George Santos’s Lies Kill Vet’s Ailing Dog

Even in this nation’s snakepit of politics, George Santos stands out as a major creep and prodigious liar. The recently elected GOP congressman from Long Island has embellished or outright lied about his work history, financial status, criminal record, ethnicity, and religion (we would say “allegedly” here but he’s admitted to many of these and other prevarications).

In January it was reported that in 2016 Santos – using the name “Anthony Devolder” – nicked thousands of dollars from a GoFundMe account that was intended to pay for lifesaving surgery for a Navy vet’s service dog. Santos/Devolder set up the account, claiming that money raised would go through his 501(c)3 nonprofit called Friends of Pets United. Donations poured in and $3,000 was quickly raised for the ailing dog, but Santos refused to part with it. It was later determined that Friends of Pets United was another lie. As a now-defunct Facebook page it had barely existed at all, let alone as a registered charity. The vet’s dog died.

For disinterested observers of Washington’s biggest fraud (no small feat) Santos’s aversion to the truth has become a matter of morbid curiosity. What will he lie about next? His whoppers are so widespread and outrageous that they may have already lost their ability to shock. And yet …

Now comes news that, in 2017, Santos wrote a series of bad checks to dog breeders in Pennsylvania’s Amish country. (This time he used his current name, George Santos, on the checks because why not?) Politico reported that Santos had purchased dogs (Golden Retriever, Lab, Yorkie, Border collie, American Eskimo and Shepherds), then held an adoption event at a Staten Island pet store at which he charged $300-$400 per dog in “adoption fees.”

Santos was charged with “theft by deception” by the York County District Attorney’s Office for kiting four checks totaling more than $15,000, but he beat the rap by claiming his checkbook had been stolen.

American politicians are adept at surviving all manner of scandals and perfidy, but it would be shocking if “Stealing Puppies From Amish Dog Breeders” (an actual headline) isn’t a dealbreaker. We’ve been shocked before, however.

Illustration credit: Politico Illustration / Photo by Getty Images