words to describe the revulsion this imposter has fueled in the constituents of District 3, Long Islanders and the Jewish community by his craven character and feckless behavior. The anomalies in Santos’s reported income, his debt and his campaign donations are only outdone by his acts of self-aggrandizement that are an affront to all of us ordinary citizens who work hard to raise our children with models of integrity and self respect. A resignation is the very least he can do to begin to atone and give us the representation that is our right in the US Congress.

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