Nassau Residents for Good Government hosted a rally in front of U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito’s (R-CD4) Garden City office, where he allegedly broke House ethics rules.
A New York Times report revealed D’Esposito hired a woman he was having an affair with, along with his fiancée’s daughter.
The article said shortly after D’Esposito took the oath of office in 2022, he hired his fiancée’s daughter as a special assistant in his Garden City district office, for which she was paid $3,800 a month.
Congressional District 4 residents stood outside the office on Wednesday, calling for D’Esposito to repay the $29,000 in taxpayer funds that he used to pay for both employees. They also demanded for an “expedited investigation” into this potential ethics violation.
Speakers at the event also reminded voters about former U.S. Representative George Santos (R-CD3) who was expelled from the House about 10 months ago and noted they wanted an “end to corruption in Nassau County.”
“This ‘rally’ is nothing more than a gathering of professional activists, promoting partisan talking points in an attempt to distract Long Islanders from focusing on the rallygoers’ unpopular progressive agenda, which they are trying to force on our community even though it’s failed in places like New York City and beyond,” Matthew Capp, spokesperson for D’Esposito, said.
D’Esposito is running for re-election against former Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen in a district that includes most of the Town of Hempstead and a small portion of the Town of Oyster Bay.
The district is one of the most watched in the country and seen as crucial to the control of the House of Representatives by both parties.
Jody Kass Finkel, founder of NRGG, said she formed the group a few months ago with the mission to gather nonpartisan residents who will “work to bring transparency, accountability and integrity to the county government.”
She said the group is “appalled” to hear the reports of “Congressman D’Esposito’s corruption.”
“We recognize that Nassau has some very serious problems and we need and we demand that our elected officials work together to solve them,” Finkel said.
Claudia Borecky, part of the NRGG working group, said taxpayers “bear the cost of D’Esposito’s corruption.”
She, on behalf of the NRGG, asked for any investigation to be expedited so that voters can make an educated decision when casting their vote in the November election. She said she doesn’t want voters to learn on Nov. 6 that there is “another Santos in the House.”
“The time has come for Congressman D’Esposito to be held accountable. No one is above the law,” Borecky said. “Today, we call upon the U.S. attorney to investigate D’Esposito. We believe that laws have been violated and assert that D’Esposito should face consequences for any criminal actions.”
Paul Bua, part of the NRGG working group, thanked members for coming out 27 days before the most “significant national election” in recent memory.
He said the group was hosted this rally to remind residents of the importance of good government, strong public institutions and calling out corruption when necessary.
“Leadership matters, who represents and serves the public matters, character matters,” Bua said.
Bua said the more sunlight the public puts on political cronyism, the better. He said the group demands better leadership from elected officials and accountability for those in power.
Other speakers at the event such as Pamela Korn, Deyania Mairena and Pearl Jacobs echo’d statements calling for an investigation of D’Esposito.
“What we heard today from residents from all over the district is D’Esposito has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years and it is time that he be held accountable,” Finkel said.
Finkel ended the rally by asking, “how many more people are or were on D’Esposito’s payroll and how many of those did he have personal relationships with?” She said she believes this won’t be the last time residents will be hearing about this.
