Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.) insisted Monday he has “held himself to the highest ethical standards” following reports that the Long Island congressman employed a woman he believed to be his mistress in his campaign office.
of The New York Times Multiple sources told the outlet that a few months after he was sworn into Congress, D'Esposito, 42, paid Devyn Fass, the woman with whom he was allegedly having an affair, $2,000 a month to work part-time in his Garden City, New York, office.
According to The New York Times, payments to Faas, who was hired in April 2023, ended in July of that year, around the same time that D'Esposito's fiancee found out about the alleged affair and split with him after a short time together.
House rules Banning MPs It prohibits “having sexual relations with a House staff member working under the supervision of that Member.”
In another possible violation of House ethics rules, D'Esposito also reportedly hired his longtime fiancé's daughter, Tessa Lark, to serve in his 4th District office, paying her about $3,800 a month for the work.
Congressional ethics rules prohibit lawmakers from employing their spouses or relatives, including stepchildren.
“The latest political tabloid trash being peddled by the New York Times is nothing more than a sleazy, partisan 'attack piece' designed to distract Long Islanders from the Democrats' failed track record on border security, the economy and foreign policy,” D'Esposito said in a statement to The Washington Post.
“My personal life has never interfered with my ability to deliver results in New York's Fourth District, and I have held myself to the highest ethical standards in my personal conduct,” the former NYPD detective added. “My constituents deserve better than the lowbrow politics of the Times.”
The New York Times reported that D'Esposito's relationship with Faas, 38, began around 2021 and continued through Faas' first term, which begins in January 2023.
“Love you until Monday,” Faas wrote to the congressman in summer 2022 in text messages reviewed by the outlet, adding a heart emoji.
“Very,” D'Esposito replied. “Very much.”
The reported affair was so serious that Faas' husband filed for divorce in the waning days of D'Esposito's 2022 midterm election campaign.
“It's nobody's business,” the congressman's fiancée, Cynthia Lark, told The New York Times when asked about D'Esposito's relationship with Faas.
Lark, who had been in a relationship with the Long Island Republican since about 2010, called the alleged affair a “very difficult time in my life” and a “family issue.”
She also asserted that there are “no ethical issues” surrounding her daughter Tessa's employment in D'Esposito's district office.
D'Esposito, a vulnerable House Republican, must defeat Democrat Laura Guillen in November to keep his 4th Congressional District seat.
D'Esposito's Nassau County district, which includes the communities of Elmont, Garden City, Hempstead, Uniondale and Long Beach, supported President Biden by 14 points over former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
The Washington Post has reached out to House Ethics Committee staff for comment.
