Political actors whose fates differ and who are accused of fraud sometimes find each other along the way and join forces. When the alleged fraud lies in the zone between politics and business, allies with access to money and contacts can seem indispensable.
Nothing would better explain the questionable one-time connection between former contestants Michelle Bond and George Santos.
Last week, charges were filed against Bond, who ran in a Republican primary two years ago for Suffolk County’s 1st Congressional District seat. Bond, 45, is accused of conspiring to arrange illegal corporate donations for that failed campaign.
During this “red election year” in Suffolk, Bond was identified as a “crypto advocate” who led the Association for Digital Asset Markets. She filed her candidacy from an address in Port Jefferson, but has lived in Potomac, Maryland for years.
Even more strikingly, prosecutors identify her as the partner of Ryan Salame, who was co-chief executive of a Bahamas-based subsidiary of the defunct crypto exchange FTX – founded by the notorious Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now serving a 25-year prison sentence.
Salame has already pleaded guilty to campaign finance and money transfer offenses. He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Now Salame is asking the court to declare this confession invalid. He claims that part of the agreement was that Bond, who is allegedly the mother of his young child, would not be prosecuted.
News of Bond’s indictment came just three days after Santos, the former CD3 representative, pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft in connection with his own 2022 campaign.
During this election cycle, Republicans Santos and Bond became known allies. As Newsday reported last February, Santos served as a liaison between Bond and right-wing activists who became vocal supporters of her.
Further evidence of a connection between Bond and Santos emerged from campaign finance records. Salame donated $5,800 to a Santos committee in June 2022 – as did both of his parents. So did people who were business partners of Salame and Bankman-Fried.
Lobbyist Anthony Figliola, who ran against Bond in the CD1 Republican primary this year, was quoted as saying, “This was a pure power play by the crypto industry looking to get a seat at the Wall Street table.”
As candidates, Santos and Bond had several things in common. Both jumped at the opportunity to run for “open” seats in Congress. Tom Suozzi left CD3 to run for governor as a Democrat, and Lee Zeldin left CD1 to run for governor as a Republican.
Neither Bond nor Santos had clear ties to their constituencies. She said she grew up in Miller Place but hadn’t lived on Long Island in a long time. No one seemed to know where Santos lived, even after he was elected.
The trajectory of their lives never paralleled. Alongside Salame, Bond led a huge, new, red-hot industry for a time. Santos’ wealth was a lie, as was his educational, family and business background. And it’s still a mystery how he’s going to pay back his hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
US Attorney Damian Williams’ statement on the Bond case was predictable and full of clichés. But it rang true: “Campaign misconduct undermines public confidence in American elections and in representative government in general.”
NThe opinions of columnist Dan Janison are his own.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial staff.
