Embattled Congressman-Elect Accused of Neglecting Property Before Campaigning
George Santos, the congressman-elect, has been accused by his former landlord of leaving substantial damage in his Queens apartment prior to embarking on his campaign. According to the landlord, Nancy Pothos, Santos and his sister, Tiffany Lee Devolder Santos, resided in the two-bedroom, 960-square-foot unit in Whitestone until three months ago. While the siblings reportedly never paid rent late, they did cause considerable damage to the property.
“They had four dogs and they did a lot of damage to the place, so they left,” Pothos told the New York Post.
The modest apartment, purchased in 1999 for $200,000, is now estimated to have a rental value of approximately $2,900 per month. Shortly after the Post’s report, Gothamist highlighted a separate incident involving Santos, claiming he was mugged while attempting to deliver a rent cheque to Queens Housing Court on January 15, 2016, related to another apartment issue. However, the New York City Police Department has no records of such an incident, with an NYPD spokesperson confirming there is nothing on file regarding Santos’s claims.
Santos, who stated he was “unable to provide a police report,” claimed he was instructed to return to the police later to retrieve one, as detailed in an affidavit he completed under oath. At that time, he owed $2,250 in back rent to landlord Maria Tulumba.
Court documents reviewed by Gothamist reveal that Santos signed a one-year lease that concluded in September 2015 but continued to occupy the property into November of that year, accruing a debt of $2,250. The landlord initiated eviction proceedings that month, and Santos agreed to vacate the apartment by December 24, 2015, along with settling any outstanding rent, though it remains unclear if he fulfilled this obligation.
Additionally, reports from the New York Times indicate that Santos faced two other eviction cases in 2014 and 2017. These revelations come amid a series of disclosed fabrications regarding his professional background and personal history, including false claims about his education, career, real estate holdings, and his mother’s death.
In November, voters in New York elected Santos to represent the state’s 3rd congressional district, which encompasses parts of Long Island and Queens.
