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Friday, January 20, 2023
Vol. 98, No. 3
CATHOLIC OFFICIALS PAN BLAKEMAN UNVEILS SCHOOLS WEEK HOCHUL HOUSING PLAN CASINO PLAN FOR HUB PAGES 23-26
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Santos just one of the House guys
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I C E I C E , S K AT E R
Serial liar 3rd District rep named to 2 committees amid calls to resign BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Newly-elected U.S. Rep. George Santos was named to a pair of House committees on Tuesday amidst a myriad of investigations launched into his personal, professional and financial background. Republican House leaders said Santos will serve on Congress’ Small Business Committee as well as the Science, Space and Technology Committee amid grow calls for him to resign. Santos also faces a pair of new complaints filed by a watchdog group and two of his Democratic colleagues from New York. The Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit organization that aims to advance democracy through the law, questioned the newly-elected congressman’s influx of wealth after reporting a salary of $55,000 in 2020 to $750,000 in 2022 and $1 million to $5 million in dividends. The organization also called the congressman’s $705,000 loan to his campaign into question, claiming he falsified reports on nearly 40 expenditure filings under $200. The center filed the complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Monday and to the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice
on Tuesday. Democratic U.S. Reps. Ritchie Torres and Daniel Goldman filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee on Tuesday for allegedly violating the Ethics in Government Act, saying the Republican must be held accountable for deceiving voters and Congress. The Ethics in Government Act, officials said, was created to “preserve and promote the integrity of public officials and institutions,” which Torres and Goldman believe Santos has failed to adhere to. The two described financial reports submitted in 2020 and 2022 as “sparse and perplexing” in the complaint. Torres (NY-15) said during a news conference in Long Island on Tuesday he is calling on the FEC to launch an investigation into potential illegal activity and irregularities with the campaign finances of Santos. Santos also now faces allegations of scamming a homeless, disabled veteran out of thousands of dollars that would have been used to care for the man’s service dog. Richard Osthoff told Patch that he met Santos, who introduced himself as Anthony Devolder, in 2016 while living in a tent on the side of a New Jersey highway. Continued on Page 38
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GREAT NECK PARK DISTRICT
Skate School students practice their technique at the Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink last week.
Playhouse changes met with real ire from board BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Proposed reductions to the First Playhouse building in Great Neck Estates were presented to the village board and met with ire from trustees concerned about the potential time being added onto the project.
Plans for the proposed five-story, mixed-use structure were approved by the Great Neck Estates board in January 2020, but modifications presented by project developer Albert Shirian of Lions Group NYC and attorney Paul Bloom of Harras Bloom & Archer LLP Thursday would have the building de-
crease in size while expanding in number of bedrooms. The fifth story of the project, which included a penthouse, will be removed under the revised plans and the number of bedrooms will be increased from 35 to 40, while mainContinued on Page 10
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