Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) maintained Monday that he has “upheld the highest ethical standards” after a report claimed the Long Island congressman hired an alleged mistress to work in his district office.
The New York Times reported that D’Esposito, 42, paid Devin Fass – the woman he was allegedly having an affair with – $2,000 a month to work part time in his Garden City, NY, office a few months after taking his oath of office as a congressman, multiple sources told the outlet.
Payments to Faas, who was hired in April 2023, ended in July of that year – around the same time D’Esposito’s fiancée found out about the supposed affair and briefly broke up with him, according to the New York Times.
House rules ban lawmakers from engaging “in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision of the member.”
In another potential violation of House ethics rules, D’Esposito also reportedly hired his longtime fiancée’s daughter, Tessa Lark, to work in his 4th District office, paying her about $3,800 a month to take the gig.
Members of Congress are prohibited from employing spouses or relatives, including stepchildren, under the congressional code of ethics.
“The latest political tabloid garbage being peddled by The New York Times is nothing more than a slimy, partisan ‘hit piece’ designed to distract Long Islanders from Democrats’ failing record on border security, the economy, and foreign policy,” D’Esposito said in a statement to The Post.
“My personal life has never interfered with my ability to deliver results for New York’s 4th district, and I have upheld the highest ethical standards of personal conduct,” the former NYPD detective added. “Voters deserve better than the Times’ gutter politics.”
The New York Times reports that D’Esposito’s relationship with Faas, 38, began around 2021 and continued into the congressman’s first term in office, which started in January 2023.
“Love you till Monday,” Faas wrote to the congressman in a summer 2022 text message reviewed by the outlet, including a heart emoji.
“So much,” D’Esposito replied. “SO SO.”
The reported tryst was serious enough that it resulted in Faas’ husband filing for divorce near the end of D’Esposito’s 2022 midterm election campaign.
“It’s no one’s business,” Cynthia Lark, the congressman’s fiancée, told the New York Times when asked about D’Esposito’s relationship with Faas.
Lark, who has been dating the Long Island Republican since around 2010, noted that the alleged affair was “a very hurtful time in my life” and “a family matter.”
She was also adamant that “there are no ethical questions” regarding her daughter Tessa’s employment in D’Esposito’s district office.
D’Esposito, a vulnerable House Republican, must defeat Democrat Laura Gillen in November in order to keep his 4th District seat in the lower chamber.
D’Esposito’s Nassau County district, which includes the communities of Elmont, Garden City, Hempstead, Uniondale and Long Beach, backed President Biden by 14 points over former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
The Post has reached out to the House Ethics Committee staff for comment.
