NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- There were increasing calls Tuesday for newly elected GOP Congressman George Santos, of Long Island, to resign amid a report claiming much of the backstory he sold to voters—from his jobs, to his charity, to his education—is phony.
The New York Times reported Monday that Santos didn't actually attend Baruch College and New York University, as he had claimed, and didn't work at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup either, among other apparent falsehoods.
Santos also claimed to be a landlord, but the Times found no properties or clients of his company. An animal rescue group he claims to have founded also doesn't appear to exist, according to the report.
Even a claim he lost several employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016 was called into question.
Other questions raised surround his multi-million-dollar family business, his income and a criminal check fraud case in Brazil.
Those calling for Santos to resign will gather at his voting address in Whitestone, Queens, on Tuesday morning. The Times report suggested he may not live there.
1010 WINS found mail in a recycling bin that was addressed to Santos, including a letter from the state Board of Elections congratulating him on his win. But residents didn’t seem to know if he lived there. A woman who identified herself as the landlord said he’d moved in August, before the election.
Democratic Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan said he’s had a bipartisan group of constituents call him about Santos, who he called a “straight-up liar and a fraud, and a liar of pathological proportions.”
“They have every right to be pissed,” Lafazan said. “Those who voted for him and those who live in this district are outraged they were straight up lied to.”
Lafazan called on Santos to resign, saying he’s “not qualified to serve as dog-catcher.”
“This is an individual who lied about working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs; lying about his employees losing their lives in a mass shooting; lying about having an animal rescue charity and where he lives and where he went to college,” Lafazan said.
Santos’ opponent in the November election, Democrat Robert Zimmerman—who Santos beat by more than eight points—told WCBS-TV that it could be criminal and there needs to be a House Ethics Committee investigation.
“This is not about resume-padding,” Zimmerman said. “This is allegations about the fact he lied on his House ethics forms, allegations about him lying about his personal finances, about where his money came from for his campaign,” Zimmerman said.
Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, tweeted a statement calling the piece a “shotgun blast of attacks.”
Murray said Santos “represents the kind of progress that the Left is so threatened by - a gay, Latino, first generation American and Republican who won a Biden district in overwhelming fashion by showing everyday voters that there is a better option than the broken promises and failed policies of the Democratic Party.”
“After four years in the public eye, and on the verge of being sworn in as a member of the Republican led 118th Congress, the New York Times launches this shotgun blast of attacks,” Murray continued. “It is no surprise that Congressman-elect Santos has enemies at the New York Times who are attempting to smear his good name with these defamatory allegations.”
Joseph Cairo Jr., the chairman of Nassau County Republican Committee, said he believes Santos “deserves an opportunity to address the claims detailed in the article.”
Santos’ win in New York's 3rd congressional district—which includes parts of Queens and Nassau County—was among a wave of Republicans victories in New York City’s suburbs in the 2022 Election that helped the GOP secure a narrow U.S. House majority in the new Congress.
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