Rep. George Santos, the Republican congressman whose biography and resume have been exposed as fictional since winning his seat in November’s election, was a thief as well as a liar, a former roommate told Patch on Friday. Gregory Morey-Parker claimed Santos – then going by the name Anthony Devolder – stole his $520 Burberry scarf and wore it to a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally in Washington DC the day before the January 6 breach of the US Capitol.
“They stole my election,” Santos complains in footage of the rally posted to social media, with the allegedly purloined scarf draped around his neck. Comparing his electoral tribulations to the then-president's, he then asked the crowd, “Who here is ready to overturn the election for Donald J. Trump?” in a foreshadowing of the next day’s chaos.
Nor did the Brazilian-American politician stop at stealing scarves, according to Morey-Parker, who told Patch that pricey dress shirts, phones, and checks from a checkbook also went missing while he lived with Santos in their cramped Queens apartment. A second roommate, Yasser Rabello, confirmed the thefts took place between 2012 and 2014. Despite representing himself to the public as a real estate magnate, Santos was later evicted from that same apartment for non-payment of rent.
In recent weeks, nearly all of Santos’ biographical details have been exposed as fake, from his supposedly Jewish ethnic background (complete with bogus Ukrainian Holocaust survivor relatives) to his education and Wall Street resume, nonexistent real estate empire and pet rescue charity, and his mother’s supposed 9/11-survivor status.
Once celebrated as the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress, Santos has even been accused of lying about his sexuality after it was discovered he had divorced a woman shortly before running.
New York’s Nassau County Republican Party, Santos’ local chapter, called for his resignation on Wednesday, denouncing him as a “stain” on the GOP, though it has since emerged that they were aware of at least some of his fabrications. His campaign staff reportedly resigned in disgust after he refused to drop out of the race despite internal opposition research uncovering many of his lies, with him instead attacking their fact-finding methods and hiring new staff. Even Santos’ Democratic rival Robert Zimmerman had access to an 87-page dossier that included many of the incriminating details, yet chose to attack Santos on his views on wedge issues like abortion and the January 6 turmoil instead.
While Santos has admitted to many of the fabrications, he has refused to resign unless the 142,000 Long Islanders who voted for him demand it.