I warned you all a couple of weeks ago that the Santos saga could go on-- and as sure as shooting, the hits keeping coming.
First comes reports that Santos used a disabled veteran and his dying dog in a fundraising scam. Richard Osthoff, a U.S. Navy veteran, says that Santos conned him in 2016 while he was living in a tent on the side of a highway in Howell, New Jersey, with his beloved dog Sapphire. Sapphire was diagnosed with a life-threatening stomach tumor, and Osthoff was quoted $3,000 for the surgery to remove it.
According to Osthoff, a veterinary technician told him he knew a guy who could help: Anthony Devolder, who ran a pet charity called Friends of Pets United, a pet charity (the IRS has said that it has no records of a registered tax-exempt charity with that name, btw). Anthony Devolder is one of the names that Santos, whose full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos, used among an array of aliases, including George Devolder and Anthony Zabrovsky. Osthoff and another New Jersey veteran, retired police Sgt. Michael Boll (who was helping Osthoff back in 2016) have said that Santos set up a GoFundMe for Sapphire’s surgery. A link to the since-deleted GoFundMe page, shows that it was created “by Anthony Devolder.”
The two veterans say that when the GoFundMe campaign reached $3,000, Santos closed it and became increasingly difficult to contact. When Osthoff then tried to schedule Sapphire’s procedure, Santos then insisted Osthoff take Sapphire to another vet clinic (that Santos purportedly had a relationship with). When contacted by Osthoff, the new clinic said it couldn’t operate on Sapphire's tumor. Santos then told Osthoff that he would take the money raised for Sapphire and use it for “other dogs,” Osthoff said. Osthoff told his supporters that he had been “scammed by Anthony Devolder” and that Sapphire was facing euthanasia within months. Unable to obtain the needed surgery, Sapphire died the following year.
One of Santos’ former roommates, Gregory Morey-Parker, was interviewed several times on CNN about Santos, who he said he lived with for a few months in 2020. Morey-Parker said he knew Santos by two names: Anthony Devolder and Anthony Zabrovsky and he had “never known him as George Santos.” According to Morey-Parker, Santos said he used the name Zabrovsky for his pet charity because he believed “the Jews will give more if you’re a Jew.”
This reporting was followed closely by new claims that Santos competed as a drag queen in Brazilian beauty pageants 15 years ago, two acquaintances told Reuters, adding to contrasts that have drawn criticism of the openly gay Republican congressman's staunchly conservative views.
A 58-year-old Brazilian performer, who uses the drag name Eula Rochard, said she befriended the now-congressman when he was cross-dressing in 2005 at the first gay pride parade in Niteroi, a Rio de Janeiro suburb. Three years later, Santos (using the drag name "Kitara Ravache") competed in a drag beauty pageant in Rio, Rochard said. Another person from Niteroi who knew the 34-year-old congressman but asked not to be named said he participated in drag queen beauty pageants and aspired to be Miss Gay Rio de Janeiro.
Rochard said the congressman was a "poor" drag queen in 2005, telling reporters, "George always lied about everything. He used to create stories, usually involving money—like that his dad was rich. But then people wondered why his mom was a cleaning lady. There’s nothing wrong with being a cleaning lady, but if his dad was rich, then why?”
Santos’ complicated relationship with the truth is nothing new, Rochard said. "He's changed a lot, but he was always a liar," Rochard added.
No comments:
Post a Comment