NY War Room: ICYMI – Long Islanders Call Out Republican Reps. Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito on Financial Disclosure Violations

New York, NY – In case you missed it, letters sent by concerned residents of NY-01 and NY-04 highlighted the shock and frustration felt towards Reps. LaLota and D’Esposito’s financial disclosure violations.

The apparent disregard for adherence to financial disclosure rules shed light on the lack of consequences for noncompliance, as “politicians who are filing false reports can still run for office with apparently little chance of being held accountable.”

“The blatant lack of transparency displayed by Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito as they disregard their duty to provide accurate financial disclosures is an egregious betrayal of the public’s trust,” HMP New York Press Secretary Alisha Heng said. “New Yorkers will not stand by idly as they hide behind their veil of secrecy.”

Read the full letters below.

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“Lack of disclosure stuns former judge

I continue to be stunned by the flouting of clear financial disclosure rules for members of Congress [“Santos charges highlight disclosure flaws,” News, June 26].

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) did not file legally required information about his consulting firm and assets in his 2022 financial disclosure report. And Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) is the only member of New York’s congressional delegation who didn’t file his by the May 15 deadline and complied on June 20, only after contacted by Newsday.

When I was an immigration judge for the U.S. Department of Justice, I and all my colleagues on the bench had to file these annual disclosures.

The instructions on the form are clear and obvious, and the penalties for noncompliance are also clear on the form.

— Terry Bain, Rockville Centre

With more than a third of the U.S. House financial disclosures being flawed, I as a taxpayer think that these disclosure failures should be looked on as massive scams [“Crack down on pols’ disclosure,” Editorial, June 27]. But even when caught, the politicians who are filing false reports can still run for office with apparently little chance of being held accountable, and this must be why so many are willing to take the chance of getting caught.

— Thomas W. Smith, Riverhead”

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