A first-term Republican congressman from Long Island has been accused of having an affair and paying his mistress with taxpayer money, injecting scandal into a competitive race that could decide control of the House of Representatives.
Anthony D'Esposito, of Nassau County, New York, reportedly gave his mistress Devin Faas a $2,000 per month part-time job in his district office, the New York Times reported.
D'Esposito also allegedly hired the daughter of his longtime fiancée, Cynthia Lark, to the tune of $3,800 a month. The latter arrangement may not have violated House ethical rules against employing family, since D'Esposito is unmarried, but it is sure to draw scrutiny from Congress and voters nonetheless.
The payments to both women stopped "abruptly" in July 2023 when Lark discovered the affair and briefly broke up with D'Esposito, the Times reported. Lark called the affair "a very hurtful time in my life” but said her relationship with D’Esposito was “a family matter.”
The Times obtained text messages from the tryst, which began in 2021 and led to the breakup of Faas' marriage in the final months of D'Esposito's election campaign.
“Love you till Monday,” Faas wrote in one text to D'Esposito, adding a heart emoji.
“So much,” D’Esposito replied. “SO SO.”
His spokesperson did not deny that he had an affair.
“We do not comment on personnel matters,” spokesperson Matt Capp said. “Congressman D’Esposito remains focused on fighting for real issues that impact Long Islanders, like securing our borders and ending the affordability crisis.”
D'Esposito was elected as part of a regional red wave that swept New York in 2022 and tipped control of the House to the GOP. He is fighting a competitive re-election battle this fall against Democrat Laura Gillen.
“The latest political tabloid garbage being peddled by The New York Times is nothing more than a slimy, partisan ‘hit piece’ designed to distract Long Islanders from Democrats’ failing record on border security, the economy, and foreign policy,” D’Esposito said in a statement to The New York Post.
George Santos, the notorious Long Island fraudster who represented D'Esposito's neighboring 3rd district, is relishing the scandal engulfing his former colleague. D'Esposito helped rally Congress to expel Santos last year after a House ethics investigation found he violated the law.
Santos called D'Esposito an example of the "slime" in Nassau County's Republican machine.
“Let’s see what the ‘ethics’ committee will do with this,” he wrote on X.
