GOP State Senate Candidate Who Offered 'KFC And Watermelons' To Constituents Arrested For Alleged Re

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GOP State Senate Candidate Who Offered 'KFC And Watermelons' To Constituents Arrested For Alleged Rental Fraud
by Gaby Del Valle in News on Oct 15, 2016 10:20 am

(NBC New York)
Jon Girodes, the Republican State Senate candidate who recently came under fire for planning to donate Kool Aid, KFC, and watermelons to his prospective East Harlem constituents, was arrested on Friday for allegedly ripping off 10 people in a Craigslist rent scam.

According to the Post, Girodes listed his luxury apartment at 635 W. 42nd for just $1,000 a month and "rented" it out to victims who would give him up to a year's rent in cash. An NYPD spokesperson told Gothamist that Girodes had 10 different arrest numbers and was charged with both grand larceny and criminal impersonation.

"It's the same apartment every single time, the same sort of lease structure. It's very obvious that there's no intent to ever rent out this apartment," Pierre Gooding, the attorney representing 10 of Girodes's alleged victims told NBC New York.

"The scam is simple: he posts on Craigslist under his name or assumed name saying he's posting an apartment that's affordable because that's his initiative as a public officer," Gooding said. "The person comes over, he shows them the amenities, wines them and dines them and takes their money. And then he comes up with various reasons why he won't return that money."

Girodes allegedly took $9,000 up front from Sara Angella, a 31-year-old Master's candidate at the Jewish Theological Seminary. The day Angella was supposed to move in, Girodes texted her saying he wouldn't be able to give her the keys—and when she complained to building management, Angella was allegedly told she wasn't the first victim.

He also allegedly stole $3,200 from another woman who signed a lease and planned to move in the beginning of September. On the day she was supposed to move in, Girodes told her via text message that the deal was off and called her a "crazy drama queen." In that particular instance, the Post says Girodes sent an intern from his office to return the money.

Girodes' campaign website and social media pages have been taken down. It's unclear whether he plans on staying in the race—he has previously claimed to be the victim of a conspiracy against the Republican party.

"I love the NYPD, and there are two sides to every story," he said while being walked out of the 7th Precinct police station last night.

 

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Senate Hopeful Wants To Woo Black Voters With ‘Kool Aid, KFC And Watermelons’
Bruh.
10/13/2016 05:24 pm ET
3.3k

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Zeba Blay Voices Culture Writer, The Huffington Post
A GOP candidate for Senate has gotten backlash for allegedly planning a “racist” campaign event in Harlem.

Republican Jon Girodes, a candidate in New York’s 30th Senate District, was emailing with NBC-4 reporters regarding controversy over a real estate dispute when he included in a message:

“Ps I’m hosting an event in Harlem which will be in front of the state building in a few weeks. We will [donate] Kool Aid, KFC and watermelons to the public on 125th street in Harlem. Please join us to help the community.”

He also, for some reason, included a shirtless photo of himself, writing, “Run with it and have fun. My gift to you .”

Yikes.

NBC-4 published the email online, and later confronted Harlem residents about Girodes planning an event with stereotypically “black” food.

“It’s racist. Whoever he is, I think he should go back in whatever hole he crawled in and have a great life,” one man, Tyrone Nero, told NBC-4.

According to the station, Girodes (who appears to be a non-white Latino, although that has yet to be confirmed) has stood by his “Kool Aid” comment.

“What I think is anyone who gives free food to people is doing them a favor,” the GOP candidate reportedly told NBC-4.

“Get a bunch of people who say it’s offensive and let me go into their neighborhood and give it out for free and see if they take it.”

It’s incredibly problematic that Girodes believes he can appeal to the mostly-black residents of Harlem by offering them a racially-charged trinity of foods that have historically been used to stereotype and dehumanize them. The fact that Girodes sees nothing wrong with the email is pretty worrying, but the fact that he’s running for Senate makes it even moreso.

As of Thursday, Girode’s website, Facebook and Twitter accounts appear to be down or put on private. He has yet to reply to The Huffington Post for comment via his official Instagram page.

 

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Politics
Republican Who Offered Black Voters ‘Watermelons & Kool-Aid’ Was Just Arrested

By Grant Stern
Posted on October 18, 2016
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Jon Girodes, the New York Republican Senate candidate who enraged Harlem voters by announcing that he would ‘donate’ “Kool Aid, KFC and watermelons” at a campaign event in the primarily black community was just arrested for stealing $50,000 in a Craigslist “key money” scam to ripoff unsuspecting renters.

Cops say Jon Girodes, 38, listed his luxury apartment at 635 W. 42nd St. for a bargain-basement price of $1,100 and “rented” it to victims who could pony up to a year’s rent in cash. Cops say Girodes’ victims were both women and men and he took them for a total of $50,000 combined. “He is a true sociopath,” said Sara Angella one of his victims, “He created a cloak of legitimacy before he struck.”

Shamefully, the Republican politician used his public persona as a vehicle to shake down unsuspecting victims who thought they were getting one of the best deals in the city. Girondes even told some victims that he is a public official, which is blatantly false (and illegal), given that he is merely a candidate. Angella told her story to the New York Post:

Angella, 31, said she answered Girodes ad in mid-August and met him at the gorgeous Hell’s Kitchen apartment. “I knew it was too good to be true, but I looked him up and he really was running for the Senate. He was wearing a Trump hat when I met him,” she told The Post. Angella said she was starting a Master’s Degree in theology at the Jewish Theological Seminary and thought she had lucked into “some good karma.” From her student loans she took $9,000 cash and gave it to him in exchange for the lease. But the day she was supposed to move in – Aug. 28 – she said the Republican candidate texted her “a bunch of excuses” about why he couldn’t meet her at the apartment or give her the keys. Angella said when she complained to the building management, she was told she wasn’t the only victim.

Unfortunately, Angella isn’t even the first woman to step forward and complain about the New York Republican Senate candidate’s scam,which cost her $3,200 dollars and was reported publicly. After the fifth complaint, the police finally stepped in to arrest the con-artist politician. “I think it’s important to out [Girodes’s racist comments] not just to denounce him,” said his opponent, incumbent Democratic New York State Sen. Bill Perkins commenting on Girodes’ offensive campaign ideas, “but to set a tone in this neighborhood and in this city that this type of offense does not go unchallenged.”

Luckily for Democratic Senator Perkins, New Yorkers do know a con when they see one, and his Republican opponent likely sealed his loss with his very public arrest for committing a vicious “key money” fraud while running for office on the Republican ticket.