A Navy veteran who accused George Santos of stealing thousands of dollars from his sick dog’s fundraiser said his beloved pet is “smiling from heaven” over the former congressman’s ouster.
Richard Osthoff told The Post on Friday that he was relieved to learn that Santos was removed from his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives by New York that same day.
“I have a deceased girl, my little puppy, who I know is extremely happy right now and smiling from heaven,” Osthoff said. “She’ll probably be even happier when she takes him to court and is proven to be a liar, but this is a good start.
“I am happy for the people of New York, who led a popular movement to try to expel him. This guy scammed me when he was homeless, already depressed and caused my dog to die, but somehow he became a fucking congressman. “It is unheard of and should never have happened.”
Osthoff said she still has not recovered from the emotional distress caused by Santos when she allegedly took $3,000 from a GoFundMe campaign for her dying service dog, Sapphire, in 2016.
US Navy veteran Richard Osthoff said he is glad George Santos has been removed from his seat in Congress. It’s been about seven years since Santos allegedly accepted the money raised for the life-saving surgery of his beloved pit bull mix, Sapphire. Richard Osthoff/Facebook
Osthoff was homeless and sleeping in a tent in New Jersey with Sapphire at the time, when a man named Anthony Devolder approached him and said he would connect him with a veterinarian who could help him remove a growing tumor in the boy’s stomach. dog.
Devolder, the name used by Santos before entering politics, reportedly organized a GoFundMe campaign for the veteran and his pit bull, while promoting his Friends of Pets Unlimited charity.
The campaign raised $3,000, but Osthoff said to this day he still hasn’t received a cent of that money. Sapphire died before she could undergo the surgery Santos had promised to perform to save her life.
Osthoff said he needed his dog because he was suffering from mental health issues caused by his time in the military. He said Sapphire had a melon-sized tumor growing on her liver and that surgery could have helped the pup survive a few more years while he found another dog to train.
Former US Representative George Santos leaves the Capitol in Washington, DC, following the vote to expel him from Congress on December 1, 2023. Rod Lamkey – CNP
For months, Santos allegedly continued to tell Osthoff that he would send him the money and told him to go to New York to see a veterinarian he knew.
“[Santos] Not only did she steal my best friend and partner, but she was my medication,” the veteran said. “Sapphire was dying and all I could do was watch her life slip away from her, but this guy just faded into the sunset with the money that could have kept her alive. He almost took my life because he was ready to kill me.”
Osthoff said when Santos never received the GoFundMe money, he panhandled to raise enough cash to euthanize Sapphire because the sick puppy was in too much pain.
“I had to ask for money because I couldn’t do anything else for her,” he said of his beloved service dog. “It was the most heartbreaking thing in the world. He was sitting there in front of a Home Depot, a grown man crying his eyes out with a little cup in his hand asking for money. It was horrible. “It was very, very devastating to me because we could have saved her.”
Osthoff has since cooperated with officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and gave agents his text message exchanges with Santos dating back to 2016. He said he has not received a response from authorities since then, but is also considering applying. his own lawsuit against the disgraced former congressman.
The FBI has spoken to Navy veteran Richard Osthoff, who claims disgraced former Long Island Rep. George Santos scammed him out of thousands of dollars meant to save his dying service dog in 2016. Rich Osthoff/Facebook Santos He is the sixth member to be expelled from the House. AFP via Getty Images
Santos’ brief career in Congress representing New York’s 3rd District has been mired in controversy.
A House Ethics Committee report confirmed that Santos used his 2022 campaign money on Onlyfans subscriptions, Botox and spa treatments. The ethics panel also noted that Santos had spent $3,332.81 on an Airbnb when his campaign calendar indicated he was “out of line.” [the] Hampton’s [sic] for the weekend.”
Santos, 35, also allegedly wrote $15,000 in bad checks to Amish dog breeders in Pennsylvania, but managed to get out of that case after claiming his checkbook was stolen.
In May, federal prosecutors filed a 13-count indictment against the lying former congressman from Long Island for allegedly embezzling $50,000 in campaign money, illegally using COVID unemployment benefits and lying to Congress on his financial disclosure forms.
Richard OsthoffRich Osthoff/Facebook
In October he was indicted on more criminal charges, accusing him of inflating his campaign’s fundraising numbers and charging contributors’ credit cards without their consent.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On Friday, Santos became the sixth member expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 311 to 114, with more than 100 of his fellow Republican lawmakers supporting his removal.
Osthoff hopes that Santos’ forced departure from Congress will also set in motion the various criminal charges against him.
Osthoff said he is no longer homeless, he has a job, a house and lives with his three new dogs, who keep him happy. However, he still hopes that justice will be served for Sapphire.
“[Santos] It ruined me and it ruined many others,” Osthoff said. “He was a good salesman and he knew how to manipulate the situation. He’s a bastard and he killed my dog. I’ll probably never see a dime from him until I do that. [competition TV show] ‘Dancing With the Stars’ or something like that, but I’m not going to give up.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn